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 Fifty years ago, the magical union of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz enthralled American audiences, who couldn't get enough of the fiery redhead or her sexy Cuban husband. But off-camera, the situation couldn't have been less comedic. Backstage battles, oversized egos, infidelity and the demands of phenomenal success undermined what was once a storybook romance.
In 1920, at her home in Jamestown, New York, young Lucy and her brother Fred enjoyed playacting for their mother, DeDe, and grandfather, Fred. While the loving family experienced its share of heartache and pain, a lively and spirited Lucy endured each disappointment and ambitiously forged ahead with her dream of becoming an actress. A mixture of fate and perseverance led Lucy to modeling in Manhattan and movies in Los Angeles, but neither allowed the future legend's comedic genius, which she herself was yet to discover, shine through.
Sparks immediately flew when the pretty actress met Desi Arnaz, a young, charismatic Latin musician from an aristocratic Cuban family. It wasn't long before the passionate couple was married, and Desi began to stray. But despite the heartache--his constant and public philandering and their individual struggles to make it in Hollywood--the fervor between them wouldn't die. The two needed each other and went on to build a family with the birth of daughter Lucie, and later, son Desi Jr.
During Lucy's mid-30s, at the end of a disappointing movie career that never quite got off the ground, her former MGM movie co-star Red Skelton and his friend Buster Keaton encouraged her comedic sensibilities and suggested a career in television. Although TV was considered a dead-end for an aspiring movie actress, Lucy, who had passed her prime in film, considered it an opportunity to extend her career and keep her husband under her watchful eye. While network executives were adamantly opposed to casting the Latin Desi as her husband on a sitcom based on the radio show "My Favorite Husband," Lucy eventually got her way. The rest, as they say, is history.
"I Love Lucy," with its revolutionary three-camera approach, shot live from Los Angeles (as opposed to New York) in front of a studio audience, starring an aging B-movie actress and her foreign husband, and covering formerly taboo subjects such as pregnancy, broke every imaginable barrier and paved the way for the modern sitcom. Despite continued personal challenges, including Lucy's investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee and a perpetually turbulent marriage, Lucy and Desi continued to break ground with their enormously successful television series and eventually their own studio. Though their marriage didn't last, their impact on comedy, television and their legions of viewers continues to live on.
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