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Published Aug 6, 2023

How Lucille Ball Helped Star Trek Become a Cultural Icon

The actress and her studio helped bring The Original Series to life.

StarTrek.com

The journey to get   Star Trek : The Original Series  on television was a long and arduous one, but series creator Gene Roddenberry had help from an unlikely heroine. Without the help of this woman and her studio, the franchise may have stalled and never seen the light of day. And so today, on the anniversary of her birthday, let's think fondly of the incomparable  Lucille Ball .

Ball is, of course, most familiar to the world as the comedic star of  I Love Lucy , the show she produced and starred in alongside her husband Desi Arnaz. The success of the sitcom, which ran for six years, allowed her and her husband to purchase their own studio, Desilu Productions. When Arnaz and Ball divorced in 1960, she took over the studio herself, making her one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.

Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz outside the gates of Desilu.

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Four years later, Roddenberry came to Desilu with an idea for a pilot that would grow into  Star Trek . Ball bought the series, even if she didn’t quite understand it; allegedly, she thought the title referred to a group of traveling USO performers during WWII. Author Marc Cushman wrote of the actress in  Inside Star Trek: The Real Story  that, "She may have initially misunderstood the  Star Trek  concept, but TV's ‘wacky redhead,’ known for playing a character that had always had a harebrained scheme up her sleeve, had learned well from Desi Arnaz. He had been called crazy many times by Industry insiders, but always proved his critics wrong.”

Still, she supported his space western vision, even as some board members were resistant to the idea. It was thanks to her that “The Cage” was produced in the first place. Ball stood by the show through two pilots being shot and a massive budget, and the rest is history. A studio accountant named Edwin "Ed" Holly is on the record as saying "If it were not for Lucy, there would be no  Star Trek  today."

"The Cage"

Without the support of Ball, “The Cage” would have been the end of  Star Trek . Second pilots are rarely commissioned, not without someone with some power backing them up. NBC could have passed on  Star Trek  overall, but Ball, who believed in the project, stepped in, and saved the day in a move that would’ve made every Starfleet captain proud. The comedian is one of many talented women who are among the many reasons that the  Star Trek  has endured into the 21st Century. Ball is simply one of the first.

Her belief in  Star Trek  is why we have  Star Trek  as it stands today. Ball was more than just a comedian and a beloved television icon, she was a savvy producer who deserved credit for her work behind the scenes, including helping to achieve Roddenberry’s vision. For this, we can all love Lucy.

Stay tuned to  StarTrek.com  for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on  Facebook ,  Twitter , and  Instagram .

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This article was originally published on November 22, 2019.

• Behind The Scenes

Lucille Ball is the reason we have 'Star Trek' — here's what happened

Lucille Ball kept the Starship Enterprise in flight.

The comedy icon's company, Desilu Productions, was responsible for  Gene Roddenberry's original "Star Trek" series.

Desilu was  one of the largest independent production companies in Hollywood and of course was the driving force behind Ball's star-making vehicle "I Love Lucy," which ran from 1951 to 1957.

But it was also responsible for "The Andy Griffith Show," "The Untouchables," "The Dick Van Dyke Show," and more. 

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Ball and then-husband and eventual "I Love Lucy" costar Desi Arnaz formed Desilu in 1950. Ball made most of all of the creative choices while Arnaz handled the business. The two worked as partners for years until they divorced in 1960, and Ball purchased Arnaz's share of the company in 1962.

Ball was the head of a major studio, and thus  one of the most powerful women in Hollywood at the time.

When the landmark "The Untouchables" ended its run in 1963, Desilu desperately needed another big hit. Herbert Solow, who was hired to find projects for the studio, brought Ball two proposals: one for  Roddenberry's  "Star Trek" and another for "Mission: Impossible."

It was clear that the "Star Trek" pilot would be expensive to film, but Ball — who actually believed the series was about traveling USO performers — overruled her board of directors and got the pilot produced.

The pilot, titled "The Cage," famously flopped . However, NBC pulled an unlikely move and ordered a second pilot, which came to be called "Where No  Man Has Gone Before," only retained Leonard Nimoy's Mr. Spock from the first pilot, and became the show it is known as today. Ball agreed to finance this reshoot, again over the preferences of her board of directors.

