#dede ball

May 8, 1989

On May 8, 1989, People Weekly (vol. 31, no. 18) dedicated its cover to the late Lucille Ball (1911-1989).  The cover photograph is by Neal Peters. 

QUIZ: Name the above episodes!  Which is not from “I Love Lucy”?  Which classic “Lucy” moment is missing from this collage? 

In the beginning...

The movie years....

Broadway at last! 

After “I Love Lucy”...

Family and Home Life....

July 16, 1972

HOLLYWOOD - Indomitable funny girl Lucille Ball, with a messy scoop hair the color of an orange popsicle, flashes on the scene in a sad predicament. 

She's got a lame leg.  

Lucy hobbled from her sleek silver Rolls Royce and into the yellow cubbyhole dressing room which is a sunny retreat near the Lucy set which Is crawling with rehearsal activity. 

On the surface, everything's ha-ha-ha. But the fact is that surgeons have inserted pins into the shattered leg bone suffered last year in a Snowmass Peak, Colo., skiing accident. The leg brace is a semi-intolerable ball and chain. But, as always, crippling situations must be mastered. Lucy's inextinguishable spirit pulsates despite the physical handicap. 

Lucy Is showing a smiling color photograph of herself in a flowing white hooded cape coat rimmed in fluffy fox. The picture, radiating exterior happiness, doesn't reflect the inner pain. Lucy's leg, in a hip cast, is disguised under a blanket. 

You know the familiar Lucy grin? She's grinning it and saying hell no, baby, she's not ever going to ski again. She couldn't stomach another goddam ordeal like that. Besides, on the immediate horizon is an operation to remove the pins.

Lucy, being Lucy, bears the cross with humor: "Honey," she says, "skiing is just getting into those nice winter clothes and being a show off." The burdensome subject of broken bones is dismissed with frivolity. 

Brainy Lucy, now 60 and president of a $30 million corporation, is an American institution. 

But, like all super-successful females, she vibrates complex contradictions. The fashion plate - who initiated her career as a Hattie Carnegie hat model - is a winsome dumb broad on the tube. In reality she's tough executive who barks orders left and right. Staffers instantly do like the lady says. God has spoken. Lucy runs a tight ship, but she is more respected than feared. 

Yet Lucy is softie with a heart of spun sugar. Trappings, which she has in predictable abundance, aren't a psychic crutch. 

"Success is knowing that if everything were wiped away tomorrow, it wouldn't really matter. I wouldn't die if I lost my things," she says. Then the awesome simplicity: "Dear, I still go home and let the cat out" 

Lucy has always run her home life with a liberal hand.

Desi Arnaz, Jr. is currently Involved in well-publicized liaison with Liza Minnelli. There was a previous Desi scandal regarding Patty Duke. People gossip a lot here because they live in a city where the major industry is make-believe and fact and fiction become blurred. 

Lucy isn't deaf to the talk about her son's romances: 

"What the hell, they're having a fine spree. I just hope it lasts for Desi and Liza. They don't have time to get married. Their scene is the world and they're swinging in there. I'm the one who talked marriage to them. One night I said: Look, kids, don't get married too soon. They were upset. Desi countered with the observation that you don't have to settle down when you get married. So I go -  well, that's true son! The subject of marriage just never came up again. They're a nice couple. They present themselves well without becoming asses. I've told the kids to do as they wish." 

Lucy, who was a good friend to Judy Garland, makes no bones about her affection for Liza. And once Lucy loves, the feeling lasts. After 20 years of marriage to Desi Arnaz, there was the divorce. Still Lucy looks people straight in the eyes and says the present Mrs. Desi Arnaz is a "wonderful woman." And she can see it in her heart to rent ex-husband Desi studio space on her lot so that he can work in the shadow of a success they initiated together. 

When Liza Minnelli was a child, Lucy kept a scrapbook of Liza's activities at play, in ballet school, attending birthday parties. There, in a battered old photo album, are the precious pictures. Liza didn't know about the book until recently. Desi brought Liza home and Lucy accidentally-on-purpose left the book on a coffee table. "Oh! Wow!" exclaimed Liza through a flow of uncontrollable tears. 

