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November 30, 1940: Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball got Married (What a fabulous couple!)

  November 30, 1940: The Cuban musician Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball got married. Desi Arnaz was born in Santiago de Cuba on March 2, 1917 & Lucille Désirée Ball was born in Jamestown, on August 6, 1911. Arnaz and Ball's wedding (1940) was unstable, and she started separation and divorce proceeding in 1944, but came back to him before the interlocutory decree became final. Arnaz and Ball are the mother and father of celebrity actress Lucie Arnaz (born in 1951) and celebrity actor Desi Arnaz, Jr. (born in 1953).

August 6: Happy Birthday, Lucille Ball

Bios of Lucille Ball abound, and most people know at least a little bit about the famed comedienne. But on the occasion of her birthday, we get a chance to look at her contributions to oldtime radio . Her first big break was the chance to star in the radio program My Favorite Husband along with Richard Denning . The two played a Minneapolis couple, with Lucille's character Liz, being a goofball housewife. She signed each time with a cordial "Jell-O, everybody," to plug the sponsor, General Foods' Jell-O. The show would later make the jump to television. But what a lot of people may not realize is that she also made the rounds as a guest on just about any radio show you can name: The Kraft Music Hall , Screen Guild Theatre , Mail Call , The Campbell Playhouse , and The Gulf Screen Guild Theatre to name a few. Many things to many people, Lucille Ball was a giant of old time radio . Happy birthday, Lucille!

July 5, 1948: Richard Denning and Lucille Ball starred on CBS' 'My Favorite Husband'

  July 5, 1948: My Favorite Husband , starring Richard Denning and Lucille Ball , turned out to be the talented redhead's premier radio show on CBS.  Both the characters were known as "two people who live together and like it." My Favorite Husband was the title of a radio program on CBS and a TV series. It was based on Isabel Scott Rorick's three novels, namely "Outside Eden," "The Record of a Happy Marriage," and "Mr. and Mrs. Cougat." The program, which had a total of 124 episodes, told the story of the well-off couple George and Liz Cooper. Lucille Ball, the series' female lead star, was asked by CBS to play the same role in the TV adaptation of the series with her co-start Richard Denning . However, she refused, insisting that her real-life husband Desi Arnaz should do the male lead role. Reluctantly, the  network agreed, and gave them the show I Love Lucy instead. The show's main sponsor became Phillip Morris after t

October 13: 1951 Debut of the Television Series I Love Lucy

October 13: 1951 Debut of the Television Series I Love Lucy ‎"Lucy, you got some splainin' to do!" Well, it's easy to understand, Desi! Lucille Ball appeared on My Favorite Husband radio show .  An adaptation of the popular radio show moved to television.   On radio, Richard Denning starred as  Lucille Ball 's husband but he was replaced with Lucille Ball's real husband, Desi Arnaz, as the TV husband -- and the rest is history.  I Love Lucy debuted 62 years ago today in 1951. Many thanks to My Favorite Husband on the radio for making  I Love Lucy  possible!

August 6, 1911 Lucille Ball was born

On this day in 1911, Lucille Ball was born.

January 22: Happy Birthday, Ann Sothern

January 22: Happy Birthday, Ann Sothern The Adventures of Maisie crackled from radio speakers nationwide from 1945 to '52. It starred the vivacious Ann Sothern , who was born on this day in 1909. Star of film, television, and radio, Sothern may be best known for her Maisie character. Maisie originated in the 1939 film of the same name. Maisie is a New York dancer who finds herself in adventures in Wyoming. The movie spawned a few sequels and then Sothern got to play the role in a radio adaptation of Maisie Was a Lady, produced by Lux Radio Theatre . A small empire was born, and the comic actress became a radio staple. Like many talented lookers of the day, Sothern entertained the WWII troops and appeared at military hospitals. Reportedly, a plane was named Sothern Comfort in her honor. She was a good friend of comedienne Lucille Ball . Ball once remarked, "the best comedienne in this business, bar none, is Ann Sothern ." Late in her life, Sother

