Category: Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball’s Custom Backgammon Board

Lucille Ball loved playing backgammon. By the late 1970’s and throughout the 80’s she played for hours on end with whomever was up for the challenge.

She also often played at PIPS, a backgammon club in Beverly Hills founded by Hugh Hefner. It is very possible PIPS had this beautiful, custom backgammon board made for Lucy. It features a solid wood frame and bar, brown suede fabric and her famous Al Hirschfeld caricature.

Lucille Ball owned many backgammon sets. She even constructed permanent tables to be installed in her home, had several traveling cases to play on the go and often held private in-home tournaments with those close to her.

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Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz Gifted Watch to Dann Cahn

One of the original creative members of the I Love Lucy team was editor, Dann Cahn. He pioneered the editing of television shows shot with the three-camera system. In 1954 Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz gave him this small token of their apprecaiton for all the hard work he had done.

Made by CYMA, this 10 karat gold wristwatch is engraved – “To Danny Love Lucy and Desi.” A letter on Desilu stationary signed by the Arnaz’s accompanies the watch and was kept by Dann for nearly sixty years until his death in 2012.

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Lucille Ball’s Aqua Ostrich Feather Vest

In 1964 Lucille Ball started a radio show called Let’s Talk to Lucy interviewing many people she found interesting both famous and not. One interview was with Academy Award winning designer, Edith Head. Towards the end of their two day session Lucy discusses her love of feathers and the color aqua. Edith dreams up an aqua feather cape and slim dress for Lucy and thus, this creation was born.

Featuring sections of handsewn aqua ostrich feathers, covering an elongated vest-style garment, Edith along with Edward Stevenson made this one of a kind piece for Lucille Ball. Lucy wears the vest for the opening credits of The Lucy Show (a rare behind the scenes clip of the filming for this is shown here). Then in March of 1967 Lucy wears it to the New York City premiere of Throughly Modern Millie starring Julie Andrews, Mary Tyler Moore and Carol Channing. In 1969 Lucille makes a very brief apperance at the end with it on Jack Benny’s New Look slapping Jack’s face saying “How dare you do a special without me!” In Lucy’s 1974 film of MAME it can be seen briefly in her stateroom amongst many of her other personal garments. Finally, as part of her western costume while attending a S.H.A.R.E. party in the mid-1970’s, Lucy wears the vest alongside her husband Gary Morton and mother, DeDe.

If the whereabouts of the sheath dress under the vest are known, please contact us!

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Desilu Sales Promotional Ashtray

Desilu was a powerhouse in the television industry by the late 1950’s. Thus, a department called Desilu Sales Inc. was created to handle the sales, marketing and distribution of its shows and productions to markets across the country. Promotional items were created as gifts that were not available to the general public, such as this rare ashtray.

Measuring 6 3/4 inches across, the ceramic ashtray features a gold rim and the Desilu Sales logo underneath a large Lucy Ricardo stick figure saying “Hi!” along with Lucille Ball’s signature. Other promotional gifts included coffee mugs, lighters, letter openers and more.

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Lucille Ball’s Gold Coin Necklace from Here’s Lucy

This 19″ gold coin necklace was worn by Lucille Ball on Here’s Lucy in two separate Season 3 episodes. The first was entitled, “Lucy and Rudy Vallee” that originally aired on November 30, 1970. The second was “Lucy’s Vacation” where Lucille Carter dresses like a hippie, airing on January 4, 1971. The three tiered, charm style, necklace features bronze like Roman coins in various sizes and fish attached to link chains. It ties in the back with gold elastic.

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Lucille Ball & Gary Morton Gifted Lucite Container

Lucille Ball and Gary Morton gave this large acyrlic storage container to close friends and associates as a Christmas gift. It has three compartments and features a hinged lid that is etched with LOVE, LUCY & GARY. Some say each section held different types of candy or sweets for the holiday season. Once consumed it made a great case to store desk items or anything that needed a little organization.

