Lucille Ball

5 Things You Probably Don't Know About Lucille Ball

On April 26, 1989, Lucille Ball died at age 77 from a ruptured aorta following open-heart surgery. Lucille Ball was an actress, comedian, and producer who is best known today for one of the most-loved TV shows of all time, the classic sitcom I Love Lucy. Here are 5 astonishing things you didn’t know about the woman nicknamed "The First Lady of Television"...

She Wasn’t a Natural Redhead Lucille Ball was born in 1911, so she was 40 when I Love Lucy premiered on television in 1951. Lucille Ball’s natural hair color was brown, but she dyed it red in 1943 for her role in  Du Barry Was a Lady. After the film, she kept her hair the brilliant red color fans associated with her until 1989. Her hairstylist, Irma Kusely, reported in an interview that Ball did not use hair dye to get the desired color, but instead used henna, which the stylist kept in her garage in a locked safe.

Her Father’s Death Caused Her to Become Fearful of Birds Ball’s father died at the young age of age 28 after he contracted typhoid fever in 1915, which would have been stressful enough for a young child. According to a book written about her in 2003, she only had vague memories of the day her father died. However, she did recall that a bird flew into the house and became trapped, and this gave her such a severe phobia about birds that she would not stay in any hotel room with pictures of birds or birds on the wallpaper.

When Getting Married, Both Lucy and Desi Lied About Their Ages Ball was born in 1911, and her husband, Desi Arnaz, was born in 1917, so they had an age difference of six years. They were married in 1940 when it was socially unacceptable for a younger man to marry an older woman. To get around this, both listed their birthdates as 1914, so they could marry without criticism.

Ball Almost Drowned While Filming One Episode of I Love Lucy One episode of  I Love Lucy  that is popular with viewers is entitled "Lucy’s Italian Movie”. It depicts Lucille Ball stomping grapes in a large vat. However, the scene didn’t go as planned, and Lucy was almost drowned by an Italian woman that was a real grape stomper. The fight in the vat between the women was planned, but the Italian woman spoke little English and may not have understood, so when they began fighting, she held Ball’s head under water and almost drowned her.

A Gun Changed Her Life at Age 16 Ball’s grandfather purchased a gun for Freddy, her brother, in 1927. He was teaching him how to use it when the gun went off accidentally, injuring Warner Erickson, a neighbor, who was eight. Unfortunately, the bullet severed the child’s spinal cord, paralyzing him. It isn’t surprising that the family sued, and Ball states that they lost their home, furnishings and everything else they had.