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Walt Disney and Lucille Ball’s Secret Connection Is Revealed

Many Disney movie or television show enthusiasts are also familiar with the hit CBS show I Love Lucy from the 1950s, which starred actress Lucille Ball.

Lucille Ball played a loveably-clumsy character name Lucy Ricardo, and starred on the 1950s sitcom alongside her real husband Desi Arnaz (who played Lucy’s Cuban husband Ricky Ricardo).

These days, Walt Disney might be more well-known on an international scale, but Lucille Ball was arguably just as big a household name in her day as Walt Disney was — and fans have now learned that these two Hollywood icons were (allegedly) a lot more friendly with each other than their fans realized!

lucille ball in disneyland
Lucille Ball with her children in Disneyland. Credit: Facebook

Walt Disney was known for his innovation when it came to film and animation, but Lucille Ball was known for innovation when it came to the world of television.

Glamorous Get-Togethers

When it came to the world of Hollywood glamour, Walt Disney was close with celebrities like Ray Bradbury, Ronald Reagan, and then-Vice President Richard Nixon — while Lucille Ball was close with Harpo Marx, John Wayne, Carol Burnett, Dean Martin, and Danny Kaye.

Walt Disney and Lucille Ball were not publicly seen as friends, and were not necessarily known as a dynamic duo in Hollywood — but according to this Facebook post, they were actually each other’s cheerleaders behind the scenes!

In a social media post by Top Disney, it is alleged that the duo were actually close friends.

Favors for Friends

“Lucy was a good friend to Walt Disney,” the post reads. “She advised him when Walt was thinking about making a big leap into television in the early 1950s.”
Apparently, “the favor was returned in the 1960s when Walt advised Lucy on running a Hollywood studio; Desilu Productions launched Star Trek, and [Ball] saved the budding blockbuster franchise when NBC lost faith in it.”
Walt Disney Emmys
Walt Disney with two Emmy Awards. Credit: D23
A less surprising tidbit about the Hollywood icons involves Lucy’s enjoyment of Walt Disney’s creations; she reportedly “was a frequent visitor to Disneyland.”

A Missed Opportunity?

Interestingly enough, Lucille Ball was never in a Disney movie — but with these two Hollywood visionaries’ star power, perhaps she should have been! Would you have eagerly purchased movie theater tickets to see a Lucille Ball and Walt Disney film?
Did it ever occur to you before that Lucille Ball and Walt Disney might have been helping each other make it through the world of Hollywood and the movie-making business, even if they weren’t openly known as close friends?

Sharon

Sharon is a writer and animal lover from New England. Sharon's two main focuses in her work are Disney's correlations with pop culture and the significance of Disney princesses (which was the basis for her college thesis). When she's not writing about Disney, Sharon spends her time singing, dancing, and cavorting with woodland creatures!

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