--- name: "Lucille Ball" canonical: "https://film.one/person/lucille-ball" roles: ["Actor"] born: "6 August 1911" died: "26 April 1989" reviewed_on_fi1m: 2 average_as: "actor" average_over: 1 updated: "2026-09-19T23:33:27.794326+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Lucille Ball Actor. Born 6 August 1911 in Jamestown, New York, USA. Died 26 April 1989. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 6 August 1911, Jamestown, New York, USA - **Died:** 26 April 1989 - **Also known as:** Lucille Désirée Ball, Lucy, The Queen of the B's, Λουσίλ Μπολ , Λουσίλ Ντεζιρέ Μπολ - **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 other - **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 2 Emmys (2 won · 2 nominated) - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Ball, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q209662, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000840/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/40174 ## Fi1m on Lucille Ball > The best-known face in American television comedy spent the 1930s and 1940s in Hollywood being overlooked. What she had was timing, nerve and a willingness to fall over for a living, and it took a studio audience to make anyone see it. In *Stage Door* (1937), Lucille Ball plays Judith, one of a boarding house full of out-of-work actresses, and her whole part is waiting. She is waiting for a lumberman called Butch, played by Grady Sutton, and while Katharine Hepburn and Ginger Rogers get the shared bedroom and the argument, she gets her laughs by being drier about her situation than anyone else in the film. We were struck, watching it again, by how little she does. The woman who would later make a career of falling off things is here doing the least of anyone in the house, and it works. Hollywood kept her busy and never worked out what she was for. She came in as a model and a bit player, spent years under contract at RKO in supporting parts, and picked up the nickname Queen of the B's, which is not a compliment anyone asks for. *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940), as Bubbles for Dorothy Arzner, is the other early part worth knowing. Then, in 1951, came *I Love Lucy*, made with her husband Desi Arnaz through their own company, Desilu, and Lucy Ricardo, the scheming housewife whose face did most of the talking. It ran until 1957. *The Lucy Show* (1962 to 1968) and *Here's Lucy* (1968 to 1974) followed, and the one substantial late film part, *Yours, Mine and Ours* (1968). What she did on television was slapstick in the vaudeville line, and she did it with two things most comedians lack: exact timing, and no visible fear of the gag going wrong on her body. She and Arnaz filmed *I Love Lucy* with three cameras in front of a live audience, a set-up built so that the laughs on the soundtrack were the laughs in the studio. She said it herself: "I am a real ham. I love an audience. I work better with an audience. I am dead, in fact, without one." Vivian Vance opposite her, and Madelyn Pugh Davis and Bob Carroll Jr writing, gave her the routines; the crowd gave her the reason to do them properly. The caveat is the films, and it is not really her fault. The 1930s and 1940s pictures got little notice at the time and they are not where her reputation lives now. But the dry, patient Judith of *Stage Door* is a different performer from the one the sitcoms built, and Hollywood had her for the better part of two decades without finding a use for that quality either. If you know her only from the television, start with *Stage Door*. It is ninety minutes with the one version of Lucille Ball that nobody ever built a show around. ## Biography Lucille Ball was an American actor. She was born on 6 August 1911 in Jamestown, New York, and died on 26 April 1989 in Los Angeles, California. Ball began her career as a model under the name Dianne Belmont before appearing in small film roles in the 1930s as a contract player for RKO Radio Pictures. Her early credits include an uncredited role as Flower Shop Clerk in *Top Hat* (1935). She is known for her work in films such as *Stage Door* (1937), *Room Service* (1938), *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940), *Lured* (1947) and *Yours, Mine and Ours* (1968). Ball starred as Lucy Ricardo in the television series *I Love Lucy* (1951), which also featured Desi Arnaz. She later appeared in *The Lucy Show* (1962) and *Here's Lucy* (1968). Ball received four Emmy Awards from thirteen nominations. She was awarded the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1979 and the Kennedy Center Honors Lifetime Achievement Award in 1986. *Sources: imdb.com, britannica.com.