March 27: Happy Birthday, Richard Denning

If he were alive today, actor Richard Denning would be a 101! He was born on this day in 1914. In that year, the first airline flight cruised from St. Petersburg to Tampa; Ford Motor Co. began paying $5 for a 9-hour day; Charlie Chaplin played The Little Tramp, and George Washington Carver began experimenting with peanuts. Radio was a technology rather than a broadcast medium, and silent films were sweeping the nation. After he'd toiled for years in many small film roles, Denning became a movie star and then dived headlong into the shimmering pool of radio. He starred alongside Lucille Ball in My Favorite Husband from 1948-1951. This program allowed Denning to work with, in addition to Ball, character actors such as Hans Conried and Gale Gordon . After that, he got "married" to Barbara Britton , starring as a husband in a much different spouse program, Mr. and Mrs. North . He became the third Jerry North on the long-running series, stepping into the lineag

April 25, 1938: The Start of the Drama Series 'Your Family and Mine'

  April 25, 1938: The first show of Your Family and Mine  series aired today. Your Family and Mine was a radio drama series aired on radio from 1938-1940. It was created by Lilian Laugerty, who also created the successful daytime series Big Sister, which was aired for 16 years (1936-1952). Your Family and Mine features the story of the Wilbur family, and the unexpected changes that happened in the lives of its family members. It starred Lucille Ball , Robert Adams, Frank Lovejoy , William Adams, and Templeton Fox.

July 19, 1948: Eve Arden starred as the sardonic 'Our Miss Brooks'

  July 19, 1948: Our Miss Brooks went on air for the first time on CBS. It featured Gale Gordon and Eve Arden. Our Miss Brooks was a radio sitcom that featured Eve Arden as the title character. The series also had television and film adaptations, which ran from 1952-1956 and in 1956, respectively. Eve Arden was not the original choice for the role of Miss Brooks. CBS' director of programming from the West Coast wanted Shirley Booth to be the show's lead star, but they decided not to proceed with her.  Their next choice, Lucille Ball, was already hired to portray the lead female role for the series My Favorite Husband . Bill Paley, the then chairman of the CBS network and a good friend of Eve Arden , encouraged her to audition for that role, which she eventually won. Arden's role in Our Miss Brooks allowed her to win Radio Mirror magazine's poll for the best comedienne of 1948-1949.

December 3: Happy Birthday, Connee Boswell

December 3: Happy Birthday, Connee Boswell One of the Boswell sisters, Connee Boswell was also a favorite duet partner of Bing Crosby . After forging great fame with her sisters and forging a reputation as one of the great jazz singers, Connee began hosting the Connee Boswell Show in 1944. The show was Broadcast "from the heart of Broadway...to you," and sponsored by Eversharp Schick Injector Razors. However, radio listeners also enjoyed Boswell's many appearances on Maxwell House Coffee's "Good News." She appeared more than a dozen times from 1938-1940, on shows also including Lucille Ball, Walter Huston and Louis B. Mayer. Connee Boswell   would remain friends with  Bing Crosby   and would appear on television with him near the end of her career, in the 60's and 70's. She died in New York on Oct. 11, 1976. She will be remembered for entertaining Americans with her hit songs "Alexander's Ragtime Band," "I Let a So

February 1: Happy Birthday, Clark Gable

February 1: Happy Birthday, Clark Gable Both before and after his epochal role in 1939's Gone With The Wind, Clark Gable made more than a dozen appearances of popular radio shows including Lux Radio Theatre , Cavalcade of America , and Good News . One of his earliest roles was in a 1936 performance of "The Legionnaire and the Lady" on the Lux Radio Program . This was an adaptation of the film Morocco, and starred, in addition to Gable, Marlene Dietrich . On May 5, 1937, Gable starred with Josephine Hutchinson and Jack LaRue in a Lux production of "A Farewell To Arms." On May 5, 1938, he starred in "Manhattan Melodrama" on Good News . In all, Gable's radio performances allowed him to work with Ginger Rogers , Bob Hope , Lucille Ball , Lana Turner , and Judy Garland . We honor the King of Hollywood for his sterling on-air performances.

