It’s been over 60 years since “I Love Lucy” concluded its six-season run, but the iconic sitcom’s star and co-creator still has millions of fans. Lucille Ball’s many admirers will be pleased to know that steps are being taken to ensure that her legacy thrives.
“The archives of the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum, including Ball’s handwritten notes and family photographs, will be digitally preserved by the National Comedy Center,” Deadline confirms. The project is timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the influential comedian’s death.
“Most of the material has not been exhibited before,” the source notes, “and the trove of production papers and telegrams will be gradually added to the exhibit.”
The Center is located in Ball’s hometown, Jamestown, NY.
Throughout her career Ball collected four Emmy wins (from 13 nods), the Golden Globes’ Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the American Comedy Awards, the Television Critics Association’s Career Achievement Award, and the Women in Film Crystal Award. Women in Film eventually renamed their awards ceremony to the Crystal + Lucy Awards in honor of Ball. The Lucy is given to women with outstanding achievement in TV.
Ball’s film credits included “The Facts of Life,” “Yours, Mine and Ours,” and “Mame.”
“Luck? I don’t know anything about luck,” Ball said. “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.” The trailblazer made history as the first female CEO of a major television and movie production company.
A biopic about Ball is in the works with Cate Blanchett set to star.
