How Did Lucille Ball Become An Entrepreneur

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cille Ball. Many younger people only know her for her tv show “I Love Lucy.” The spunky redhead put a smile on many faces with her silly faces and crazy adventures. Ball was also one of the first women to become an entrepreneur by creating a studio with former husband, Desi Arnaz. Lucille Ball was a wonderful woman of her time. She was a strong-willed woman, not caring what the rest of the world thought about her. She was one of the first women to not hide her pregnancy on television. She wore what she wanted to wear while filming her show. She married the man she loved even when society said it was wrong. Ball was an icon for many young women in the 50’s. She taught them that they don’t have to do what society tells them. Ball opened many …show more content…

The studio was first created to show CBS that Ball and Arnaz could make “I Love Lucy” work with Arnaz playing her husband. They produced the pilot episode. Arnaz and Ball made themselves their own bosses of the production and would give the episodes to CBS instead of under the network or sponsored by them. CBS wanted Ball and Arnaz to work together in New York. Ball and Arnaz refused to do so. CBS was worried that because of the time difference they would not be able to do live viewing for the people at home. Ball and Arnaz cut their joint weekly salary from $5,000 to $4,000 allowing them to create a simple solution for the time difference problem, producing the show on film and dispense with kinescopes altogether. Desilu Production, later on, expanding by producing many hits. The growing business needed for space so they sold the first 180 episodes of “I Love Lucy” to CBS gaining them 5 million dollars. They then later bought RKO studio and their 14 acres. Even with their rising success with Desilu Productions, the couple split in 1960, 20 years after their marriage. Arnaz, later on, asked Ball to buy him out of Desilu Production, costing her 2.5 million dollars, which then allowed her to become the first woman CEO of a major television and movie production. (“Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball”) Being the CEO of anything was considered “a man's job” in the 50’s. Ball took that label and ripped it to shreds. She proved to society that a woman can handle a “man’s job.” She showed society that a woman can succeed in the movie business. Both with being an actress and with running a television and movie

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