LUCILLE "LUCY" BALL - CONTRACT SIGNED 09/01/1966 CO-SIGNED BY: DESI ARNAZ SR. - HFSID 171172

LUCILLE BALL and DESI ARNAZ
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz sign a document to Lucy's younger brother Fred about making $50,000 available to him for the operation of the Indian Wells Hotel in Palm Desert, California.
Typed Document Signed: "Lucille Ball Morton" & "Desi Arnaz", 1p, 8½x11. No place, 1966 September 1. Countersigned: "Fred H. Ball". In letter form to Lucy's younger brother Fred about making $50,000 available to him for the operation of the Indian Wells Hotel in Palm Desert, California. Comedienne LUCILLE BALL (1911-1989) and her husband, Cuban bandleader DESI ARNAZ (1917-1986) had formed Desilu, which became one of the world's largest television production companies, to produce their hilarious television series, I Love Lucy(1951-1957), after CBS had denied Lucy's request that her husband play her spouse on the show. The couple rose to national recognition with I Love Lucy, which became a national institution and the first of a new variety of programming, the situation comedy. Adapted from My Favorite Husband, Ball's successful radio show, I Love Lucy ranked in the top three during its original six-year run, and Lucy won Emmy Awards in 1952 and 1955. In 1957, the year after they signed this document, Lucy, who was Vice President of Desilu, and Desi, the company's President, sold the rerun rights to I Love Lucy to CBS Films for $5 million. They used the money to help Desilu Productions purchase the RKO motion-picture lot, where both had worked as actors years before. With their expanded facilities, the couple produced such successful programs as Our Miss Brooks, The Untouchables, The Danny Thomas Show, Mission Impossibleand Star Trek. In 1960, when Lucy and Desi divorced, they divided Desilu's assets in half; two years later, Lucy bought out Desi for $3 million. Staple holes & paper clip impressions in blank areas.