April 12: Happy Birthday, Ann Miller

Today we commemorate the birth on this day in 1920 of charming and lovely screen actress Ann Miller. No flash in the pan or overnight success, Miller paid her dues and toiled for years before becoming a major film star. She is reputed to have been discovered by Lucille Ball during a nightclub song and dance act, and went on to spectacular musical roles in such films as "Small Town Girl," "On The Town," and "Kiss Me Kate." The versatile performer made a few, memorable radio appearances. Many of these were on the shows devoted to entertaining the WWII troops, including G.I. Journal and Command Performance . In 1940 , she appeared in Forecast a series highlighting notable people from a particular state. Her episode took a look at Texas's Sam Houston. Happy birthday, Ann Miller!

August 30, 1951: Screen Director's Playhouse' Airs for the Final Time

August 30, 1951: Screen Directors' Playhouse , a show that presented leading Hollywood actors, went on air for the last time on NBC on this date. Fred Astaire , Lucille Ball and Dick Powell are just a few names that could be heard on 'Playhouse.'  The series ran 122 episodes, all featuring top stars. The series was also known as the 'Screen Director's Guild Assignment, ' 'Screen Director's Assignment,' and ' Screen Director's Playhouse .'

March 16: Happy Birthday, Jerry Lewis

March 16: Happy Birthday, Jerry Lewis It isn't easy to write a short entry on Jerry Lewis. Doing so can't capture his kinetic energy, his flowing and sprawling brand of physical humor. Nor is it adequate for discussing all the things he was: director, comedian, radio personality, fund raiser, winner of many prestigious awards. Maybe we should just focus on radio! The Martin and Lewis Show leapt onto the airwaves in 1949, starring Lewis and his partner Dean Martin, a popular nightclub act. With Martin as the butt of Lewis's jokes, the two provided zany and energetic comedy while also hosting guests. The program did not skimp on talent, with guests including Lucille Ball , Peter Lorre , Henry Fonda , John Carradine, Jane Russell , and many others. On the air or live, the two were the biggest comedy act of the early 1950's. As was the case with many radio stars, their show had more than one incarnation with more than one sponsor. In 1951, they took the ai

June, 29: Happy Birthday, Joan Davis

When Joan Davis was born on June 29, 1907, America was blessed with talent that would encompass all avenues of entertainment. This young comedian was going to make her mark on television, radio, vaudeville and in the movies...not in necessarily in that order. he first arena for performing was in vaudeville with her comedian husband Si Willis. One of her enterprising talents was that of a physical comedian; her size and lanky build was suited for the making the slapstick variety of visual humor. In 1941, Joan Davis entered the radio arena by appearing on the Rudy Vallee Show , where she would become a regular a few months later. When Vallee left to serve during WWII in 1943, Davis and Jack Haley became co-hosts of the program, The Sealtest Village Store. In 1945 she moved over to CBS and did a radio program centered around owning a tea room. In 1947, the show changed placing her name on the title still with the focus of the tea room and the happenings in Smallville, running un

February 10: Happy Birthday, Jimmy Durante

February 10: Happy Birthday, Jimmy Durante Actor, personality, voice-over expert and owner of a famous "schnozzola," Jimmy Durante was born on this day in 1893. Jimmy's calling card was his raspy, urbane voice. He hosted the Durante-Moore Show with partner Garry Moore and went solo with The Jimmy Durante Show in 1947. "Dat's my boy dat said dat!" was a catchphrase on the first iteration of the program. Like many shows of the era, The Jimmy Durante Show featured comedy and music. Do you remember guest appearances by: Lucille Ball , Victor Moore, Bing Crosby , and Al Jolson ? After his radio career, Durante voiced the Narrator of the 1969 cartoon special "Frosty the Snowman." He died in Santa Monica on Jan. 29, 1980.