Lucille Ball spent a good portion of her life juggling a lot of responsibilities, passions, and relationships.
She was a renowned actress, appearing in hit TV shows like “I Love Lucy” and other projects throughout her life. She was also the owner of an influential production company, Desilu Studios. On top of it all, she was a dedicated mother to her two children — Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.
Ball had a somewhat complicated relationship with her first husband, Desi Arnaz, who starred in the hit sitcom with her. In addition to her other responsibilities, Ball also had her very own radio show called “Let’s Talk to Lucy.”
During this show, Lucille Ball would talk to some of the biggest names in Hollywood at the time. That includes anyone from Debbie Reynolds, Carol Burnett, Dick Van Dyke, Vivian Vance, Gale Gordon, Julie Andrews, and Gene Kelly.
Lucille Ball Interviews About Parenting
One of the major topics that often came up was being a mother and parenting in general. She would interview fellow parents like Jeanne Martin and Debbie Reynolds to try to get a look into how others handled having kids. In many ways, it was also a way to determine if she was doing okay as a mother herself.
“She was always searching for answers herself. So she would talk to Jeanne Martin…or Debbie Reynolds, other women who had children, and she asked them, ‘How do you do it?'” Lucie Arnaz said regarding these interviews, according to KCRW.
Arnaz also added that her mother was always balancing motherhood. Lucille Ball didn’t have the best childhood experience to draw on, after all. Her father died when she was only 4 and her mother was often away at work. As a result, Ball would stay with her very strict grandparents a lot. Lucille Ball really had to figure out a new style of parenting all on her own.
“I always felt that [Ball] may have thought, ‘Jeez, I had kids really late and I don’t have much time, and so I have to shove all this information in their brain.’ And some of the other people she talked to — men too — would say, ‘How do I get [along with] my kids? I just like to spend time with them.
She continued by saying: “I just like to sit with them and listen.’ … And I thought, ‘That’s the one thing that she didn’t find a way to do really.’ And so some of these interviews, I think, are her way of trying to see how she’s doing as a mom and a housewife.”
Her Past Experiences With Parenting From a Young Age
Although she became a mother at 39, Ball had a bit of parenting-like experience in the past. From a young age, she had to help take care of her younger brother while her mom was away a lot. She missed out on some of those carefree, happy moments as a child that you spend with your parents.
Arnaz admitted that she believed her mother was “flying blind” when it came to parenting. Clearly, she must have figured it out. Both Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. have been extremely dedicated to helping their parents have a positive legacy for years to come.
They are involved in different projects in the entertainment world related to their parents as well as items in the archives.
