Lucille ball biography pbs downton abbey

It was the early 1950s, and “I Love Lucy” had America enraptured. The show was so popular that, as Lucille Ball, the star who played “Lucy” would say,

“In 1951-52, our show changed the Monday-night habits of America.

Lucille Ball Biography - life, children, name, death, history ...

Between nine and nine-thirty, taxis disappeared from the streets of New York. Marshall Fields department store in Chicago hung up a sign: ‘We love Lucy too, so from now on we’ll be open Thursday nights instead of Monday.’ Telephone calls across the nation dropped sharply during that half hour, as well as the water flush rate, as whole families sat glued to their seats.”

But in 1952, the show nearly came to a stop.

Lucille was pregnant. She and her husband, Desi Arnaz, were expecting their second child. Joyful it was for the couple but problematic for the show, considering the societal taboos around depicting pregnancy on television. Sensing an opportunity to be bold and help shift social norms, the executives a Lucille Ball Biography | American Masters - PBS WYBAM