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Lucille Ball & Gary Morton Kennedy Center Personal Photo with Ronald & Nancy Reagan

In late 1986, Lucille Ball was one of the recipents of the Kennedy Center Honors. The ninth annual awards ceremony, held in Washington, D.C. was a tremendous celebration for the performing arts . Lucy and husband Gary Morton posed for a photo before the Honors gala with then President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan. The Morton’s were later given this photo and framed it for display in their Beverly Hills home. In a rare, candid picture taken inside the Roxbury Drive mansion, this framed photo can be seen on a side table in the living room.

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Lucille Ball’s 1967 Emmy Awards Gown

On June 4, 1967 Lucille Ball won her third Emmy for ‘Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role in a Comedy Series’ for The Lucy Show. This honor was a complete shock to Ball saying, “I cannot believe it” multiple times.

Lucy accepted the award wearing this custom-made, floor length sheath dress with a pastel green, pink and blue floral pattern, ornamented with silver sequins and rhinestones. The gown was designed and made by Edward Stevenson and features a boat neckline, cap sleeves, two side slits and has a pink silk lining with zipper back closure. To match the dress a clutch by Kurt Chambre was also custom-made using the same materials. The gown originally had a sheer chiffon caftan that went over it but somehow over the years has been separated.*

Lucille wears the gown for a second time the following year on the final episode of The Lucy Show entitled “Lucy and the ‘Boss of the Year’ Award” which aired on March 11, 1968. She appears in it for a third time as a guest star on “Ann Margret: From Hollywood with Love” that aired on December 6, 1969. Also part of this group is an original program from the 1967 Emmy Awards and a gold metal table favor commemorating the event.

*If the whereabouts of the sheer caftan are known, please contact us!

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Necklace worn by Lucille Ball in “Annabel Takes a Tour” by Joseff of Hollywood

Annabel Takes a Tour (1938) was an early comedic film Lucille Ball starred in while under contract with RKO. It was the sequel to The Affairs of Annabel released that same year. Lucy played Annabel Allison a movie star who is desperate for some good publicity to help boost her career so she does a variety of wacky stunts.

In the film as well as publicity photos, Lucille wears this simulated diamond and sapphire necklace made by Joseff of Hollywood. Measuring twenty three inches in length, it features open metal work centering on a large central medallion.

The necklace as also worn by Bette Davis in a 1930’s publicity portrait, John Bennett in a wardrobe test for The Man in the Iron Mask (1939) Ruth Donnelly in Pillow to Post (1945).

Eugene Joseff was the premier costume jeweler during Hollywood’s golden age. He developed a matte metal finish for his jewelry which minimized the glare from lighting. Their custom jewels were designed, manufactured and rented to movie studios and can be seen in nearly every production from the 1930’s to the 1950’s.

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Lucille Ball’s Tano Cigarette Case

This faux tortoise plastic cigarette case was owned and used by Lucille Ball, circa 1970’s. Made by Tano of Madrid, it measures four inches tall and has a spring loaded push button closure. The Philip Morris cigarettes inside where not Lucy’s and used for display purposes only – a nod to the original sponsor of I Love Lucy.

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Lucille Ball’s Bardot Blouse from ‘The Fuller Brush Girl’

In 1950 while under contract with Columbia Pictures, Lucille Ball starred in the slapstick comedy The Fuller Brush Girl. Lucy plays Sally Elliot opposite Eddie Albert’s Humphrey Briggs who both work for a steamship company. After getting fired, Lucy’s character tries to sell Fuller Brush cosmetics.

In a disguise at a burlesque show, Lucille wears this champagne-colored off the shoulder silk bardot blouse. Created by Academy Award winning French-American costume designer Jean Louis, the blouse features a ruched bodice and waistband, elastic neckline and cuffs with zipper and hook-and-eye closures in the back. The interior retains the original Columbia studio label with “L. Ball” written in pen.

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