* ## On Fi1m (2) ### Performed in (1) — the average rests on these - *Stage Door* (1937), Fi1m 85, as Judith — [page](https://film.one/film/stage-door.md) ### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited - *Top Hat* (1935), Fi1m 87, as Flower Shop Clerk (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/top-hat.md) ## Complete filmography (144) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *A Grammy Celebration of Latin Music* (2025), as Lucy Ricardo (archive footage) (uncredited) - *I Love Lucy Christmas Special* (2016), as Lucy - *Mary Tyler Moore: A Celebration* (2015), as Lucy Ricardo / I Love Lucy (archive footage) - *Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored* (2011), as Lucy Ricardo (archive footage) - *Pioneers of Primetime* (2005), Actor - *TV in Black: The First Fifty Years* (2004), as (archive footage) - *The Funny World of Lucy, Volume 1* (1997), Actor - *E! True Hollywood Story* (1996), series, Actor - *That's Entertainment! III* (1994), as (archive footage) (uncredited) - *Chicago Joe and the Showgirl* (1990), In Memory Of - *Bob Hope's Love Affair with Lucy* (1989), as (archive footage) - *A Tribute to Lucy* (1989), Actor - *Life with Lucy* (1986), series, as Lucy Barker - *Stone Pillow* (1985), as Florabelle - *Bungle Abbey* (1981), Director, Executive Producer - *Cher... and Other Fantasies* (1979), as Cleaning Lady - *Lucy Calls the President* (1977), as Lucy Whittaker - *NBC: The First Fifty Years* (1976), Actor - *What Now, Catherine Curtis?* (1976), as Catherine Curtis · Executive Producer - *The Practice* (1976), series, Actor - *Three for Two* (1975), as Sally / Rita / Pauline · Executive Producer - *Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television* (1975), as (archive footage) - *The Columbia Pictures 50th Anniversary Special* (1975), Producer - *Lucy Gets Lucky* (1975), as Lucy Collins · Executive Producer, Executive In Charge Of Production - *Happy Anniversary and Goodbye* (1974), as Norma Michaels · Executive Producer - *Mame* (1974), as Mame - *Jack Benny's 20th Anniversary TV Special* (1970), as Janet (uncredited) - *Swing Out, Sweet Land* (1970), as Statue of Liberty (voice) - *Here's Lucy* (1968), series, as Lucy Carter · Director - *Yours, Mine and Ours* (1968), as Helen North Beardsley - *Omnibus* (1967), series, Actor - *A Guide for the Married Man* (1967), as Technical Adviser - *Lucy in London* (1966), as Lucy Carmichael - *Star Trek: The Cage* (1965), Executive Producer - *The Big Parade of Comedy* (1964), as Julie Hampton in 'Meet the People' (archive footage) - *The Lucille Ball Comedy Hour* (1964), as Bonnie Blakely - *General Foods Opening Night* (1963), Actor - *The Greatest Show on Earth* (1963), series, as Kate Reynolds - *Surf Scene* (1963), Executive Producer - *Critic's Choice* (1963), as Angela Ballantine - *The Lucy Show* (1962), series, as Lucy Carmichael · Executive In Charge Of Production - *Dragon by the Tail* (1961), Executive Producer - *Alcatraz Express* (1961), Executive Producer - *The Facts of Life* (1960), as Kitty Weaver - *The Gun of Zangara* (1960), Executive Producer - *NBC Sunday Showcase* (1959), series, as Lucy Ricardo - *U.S. Marshall* (1958), series, Producer's Assistant, Executive Producer - *Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse* (1958), series, Actor - *The Ann Sothern Show* (1958), series, as Lucy Ricardo - *Strange Witness* (1958), Producer - *The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour* (1957), series, as Lucy Ricardo · Producer - *The Bob Hope Chevy Show* (1956), as Lucy Ricardo - *Forever, Darling* (1956), as Susan Vega - *Lucy's Really Lost Moments* (1956), as Lucy Ricardo - *The Long, Long Trailer* (1954), as Tacy Collini - *I Love Lucy: The Movie* (1953), as Lucy Ricardo / Self - *Cavalcade of America* (1952), series, Executive Producer - *Ellis in Freedomland* (1952), as The Laundromat (voice) - *The Magic Carpet* (1951), as Princess Narah - *I Love Lucy* (1951), series, as Lucy Ricardo - *The Jack Benny Program* (1950), series, as Rachel Revere - *The Fuller Brush Girl* (1950), as Sally Elliot - *Fancy Pants* (1950), as Agatha Floud - *Miss Grant Takes Richmond* (1949), as Ellen Grant - *Easy Living* (1949), as Anne, Lenahan's Secretary - *Sorrowful Jones* (1949), as Gladys O'Neill - *Her Husband's