Did you know that Star Trek® almost didn't make the network? After a failed pilot, Lucille Ball not only advocated for a second pilot but circumvented the board of her production company, putting up her own money to ensure that the show had another chance.
Originally Answered: Did Lucille Ball save Star Trek? Yes, her production company Desilu Productions originally funded and produced Star Trek, before the show was sold to Paramount: Star Trek: The Original Series .
The Star Trek media franchise is a multibillion-dollar industry, owned by Paramount Global. Gene Roddenberry sold Star Trek to NBC as a classic adventure drama; he pitched the show as "Wagon Train to the Stars" and as Horatio Hornblower in Space.
Lucille had an estimated net worth of $60 million at the time of her death at age 77 in 1989, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The Emmy winner, born to Henry Durrell "Had" Ball and Désirée Evelyn "DeDe" Ball in 1911, earned her first credited acting role in 1935's I Dream Too Much.
Lucy filed for divorce in 1944, over issues with Desi's heavy drinking and cheating, according to People. Desi was also gone a lot on tour and, when he was home, he would be out late while Lucy had to be up early for work.
Lucille Ball had a net worth of $40 million—equal to about $80 million today—according to the Gazette Review. Desi Arnaz—whom she divorced in May 1960—was worth $20 million at the time of his death, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
They weren't your typical Hollywood couple: Ball was nearly six years older than her husband (a gap so taboo at the time that she reportedly lied about her birth year on their marriage certificate); Arnaz was Cuban.
Roddenberry had sold his interest in Star Trek to Paramount Studios in return for a third of the profits but this did not result in any quick financial gain; the studio was still claiming that the series was $500,000 in the red in 1982.
While on NBC, Star Trek's Nielsen ratings were low and the network canceled it after three seasons and 79 episodes. In the United Kingdom the series was not broadcast until July 12, 1969, coinciding with the Apollo 11 mission to land the first humans on the Moon.
Star Trek is owned by CBS/Paramount - a rival company. Disney bought Lucasfilm LTD because the founder, George Lucas, offered to sell his independent company and all it's IP to them. Also, Star Wars is far more successful than Star Trek. Star Wars was one of the highest grossing franchises with 6 movies.
Did you know that Star Trek® almost didn't make the network? After a failed pilot, Lucille Ball not only advocated for a second pilot but circumvented the board of her production company, putting up her own money to ensure that the show had another chance.
Desilu Productions, also credited as Desilu Studios, was the production company that started the Star Trek franchise with the production of the, initially, unaired 1964 pilot television episode "The Cage", and the Star Trek: The Original Series television series which began airing in September 1966.
The actress and her studio helped bring The Original Series to life. The journey to get Star Trek: The Original Series on television was a long and arduous one, but series creator Gene Roddenberry had help from an unlikely heroine.
She did not appear in film or television roles for the rest of her career and died in 1989 from an abdominal aortic aneurysm and arteriosclerotic heart disease at the age of 77.
Despite their hardships, they became America's favorite on- and off-screen couple when their sitcom 'I Love Lucy' aired in 1951. They had two kids together, Lucie and Desi Jr., before divorcing on May 4, 1960. While their marriage didn't last, their love and respect for each other continued until their deaths.
Audiences across the country knew America's favorite redhead was adored by Desi Arnaz – but long after “I Love Lucy” came to an end and her marriage to her co-star ended in 1960, Lucille Ball became happily devoted to her second husband, comedian Gary Morton.
Desi Arnaz was worth $20 million before his death, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Lucille Ball—whom he divorced in 1960—was worth $40 million (equal to about $80 million today), according to the Gazette Review. Ball died at the age of 77 on April 26, 1989, of a ruptured aorta after open-heart surgery.
Desi Arnaz Jr. has lived in Boulder City, Nevada, since 1986, where he owns the Historic Boulder Theatre and helps direct non-profit Boulder City Ballet Company (BCBC) with his wife, Amy Arnaz.
There were only four permanent cast members, Lucy, Desi, Ethyl and Fred. There were other semi-regulars who came and went, but I won't count those. Lucy Ball was born in 1911, she was 40. Desi Arnez was born in 1917, he was 34.
She said, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you. And he said, I love you too, honey. The next morning, at 12 o 5 in the morning, he died in my arms.
Did Lucy and Desi remain friends after their divorce?
Arnaz, for his part, remarried with his neighbor, Edith Hirsch, 1963 until his death in 1985. Despite their dramatic divorce, Arnaz and Ball remained friends until their deaths. In his memoir, A Book, Arnaz wrote of Ball: “All I can say is that I loved her very much and, in my own peculiar way, I will always love her.”
