She starred in the radio comedy “My Favorite Husband” in 1948, in which she played the absent-minded wife of a Midwest banker. Ball represented herself in the 1943 film “Best Foot Forward.” Ball featured in “Lover Come Back” in 1946.

producer Arthur Freed cast Ball, Sothern’s real-life best friend, in the role. When Ann Sothern turned down the character in “DuBarry Was a Lady”(1943), M.G.M. Lucy played alongside Henry Fonda in “The Big Street” in 1942. Ball, like many other aspiring actors, took on radio work to augment their salary and get recognition. In the 1940s, Ball signed with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, although he never became a great star there. Ball made her Broadway debut in the musical “Too Many Girls” in 1940, where she met and fell in love with Desi Arnaz, who portrayed one of her character’s four bodyguards. She eventually landed prominent roles in B-movies and, on rare occasions, a nice role in an A-movie, such as in “Stage Door” (1937) or “The Big Street” (1942). Radio Pictures and had a few minor appearances after that, including one in “Top Hat” (1935). Ball moved to Hollywood permanently after an uncredited role as a Goldwyn Girl in “Roman Scandals” (1933), starring Eddie Cantor and Gloria Stuart. She began earning chorus work on Broadway under the name Diane (often written Dianne) Belmont, but it did not last. She returned to New York City in 1932 to restart her acting career, and she supported herself by working for Carnegie and as the Chesterfield cigarette lady once more. She enrolled in a drama school in New York City, but was sent home because she was “too timid.” She was a passionate teenager who desired to “make some noise” and was always prepared to assume responsibility for her brother and younger cousins. Her father, Henry Durrell “Had” Ball, died when she was three years old, and her mother, Désirée Evelyn “DeDe” Ball, was a single mother who worked multiple jobs, as a result, her grandparents raised her and her brother. In Jamestown, New York, Lucille Desiree Ball was born on August 6, 1911.

Lucille ball 1940s