Affairs* (1947), as Margaret Weldon - *Lured* (1947), as Sandra Carpenter - *Easy to Wed* (1946), as Gladys Benton - *Lover Come Back* (1946), as Kay Williams - *Two Smart People* (1946), as Ricki Woodner - *The Dark Corner* (1946), as Kathleen Stewart - *Ziegfeld Follies* (1945), as Lucille Ball (segment "Here's to the Ladies") - *Without Love* (1945), as Kitty Trimble - *Meet the People* (1944), as Julie Hampton - *Best Foot Forward* (1943), as Lucille Ball - *Thousands Cheer* (1943), as Lucille Ball - *Du Barry Was a Lady* (1943), as May Daly / Madame Du Barry - *Seven Days' Leave* (1942), as Terry Havalok-Allen - *The Big Street* (1942), as Gloria Lyons - *Valley of the Sun* (1942), as Christine Larson - *Look Who's Laughing* (1941), as Julie Patterson - *A Girl, a Guy, and a Gob* (1941), as Dot Duncan - *Too Many Girls* (1940), as Connie Casey - *Dance, Girl, Dance* (1940), as Bubbles - *You Can't Fool Your Wife* (1940), as Clara Fields Hinklin - *The Marines Fly High* (1940), as Joan Grant - *That's Right – You're Wrong* (1939), as Sandra Sand - *Five Came Back* (1939), as Peggy Nolan - *Panama Lady* (1939), as Lucy - *Beauty for the Asking* (1939), as Jean Russell - *Twelve Crowded Hours* (1939), as Paula Sanders - *Next Time I Marry* (1938), as Nancy Crocker Fleming - *Annabel Takes a Tour* (1938), as Annabel Allison - *Room Service* (1938), as Christine Marlowe - *The Affairs of Annabel* (1938), as Annabel Allison - *Having Wonderful Time* (1938), as Miriam - *Joy of Living* (1938), as Salina Garret Pine - *Go Chase Yourself* (1938), as Carol Meeley - *Stage Door* (1937), as Judith — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/film/stage-door.md) - *Don't Tell the Wife* (1937), as Annie Howell - *That Girl from Paris* (1936), as Claire Williams - *Winterset* (1936), as Girl (uncredited) - *One Live Ghost* (1936), as Maxine - *So and Sew* (1936), as Sally Curtis - *Dummy Ache* (1936), as Actress - *Swing It* (1936), as Mary (uncredited) - *Bunker Bean* (1936), as Rosie Kelly - *The Farmer in the Dell* (1936), as Gloria Wilson - *Follow the Fleet* (1936), as Kitty Collins - *Muss 'em Up* (1936), as Departing Train Passenger (uncredited) - *Chatterbox* (1936), as Lillian Temple - *Foolish Hearts* (1935), as Hat Check Girl (uncredited) - *I Dream Too Much* (1935), as Gwendolyn Dilley - *The Three Musketeers* (1935), as (uncredited) - *Top Hat* (1935), as Flower Shop Clerk (uncredited) — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/top-hat.md) - *Old Man Rhythm* (1935), as College Girl - *A Night at the Biltmore Bowl* (1935), as Lucille Ball - *Hooray for Love* (1935), as Chorine (uncredited) - *I'll Love You Always* (1935), as Lucille (uncredited) - *Roberta* (1935), as Fashion Model (uncredited) - *The Whole Town's Talking* (1935), as Bank Employee (uncredited) - *Carnival* (1935), as Nurse (uncredited) - *His Old Flame* (1935), Actor - *Behind the Evidence* (1935), as Secretary (uncredited) - *Fugitive Lady* (1934), as Beauty Operator (uncredited) - *Three Little Pigskins* (1934), as Daisy Simms - *Broadway Bill* (1934), as Blonde Telephone Operator (uncredited) - *Jealousy* (1934), as (uncredited) - *Men of the Night* (1934), as Peggy (uncredited) - *Perfectly Mismated* (1934), Actor - *Kid Millions* (1934), as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) - *The Affairs of Cellini* (1934), as Lady-in-Waiting (uncredited) - *Bulldog Drummond Strikes Back* (1934), as Bridesmaid - *Murder at the Vanities* (1934), as Earl Carroll Girl (uncredited) - *Bottoms Up* (1934), as Chorine (uncredited) - *Hold That Girl* (1934), as Girl (uncredited) - *Nana* (1934), as Chorus Girl (uncredited) - *Moulin Rouge* (1934), as Show Girl (uncredited) - *Roman Scandals* (1933), as Goldwyn Girl (uncredited) - *Blood Money* (1933), as Davy's Girlfriend (uncredited) - *Broadway Thru a Keyhole* (1933), as Chorine / Girl at the Beach - *The Bowery* (1933), as Blonde (uncredited) - *The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special*, Actor ## Gallery - ![Lucille Ball in a 1955 film still, for I Love Lucy episode "Face to Face", aired on November 14, 1955.](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-d7a557c97da3.jpg) Lucille Ball in a 1955 film still, for I Love Lucy episode "Face to Face", aired on November 14, 1955. — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/17/LDBALL1950s_%28cropped%29.jpg/1280px-LDBALL1950s_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Lucille Ball in a 1955 film still, for I Love Lucy episode "Face to Face", aired on November 14, 1955.](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-9014d415dd7f.jpg) Lucille Ball in a 1955 film still, for I Love Lucy episode "Face to Face", aired on November 14, 1955. — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/38/LDBALL1950s.jpg/1280px-LDBALL1950s.