438. LUCILLE BALL: FROM “WASHED-UP” ACTRESS TO T.V. TRAILBLAZER

Larry Wolff via Zoom   Coming from a lower middleclass background, Lucille Ball lost her father when she was three years old and lived with various family members in upstate New York. After leaving school to learn to act and model, she became a Goldwyn Girl and eventually a leading "B" actress at various Hollywood Studios. When she was considered “washed up” as an actress, she took radio jobs to supplement her income. Then, with the success of those programs, CBS offered to make the radio series into a television series; however, she would only consent if her Cuban-born bandleader husband could play her husband on TV. And so, as they say, the rest, is television history! She became a powerhouse executive of her own studio and starred in three successful television series, including her role as Lucy Ricardo in the trailblazing “I Love Lucy,” which was, and still is, one of the greatest and funniest programs of all time. Learn about Lucy’s life and career in this timely and poignant lect