I Love Lucy at 75: RKO's B-Movie Actress Bought Its Studios
Woody Magazine We write the things that aren't news Oct. 15, 2026 (Thu.) Company Story I Love Lucy premiered 75 years ago today I Love Lucy at 75: RKO's B-Movie Actress Bought Its Studios They took less pay, kept the film, and built a company on it. 한국어판 → In Three Lines In 1951, CBS wanted I Love Lucy broadcast live from New York. Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz refused to leave Hollywood. They settled it by accepting less money and covering the extra cost of shooting on film, in exchange for owning every frame. The couple's fortune came from that film, not their salaries. In 1956, CBS paid $4.3 million for the rights. The story goes like this. In 1939, RKO Pictures signed Orson Welles, and Welles wanted Lucille Ball to star in his first film for the studio. The front office said no. Ball, it decided, could not carry a movie. She had been under contract at RKO since 1935, mostly in low-budget B pictures. Eighteen years later, Ball and her husba...