Lucy; "And I said to Liza, honey-baby, I told you I've known you for a long time. Didn't you believe me?" Lucille Ball speaks in an affectionate aside about Liza and the loyalty is simultaneously visible and audible: 

"That kid is liable to explode any minute. I just hope I'm around to pick up the pieces. No one knows why she works so hard. She's made it her objective to clear her mother financially. Those b--- lawyers took her --- really took her. But she's paying back every damn cent herself." 

Life is, of course, an inexplicable mixture of tears and laughter. Buoyant Lucy can see the funnies in everything. Love, she says, is looking beyond someone's minor faults and caring passionately despite the irritations. Lucy's 80-year-old mom, Dede (Desiree Ball) lives near Lucy's sprawling colonial house in Beverly Hills. Dede has a longstanding idiosyncrasy which used to drive Lucy wild but is now an amusement. 

In that familiar screechy scratchy soprano voice oozing feigned stupidity, Lucy sing-songs the dialogue; 

"I say to Dede: Hey Dede, I've got a pain in my elbow. Dede always says: 'stupid, it's because you're not eating right!" Honest to God, if you've got a pain in your big toe, it's not because someone stepped on it it's the food. Drives you nuts! Dede really has a thing about food. The other day I went home and cooked a batch of chicken. 'Chicken!!" says Dede, 'you know it's gonna make me sick.' Of course Dede eats more chicken than anybody. Next day I say: Dede you been up all night throwin', huh? Naw," says Dede, the chicken wasn't half bad.'"

The ridiculous story illustrates two things Dede taught Lucy early in life. One: That without good health you've got nothing. Two; That without a non-pliant, thoroughly independent attitude, you've got less than nothing because show business kills the weak. 

Lucy is in constant awe of Dede. When Lucy built the five-story ski chalet 9,800 feet on the side of a Colorado mountain she was certain Dede couldn't take either the long trip or the altitude. Besides, once you get to Lucy's place, there are a million icy steps to climb before you make the front door. "Even the dogs stop to get their breath," says Lucy. "But when I start huffing, Dede looks over her shoulder and sorta snaps: Aw, Lucy, you're a sissy!' That woman is my challenge." 

Does Lucy ever get down? Do the burdens of crushing disappointments halt her enthusiasm even temporarily? "Jesus," she says, "I cry. I cry a lot. Then anger sets in. When I'm angry, I become a fighter. And I always fight to win." 

When Lucy talks to you, she taps your knee in a natural gesture of intimacy. Her gaze is through black fringed x-ray eyes that sear through trivia. She smokes her cigarette twirled ceremoniously between her thumb and forefinger. Lucy always spews gut honesty: 

"Love is a great peace of mind. There's no panic in the relationship. It's never having to prove yourself. Love is not playing games. Baby, some women have to put up with mysterious absenteeism. That's always a sign of hanky panky-ism. Christ, I never have to worry where Gary is." 

Gary is Gary Morton, Lucy's husband and executive producer. Suddenly he bursts into the dressing room and asks for the afternoon off. Lucy's going to work the full day. Her answer is affirmative, but she doesn't use the word "yes"; "Just don't forget to tell the cook to get out the steaks and have a big salad ready." 

The show is all in the family. Lucy's sister, Cleo Smith, is another producer. Lucy is having the talk-about twosome of Desi Jr. and Liza written into a script. Little Lucy, who has been Mrs. Phil Vandervort for a year, is a regular. She, too, bursts into the dressing room to use the john. The jeans are already embarrassingly unzipped. As she whizzes by she comments only to her famous mama: "Jeez, I though you were alone!" 

But an emergency is an emergency. Lucy, quick to seize the humor, quips: "Our togetherness is only occasionally splintered." 

In retrospect, Lucy is pleased with her real-life mother role. "I've been one hell of a mom," she says. "I always knew where they were every minute." Lucille Ball is a profound woman who often uses great simplicities to get her points across.

