A Guide To I Love Lucy
In the year 1940, Lucille Ball was a moderately successful Hollywood actress. She wasn't a big star like Bette Davis or Greta Garbo, but she wasn't a failure either. She had played major roles in a lot of B movies. She had become a minor "name" actress. Her name was familiar to audiences, and she had built up a following, but most of her movies were minor. She was sort of a B-movie queen.
In 1940, Desi Arnaz was a Cuban immigrant who was a small-time nightclub entertainer. He had formed his own band, and they played nightclubs in New York City. He was a local celebrity.
Recently, Desi had been playing a supporting role in a Broadway musical called "Too Many Girls". The musical was a hit, and RKO decided to make it into a movie. Desi was cast to repeat his Broadway role. One of the co-stars in the movie would be the B-movie actress Lucille Ball.
Lucy and Desi had actually met each other while Lucy was filming an earlier picture, Dance, Girl, Dance (1940). But while they were making Too Many Girls (1940), Lucy and Desi fell in love. Later that year, they were married.
So now a B-movie queen was married to a small-time nightclub entertainer. But it wasn't long before problems arose. Desi's band kept touring over the country, while Lucy stayed in Hollywood making movies. And even when Desi was home, Lucy's filming schedule still kept them away from each other. Their enforced separations put their marriage on an erratic course. By 1942, they had been married for only a couple of years, and already they were headed for divorce.
Their problems were interrupted by World War II. In April of 1943, Desi was drafted into the Army for a while. But when he got back home after the war, their arguments began all over again. Most of the arguments were about Desi's out-of-town engagements.
As the 1940s went on, Lucy's career improved. For a while, she was under contract to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, and appeared in movies opposite big name stars, including Gene Kelly and Bob Hope. But she was still pretty much a minor celebrity. None of her movies really were big hits. In 1946, MGM dropped her from their roster.
In the late 1940s, things improved for the couple. Lucy's friend Bob Hope had a popular radio show, and its band was departing. Lucy got Desi's band to replace them. For two years, Desi's band was the regular band on Hope's program. That kept him at home.
At the same time, Lucy starred in her own radio show. She was not happy with her mostly mediocre film career, so she turned to radio. On July 5, 1948, a radio sitcom debuted on CBS radio called "My Favorite Husband". It was a success, and Lucy finally had a hit on her hands.
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