6. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
Does a tragic love story have to involve death? What about a couple that were seemingly inseparable, doing everything together until one day, poof, the magic disappeared and so did the marriage along with it. It was 1940; Lucille Ball was fast becoming Hollywood’s B Movie queen when she met Desi Arnaz, while filming Too Many Girls. The starlet was known for dating much older men, but here was this 23 year old Cuban, known for being a ladies man. It was love at first sight, and by the end of the year, the couple eloped and got married.
Lucille was depressed at how her career was coming along. She was not going to be the star that she always hoped to become. Desi encouraged her to try broadcasting, which she did for CBS on the radio comedy, My Favorite Husband. Executives at CBS loved it so much that they wanted to recreate the same magic on television. Ball demanded to co-star with her husband, but CBS balked. They both walked away and started their own Vaudeville show together. They succeeded admirably and CBS gave them the TV contract they wanted in the first place.
The power couple called the shots and when CBS refused to shoot on film, preferring instead to use the cheaper kine-scope, Lucy and Desi found the perfect opportunity to start their own business. They took a pay cut to cover the costs of using film in exchange for ownership rights, and Desilu productions was born. The show ran for six years until 1957, becoming the number one watched show for four of those years. The inseparable couple, who did everything together and supported each other every step of the way, tragically split up in 1960. They remained friends, but it just wasn’t the same for fans all around the world.
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