So Ball is the one who let "Star Trek" live long and prosper. Thanks, Lucy.

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How Lucille Ball saved 'Star Trek'

Gene Roddenberry's quirky little sci-fi drama found an unlikely champion in comedy queen Lucille Ball. Even after production costs ballooned and the first pilot bombed, the famous redhead steadfastly stood behind the show.

This article originally appeared in Entertainment Weekly's Ultimate Guide to Star Trek .

Lucille Ball, the undisputed queen of television in the 1950s and 1960s, had already earned a place in television history with her immortal 1951–57 sitcom I Love Lucy . The financial success of her blockbuster hit, costarring then-husband Desi Arnaz, allowed the couple to buy the former RKO Studios adjacent to the Paramount lot in Los Angeles in 1957.

They named their new company Desilu Productions, and it quickly became one of the largest independent production companies in Hollywood. Lucy had a good eye for spotting proposals with mass appeal, and their company was responsible for producing or filming series like The Andy Griffith Show, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp and The Dick Van Dyke Show . When Lucy bought her ex-husband's share of the firm in 1962 (they divorced in 1960), she became the most powerful woman in television.

While many series were being shot at Desilu, the studio was in dire need of original programming of its own following the end of The Untouchables in 1963. Herbert Solow, hired to help locate new projects for the studio, brought two notable proposals to Desilu in 1964. One was Mission: Impossible ; the other was Roddenberry's quirky sci-fi idea. When Lucy's longtime network CBS said no to Trek , Solow and Roddenberry took it to NBC. Science fiction was alien to the network's schedule, but it ordered a pilot.

According to Solow in Marc Cushman's history These Are the Voyages , Lucy initially thought Star Trek was about traveling USO performers. But her support for the show was necessary as it became clear how expensive the pilot would be. Lucy overruled her board of directors to make sure the episode was produced.

Her support was even more critical when NBC rejected the initial pilot, "The Cage," in early 1965. NBC ordered a second pilot — introducing Shatner as Kirk — which Lucy agreed to help finance, again over her board's objections. Star Trek made the fall 1966 schedule, and the pilot won its time slot (though it later suffered in the ratings). "If it were not for Lucy," former studio executive Ed Holly told Desilu historian Coyne Steven Sanders, "there would be no Star Trek today."

Star Trek had been on the air for less than a year when Lucy sold her studio to the new owner of Paramount Pictures, and it later became Paramount Television. (It's now part of CBS Television Studios, connected to the same network that gave Lucy her start.) Meanwhile, the executive who bought Star Trek for NBC, Grant Tinker, went on to found the next big husband-wife TV-production company with his famous spouse, Mary Tyler Moore.

Ahead of the release of Star Trek Beyond and in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Star Trek: The Original Series , EW has an inside look at the beloved franchise. Entertainment Weekly 's Ultimate Guide to Star Trek is on sale now .

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New Star Trek documentary reveals Lucille Ball’s surprising sci-fi influence

Without Lucy, we’d never have reached the Final Frontier.

The history of sci-fi owes its existence to the history of sitcoms. While WandaVision recently threw several famous old-school sitcoms into a Marvel blender, the success of Lucille Ball and her sitcom empire back in 1964 allowed for science fiction TV to take a massive leap into the mainstream.

Without I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show , Star Trek — the most pivotal sci-fi series of them all — would have never existed. And thanks to the new History Channel docuseries, this important pioneer in TV history is finally getting the respect she deserves.

The first episode of the new 10-part documentary series The Center Seat , which premiered Friday, focused in part on the history of Lucille Ball and her studio, Desilu Productions (named as a portmanteau of her name and that of husband/co-founder Desi Arnaz).

For the historians, archivists and experts interviewed in the documentary — from Larry Nemecek to John Tenuto , Maria Jose Tenuto , and Marc Cushman — few of its findings are new. But for fans unfamiliar with Star Trek history, it must have been shocking to learn of Ball’s influence on the series. For the first time, Lucille Ball has been identified as a star of Star Trek’s early phases.

