Lucille Ball: 1911-1989: A Zany Redheaded Everywoman:

Lucille Ball: 1911-1989

When her first TV series debuted on Oct. 15, 1951, there was no way to tell that Lucille Ball was beginning an apparently immortal love affair with the American public, and not much reason even to expect commercial success. Ball was a comely redhead with a semisultry voice and knockout legs, but she was also nearly 40 and a veteran of almost two decades in the supporting ranks of show business. She had been a movie actress but hardly a superstar; she had enjoyed moderate success in radio but had only fleeting experience in the new medium of video. She refused...

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