Reaching a Critical Mass

5

The Business Behind the Box

 

Desilu Productions, the creation of Desi Arnaz and Lucille Bali, was the first star-based production house in television. Prior to its creation in the 1950s, Ball had been visible in RKO and MGM movies but never quite made the big time. In 1940 she married Cuban-born singer/ bandleader Arnaz and spent most of the decade touring with his dance band. Her big break came in 1949 when CBS asked her to star in a radio sitcom called “My Favorite Husband.” The program rose in popularity and, in 1950, the network ...