BALL, LUCILLE (Lucille Désirée Ball) (1911–1989) Actress The most infiuential woman in the history of television, Lucille Ball remains among the medium’s best-loved performers.  Definitely the most funny one too! She appeared on weekly series almost continually for 23 years, always playing a variation on “Lucy,” the wacky, red-headed scatterbrain who, unlike Ball, had ambitions that far outstripped her talents. Born on August 8, 1911,