Lucille Ball

thumb|300px|Miss Piggy spoofing Lucille Ball in "I Love Piggy".
Lucille Ball (1911–1989) was an actress and comedienne best remembered for her sit-com I Love Lucy.
In 1970, she was announced as one of the guest stars for the second season of Sesame Street. Production memos indicate Lucille Ball's contribution was originally slated to be taped on August 13th, 1970, at the Paramount TV studios, but the entry is crossed out, along with the Smothers Brothers, possibly indicating a postponement.Memorandum from Lu Horne to Jeff Moss. CTW Archives However, she was mentioned in press articles which appeared in November, shortly before the season premiere."Sesame Street Will Begin Its Second Season." The Gettysburg Times. November 05, 1972 Scripts list various skits for Lucille Ball to perform, and one even called for the participation of Ball's frequent foil Gale Gordon (both actors were then appearing in Here's Lucy). It's unclear if any of these items made it to filming and none aired.
A star of screen, stage, television, and radio, Ball had a long and distinguished career. One of the most popular celebrities in America during her lifetime, she received thirteen Emmy Award nominations, and won four times.
After her passing, TV Land honored her as one of the 50 Greatest TV Icons, Time named her one of the 100 Most Important People of the Century, and TV Guide voted her the "Greatest TV Star of All Time". Her likeness is even featured as a walk-around character at Universal Studios.
Ball had a long-time friendship with Bob Hope, appearing in many of his specials including Happy Birthday, Bob and the 1976 special Bob Hope's World of Comedy, where Big Bird was a fellow co-host.
==References==
* A caricature of Ball, in her iconic polka dot dress from I Love Lucy, appears in an animated Sesame Street by Bruce Cayard about carrots. Ball appears among other notable redheads, or "carrot tops." 
* On the first episode of Muppets Tonight, Gonzo looks over the new KMUP evening line-up. One of the shows on the schedule is Here's Moosey, a spoof of Ball's sitcom Here's Lucy.
* In Sesame Street Unpaved, it's pointed out that Snuffy shares his astrological sign, Leo, with Lucille Ball ("'Vitameatavegemin' is almost as hard to say as Snuffleupagus").
* During a 2007 appearance on Loose Women, Piggy is asked about how to deal with hecklers as a stand-up comedian. She suggests a good karate chop even though she says she's less of a stand-up act than she is the Lucille Ball type.
==Sources==
==External links==
* IMDb
* Internet Broadway Database
__NOWYSIWYG__
Category:Celebrity References