Once, when the kids were small, a nurse observed to Lucy that Little Lucy was calling Desi Jr., "fatso," and jabbing him in the stomach-when no one was looking. Desi didn't hit back because mama had said never to hit defenseless little girls. Lucy relives the old conversation with her daughter, first announcing each "part" and changing voices to portray the back-and-forth swing of conversation: 

Big Lucy: "Got a problem, Little Lucy?" 

Little Lucy: "Me? No." 

Big Lucy: "Let's talk. Whose fault is it? No, actually it doesn't matter whose fault it is. Next time one of you is hurt, I'm going to hit the one who is hurt." 

Little Lucy: "What does that mean, ma?" 

Big Lucy: "You'll see." 

Soon there was another battle. As usual, Little Lucy elbowed Desi in the stomach and he howled, Lucy illogically whacked Desi hard on the rear and his screams got louder. Little Lucy immediately became hysterical: "Mom, don't hit him! For God's sake, why are you hitting HIM?" 

Lucy delivered the punch line which is the credo of their life: "I hit Desi because you let things go too far. Never let things go too far. Someone innocent always suffers. Do you understand?" 

That was the end of sibling squabbling. Forever. 

Once, before her chorus girl days, New York-born Lucy worked as a fashion mannequin for various Seventh Ave. houses. She's still got a clotheshorse figure but she won't splurge on couture: "I'm just one of those normal working women who doesn't go in for hifalutin’ fashion." 

Lucy haunts three fabric shops in Beverly Hills and has local movie set seamstresses make all her clothes. "I'm not the type who dresses and goes out," says Lucy who long ago graduated from the silly-but-necessary movie star game of being seen in the right places. 

"Once when I was in Paris, I bought a designer dress grey flannel, I think and wore it out from the salon to my car.  When I sat down the damn thing was so strictly constructed that the neckline popped up to my nose. I was on my way to Switzerland and I mumbled to my driver, God, did that designer expect me to stand up on the plane?" Lucy can afford emergencies. When she got to Orly, she bought a dress from an airport boutique and changed in the ladies room. 

And, so, the sweet saga of Lucy continues, there are no plans to quit. The word - retirement - isn't in her vocabulary. "I can't imagine doing nothing," she says. "If you don't keep moving, you're buried." 

The beauty is still there. The complexion is like alabaster. Lucy confesses that she washes her face with Ivory soap, colors her own hair and occasionally gives herself offbeat facials." 

"Honey, the idiot who said to put honey on your face never explained that it has to be mixed with cream," she says. The face melts into that wonderful famous grin. "I put honey on straight from the goddamn jar and it closed my pores for a month." 

That's lovable Lucy. 

[Ed. Note: The original photographs were degraded by copying so similar shots were substituted as close to the originals as possible.]

September 21, 1892

Desiree Evelyn Hunt was born on September 21, 1892 in Jamestown, New York.  Her ancestors were mostly English, but a few were Scottish, French, and Irish. Some were among the earliest settlers in the original thirteen colonies, including Elder John Crandall of Westerly, Rhode Island, and Edmund Rice, an early emigrant from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony. 

Nicknamed ‘DeDe’ by her family and friends, she was active in show business herself at one time, starring as a concert pianist in Jamestown. 

In 1910, Dede married Henry Durrell Ball.  She gave birth to two children: Lucille in 1911, and Fred in 1915. While Dede was still pregnant with Fred, Henry Ball (a telephone lineman on assignment with his wife and child in Michigan) contracted typhoid fever and died. Now a widow, Dede returned to Jamestown, where Lucille and Fred were raised by their grandfather (Fred Hunt), an eccentric socialist who enjoyed the theater and frequently took the family to vaudeville shows. Fred, Lucille, and their mother all lived together with the Hunts for a time in the nearby town of Celoron. 

In 1918, Dede met a Swedish Lutheran salesman named Edward Peterson, and married him to provide for her family.

