
9:00PM, October 15, 1951.
From that minute forward, I Love Lucy went on the air, and it has never been off the air since. The show has been aired in more than 80 countries. Lucille Ball, or Lucy, as the beloved carrot-topped comedienne is known by millions around the world, was born on 6 August 1911. Lucy was the queen of B-movies before she set her sights on the new medium of TV. She earned 4 Emmy awards and numerous other honors for her innovative TV shows. In addition to her acting and comedic talents, Lucy was an astute businesswoman who became the first female president of a major Hollywood production company. She was one of the first inductees into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 1984 and received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1986. Shortly after her death on 26 April 1989, she was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. On 6 August 2001, the United States Postal Service issued a 34-cent stamp bearing her image. I grew up watching the Lucy shows, and even today, they make me laugh. I've read some about Lucy's life and have learned that she had many admirable traits other than her talent, ambition and keen business sense. I have learned that she was courageous and fiercely loyal. When the TV executives approached her about doing the show, she insisted that her real-life husband Desi Arnaz be cast to play her TV husband. Not only did they make television history together, but they made magic. Isn't that what we all want to do in our career?
Every show is memorable, but one of my favorites is from season 4 when Lucy met one of my other favorite performers Harpo Marx. They not only mimicked the mirror scene from the Marx Brothers classic movie Duck Soup, but Harpo played a spine-tingling rendition of Take Me Out to the Ballgame his harp! Click on the picture to see all the details about season 4 and to purchase it from Amazon.
Some inspirational quotes from this legendary performer: Life's a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death! Knowing what you can not do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that's good taste. The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age. The more you do, the more you can do... and don't you forget it! I'd rather regret the things I have done than the things I have not. I don't know anything about luck. I've never banked on it, and I'm afraid of people who do. Luck to me is something else: hard work and realizing what is opportunity and what isn't. One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself. It's a helluva start, being able to recognize what makes you happy. I'm not funny. What I am is brave. If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more things you do, the more you can do. Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. Ability is of little account without opportunity. I believe that we're as happy in life as we make up our minds to be. Be who you want to be and do what you want to do. Learn to recognize the things that are important to you, and disregard those that aren't.