LUCILLE BALL was born on Sunday August 6th 1911 in the small town of Jamestown, New York. Although she lived there for only a few years, and then later moved to Celoron (a small village very near to Jamestown West), her childhood memories are flourished with the essence of the city itself.
It would be many years until Lucille would visit Hollywood for the first time as a Goldwyn Girl, and before her marriage to Desi Arnaz which lead to "I Love Lucy".

Lucille spent her childhood days in Jamestown with her family - her grandmother, who became very ill and died when Lucille was only a small child, her Grandpa Hunt (whom she had called "Daddy"), her mother, DeDe, and her cousin Cleo, who had spent much time with Lucille when they were young. Lucille had a brother, Fred Ball, who was four years younger than her, and the threesome (Lucille, Fred and Cleo) would work and play together.
Lucille's father (Henry) died when she was four years old.

Lucille Ball was a wild girl, everyone said. After she moved in a small house on Eighth Street in Celoron, and during her teenage years, Lucille was as vigorous as any wild teenager could be.
She ran away from home a lot and was a great daredevil, performing stunts her friends could never imagine.
Her part-time jobs as a teenager provided humorous experiences for her to recall in the future.

The problems, however, of which Lucille faced during her youth were bothersome for her and her family. One incident was the (famous to fans) shot gun incident, where and when Grandpa Hunt was charged for allowing unsupervised and inexperienced minors (Cleo, Fred, Lucille and friends) to control rifles. Accidentaly, a young boy got in the way of the shooting rifle, and was shot and paralyzed.
Grandpa Hunt was also the cause and reason for Lucille's future accusations as a member of the Communist party.
To the top right is Lucille suffering from arthritis, and the evidence used to support the fact that Lucille had signed 'Communist'.

After being spotted walking the streets of New York, an older woman stopped Lucille and asked her if she would like to go to Hollywood. Another girl's mother pulled her out and said she couldn't go, so there was room for one more.
Lucille stunningly agreed. After taking drama lessons in New York (she was rejected as a fine actress, as Bette Davis was at the top of her class), and modeling for Carnegie's, she claimed to be a model and an actress herself. Therefore, her ambitions were beginning to expand and come true.

Lucille became a Goldwyn Girl, having bit roles and small appearances in many many films, especially during the 30s. Above is a photo of Lucille (far right) and fellow Goldwyn Girls. In Hollywood, she bought a small house for her family and for herself, and brought her cousin Cleo and brother Fred out first. Mother DeDe and Grandpa came to Hollywood as well and supported Lucille throughout her career as an actress. Lucille became "Queen of the B's" as she worked for RKO (she would soon buy RKO and transform it into Desilu Studios with Desi Arnaz in the late 50s). When RKO dropped her contract, she was fortunate enough to sign on to other studios and continue to make pictures...