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The TV studio Desilu was founded in 1950 by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, which you can probably tell by the name. The famous performing couple initially pitched a TV adaptation of the marriage-based radio sitcom "My Favorite Husband" to the execs at CBS, but that show eventually mutated into "I Love Lucy," more explicitly sold as a vehicle for Ball. To this day, "I Love Lucy" remains one of the most popular sitcoms of all time, and every modern comedy show contains traces of its DNA. The series ran for 180 episodes over six seasons, ending its run in...

Welcome to the weekend. You currently sober drunk host with you again. I worked myself to exhaustion Friday night and crashed in bed rather than continue with normal activities including completion of the Newsdump Friday post. I had to draw the line. This week Charlotte Bennett said that Andrew Cuomo told her that he was "tired" and "lonely" and then went on to make other comments indicating his sexual intentions. "Tired" is not a good place to be and I made the right decision I apologize for the inconvenience to you all who read my blog and enjoy it and...

The great-granddaughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, Desiree S. Anzalone, died Sept. 27 at 31 following a battle with breast cancer. Anzalone, Ball and Arnaz’s first great-grandchild, had been receiving treatment at Smilow Cancer Center in Connecticut, according to People. SNIP Desiree, who worked as a photographer, had battled breast cancer since the age of 25; it was initially diagnosed as stage 2. She elected to undergo a double mastectomy and subsequently went into remission, though two years ago, doctors determined that the cancer had returned, spread elsewhere in her body and progressed to stage 4.

Mark Halperin of Bloomberg interviewed Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a candidate for president of the United States, recently and endeavored to find out how authentically Cuban he is. This line of questioning has not, so far as is known, been directed at any other presidential candidate. Barack Obama’s blackness has not been called into question, nor has Hillary Clinton’s womanhood. Ruben Navarrette, writing on Saturday for the San Jose Mercury News, was appalled, to say the least. Halperin asked Cruz what kind of Cuban food he liked, if he listened to Cuban music and was invited to address Bernie Sanders...

Lucille Ball’s hometown, just outside Jamestown in western New York, erected a life-size statue to honor the beloved actress — but now it has some explaining to do. Many take issue with the sculptor’s unflattering depiction of the “I Love Lucy” star. A self-described “big fan of Lucy’s” from Jamestown thinks the statue needs to be replaced with one befitting the comedy legend. “Lucille Ball was not only an amazing comedienne, but she was a stunning beauty. Her sense of humor only made her more beautiful,” he said in an interview with Yahoo News. “This statue looks nothing like the...

Psychedelic-guitar man Jimi Hendrix, soul singer Marvin Gaye, Desi "Ricky Ricardo" Arnaz and actor Steve McQueen, newsman Edward R. Murrow, "Dragnet" detective Jack Webb -- military veterans all. Who knew? The nation now will be afforded some unique insight into these former servicemen and 144 other "persons of exceptional prominence" who served in the military. For the first time, their official service records will be opened to the public, the National Archives & Records Administration announced yesterday. The records of 1.2 million enlisted men and women who served in the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps from 1885 to 1935 also...

Desi Arnaz of "I Love Lucy" fame and fortune helped finance the freedom of hundreds of Bay of Pigs fighters captured in 1961 by Cuban government forces, veterans say. A belated thank you to the late entertainer has now happened, 18 years after he died. This past Friday, according to a Miami Herald report, surviving vets of the Bay of Pigs invasion presented a posthumous award to daughter Lucie Arnaz for his "moral support and generosity." That generosity was legend among Bay of Pigs veterans. "He always supported the Cuban cause," said Felix Rodriguez Mendigutia, president of Bay of Pigs...