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Post card featuring actress Lucille Ball](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-2d9731f9be3f.jpg) Post card featuring actress Lucille Ball — Associated Publicity Bureau, 1472 Broadway, N.Y.C. (publisher), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Lucille_Ball_-_Metro_Goldwyn_Mayer_post_card.jpg/1280px-Lucille_Ball_-_Metro_Goldwyn_Mayer_post_card.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![61st Annual Academy Awards, 1989. NOTE: Permission granted to copy, publish, broadcast or post any of my photos, but please credit "photo by Alan Light" if you ](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-5beeade019f3.jpg) 61st Annual Academy Awards, 1989. NOTE: Permission granted to copy, publish, broadcast or post any of my photos, but please credit "photo by Alan Light" if you — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Gary_Morton_and_Lucille_Ball_%282084573742%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Lucille Ball](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-bdb77f9839c1.jpg) Lucille Ball — Image via TMDB - ![Lucille Ball](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-18ee607b7bbe.jpg) Lucille Ball — Image via TMDB - ![Lucille Ball](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-ac1ac06295e4.jpg) Lucille Ball — Image via TMDB - ![Actress Lucille Ball before her final public appearance, with husband Gary Morton at left. Photo taken at the 61st Academy Awards. (1989)](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-d73cb0ee5897.jpg) Actress Lucille Ball before her final public appearance, with husband Gary Morton at left. Photo taken at the 61st Academy Awards. (1989) — Alan Light, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1e/LucilleBall.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Photo of Lucille Ball and Arte Johnson. Johnson brings his Laugh-In character of "Tyrone F. Horneigh" to "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour". The character was re (1971)](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-3d7b21f3ca55.jpg) Photo of Lucille Ball and Arte Johnson. Johnson brings his Laugh-In character of "Tyrone F. Horneigh" to "The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour". The character was re (1971) — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Lucille_Ball_Arte_Johnson_Glen_Campbell_Hour.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Lucille Ball](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-121cf41fd94e.jpg) Lucille Ball — Image via TMDB - ![Lucille Ball](https://film.one/media/person/1228635/gallery-ede3e9dca477.jpg) Lucille Ball — Image via TMDB ## Awards ### Golden Globes — 0 won, 6 nominated - 1975: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (nominated), for *Mame* - 1972: Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (nominated), for *Here's Lucy* - 1970: Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (nominated), for *Here's Lucy* - 1969: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (nominated), for *Yours, Mine and Ours* - 1968: Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (nominated), for *The Lucy Show* - 1961: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (nominated), for *The Facts of Life* ### Primetime Emmy Awards — 2 won, 2 nominated - 1968: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (won), for *The Lucy Show* - 1967: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (won), for *The Lucy Show* - 1955: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (nominated), for *I Love Lucy* - 1954: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (nominated), for *I Love Lucy* ### Other awards — 4 won - National Women's Hall of Fame 2001: National Women's Hall of Fame (won) - Presidential Medal of Freedom 1989: Presidential Medal of Freedom (won) - Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year 1988: Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year (won) - Crystal Award 1977: Crystal Award (won) *From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.* --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lucille-ball