"My mother then married Ed Peterson, a handsome-ugly man, very well-read. He was good to me and Freddy but he drank too much. He was the first to point out the magic of the stage. When I was about seven, Ed and mother moved to Detroit, leaving me with his old-fashioned Swedish parents, who were very strict. I felt as if I’d been deserted.” ~ Lucille Ball, 1971

In 1927, a neighborhood child was paralyzed by a shot accidentally fired from a gun Fred's grandfather had given him for his birthday.  The resultant publicity and lawsuit forced Dede’s father to sell his house and enter bankruptcy. After this incident (which was referred to in the family as "the break-up"), the family had to split up and never lived together in one place again.  

Dede’s daughter Lucille had aspirations beyond Jamestown and went to New York City to take acting lessons. The instructor called Dede to tell her that she was wasting her money and that Lucille was not talented. Undaunted, Lucille continued to search for her dream, becoming a model and accepting a job to go to Hollywood to be a Goldwyn Girl. To get to this point, Lucille all but erased her family history in Jamestown, calling herself Diane Belmont from Butte, Montana.

Once Lucille was established in Hollywood, Dede, Grandpa Hunt, and brother Fred joined her. In 1934, Dede divorced Edward Peterson and became her daughter’s biggest supporter and staunchest confidante. It is said that Dede Ball was in the audience for every filming of every “Lucy” show. It was not unusual for Desi or Lucille’s second husband to introduce Dede during their warm-up of the studio audience. Dede was frequently there with invited guests. 

In “Lucy is Her Own Lawyer” (TLS S2;E23) in 1964, Viv testifies in court that due to the excessive barking of the neighborhood dogs she overslept and missed a sale at Dede’s Dress Shop! Alligator bags were half price! This is the first (but not the last) mention of Dede’s Dress Shop in fictional Danfield, New York.   It is mentioned again in “Lucy Meets A Millionaire” (TLS S2;E24

When her daughter was honored by having a day dedicated to her (”Lucy Day”) at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York, Dede rode along in the parade car and enjoyed the exlusive tour of the Fair with her famous daughter. 

When Lucille played “Password” in August 1965, a quick camera scan of the studio audience during the opening titles proved that loyal and supportive Dede was there - even for a game show. 

Ditto in 1966!

Dede didn’t just attend Lucy’s shows, but any show Lucy was on.  When Ball appeared on a 1968 episode of “The Carol Burnett Show”, Burnett brought Ball onstage during her traditional opening Q&A with the audience. Lucy introduced her mother, who was greeted by a warm round of applause by her fellow audience members.  

Although not an actress, Dede turned up in as a member of Johnny Carson’s audience in “Lucy and Johnny Carson” (TLS S2;E11) in 1969. [Note that Dede is wearing the same outfit she wore to “The Carol Burnett Show” the year before.] Johnny addresses some of his dialogue to Dede, who reacts appropriately.  Art imitating life! 

In July 1972, “The Merv Griffin Show” did a show about the mother’s of famous personalities. Dede was joined by the mothers of Lenny Bruce, David Jannsen, Jack Jones, and Jack Carter, who had been the best man at her daughter’s wedding to Gary Morton.  

In “Lucy Goes To Prison” (HL S5;E18) in 1973, Lucy Carter goes undercover as a bank robber named Dede Peterson, which was her mother’s married name. When Mrs. Carter introduces herself to her fellow cellmate (Elsa Lanchester), there is a small laugh and the sound of one or two people clapping from the studio audience. It is likely Gary Morton, Lucie Arnaz, or another relative who gets this inside joke.

More art imitating life happened when “Lucy Carter Meets Lucille Ball” (HL S6;E22) in 1974. Lucille Ball has a framed photo of Dede on the wall in her dressing room. 

In 1973, Dede even visited Lucille on location when she was filming Mame (1974).

Dede Ball died on July 20, 1977, in Los Angeles, of natural causes after being in ill health for some time. She was buried at Lakeview Cemetery in Jamestown. She was 84 years old.  Lucille survived her mother by a dozen years, but missed her every single day.