Narrated by Gates McFadden of Star Trek: The Next Generation fame, The Center Seat is produced by Brian Volk-Weiss, probably most famous for his other documentary series, The Toys that Made Us . Made with a similarly jaunty vibe, The Center Seat has fun with its parsing its primary sources and offers information dumps in quirk ways. But it’s entirely sincere (and factually correct) in devoting half its premiere’s runtime to Ball’s involvement in the iconic sci-fi franchise.

Were it not for Ball, Star Trek would never have happened. Here are three reasons why:

Lucy and Desi in 1955.

3. Ball needed new series — and Star Trek fit the bill

After her divorce from Arnaz in 1960, Lucille Ball had another hit sitcom that followed I Love Lucy ; a somewhat lesser-known series titled The Lucy Show . But although several shows were filmed at Desilu Studios, Ball didn’t have another show that Desilu outright owned . When Desilu producer Herb Solow came to Lucy with Star Trek , she saw an opportunity to snag a show she could call her own.

The cast of Star Trek, after its first season.

2. Lucy and Desi invented reruns

Part of Ball’s foresight in popularizing Star Trek was connected to the fact that she and Arnaz pioneered the concept of reruns with I Love Lucy . Before I Love Lucy , the idea that creators could monetize reruns of TV series was unheard of. In The Center Seat, historian Marc Cushman makes it clear that what Lucille Ball wanted from her producers at Desilu Studios was to “bring me a show that can rerun as long as I Love Lucy .”

Although Star Trek: The Original Series was canceled after only three seasons, its availability for reruns in the 1970s — and beyond — is what kept the franchise alive.

Leonard Nimoy as Spock in the SECOND pilot episode for Star Trek, “Where No Man Has Gone Before.”

1. Ball greenlit Star Trek after its pilot failed

The Center Seat claims that Ball was “the mother” of Star Trek. Is this true? Short answer: yes!

Although Ball wasn’t involved in the creative side of Trek , she was pivotal in financing the series. As the experts in The Center Seat make clear, what makes Ball’s support of Trek so unusually historic is that she refinanced a second pilot episode after the first episode — “The Cage” — was rejected outright. As Gates McFadden says in the documentary: “Lucy was only too happy to put her money where her famous mouth was.”

The idea that Desilu Studios would put up money for a second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” was unheard of in 1965. (It’s equally unheard of now.) As McFadden says at the end of the first episode, “Without the bravery and determination of Lucille Ball, who defined Hollywood and expectations, well, Star Trek probably wouldn’t exist at all.”

The Center Seat will air the first four episodes of the 10-part series on the History Channel on Fridays. Six additional episodes are also available on History Vault, the network’s subscription video service.

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When Desilu bought Gene Roddenberry 's Star Trek is... pitch in April 1964, Lucille Ball – as owner of the company – became in effect the first identifiable individual legal and commercial owner of what was yet to become the Star Trek franchise . As was customary at the time in the motion picture industry, the moment Roddenberry signed his contract, he lost all rights and title to his creation, save for his "created by" credit (with financial compensation for work actually done to be individually determined on a per production contract basis). [2]

Star Trek -lore has it cited that it was her affinity for Star Trek creator Roddenberry and favor of the general goals of the series as reasons for the studio to persist with Star Trek after NBC rejected the original pilot, " The Cage ". [3] (X) [4] Decades later, however, this turned out to be only exactly that – lore, a by Roddenberry trumped-up outright lie, perpetuated and grossly exaggerated by him on the 1970s-1980s Star Trek convention and lecture circuit. Desilu executive Herb Solow has pointed out that Roddenberry did not know Ball personally, and never has. Too preoccupied with her own show, Ball was shielded from the operational minutiae of running her studio by her loyal executive staff (the longer serving ones fiercely protective of their employer and known as "The Old Guard" or "Lucites") who were handling the minor day-to-day business of Desilu – which Roddenberry was, despite his assertions to the contrary afterwards ( Star Trek and American Television , pp. 19-37). In effect Ball had, according to Solow, actually misunderstood the premise of the series she had bought at first; she was under the impression that she had bought a show that dealt with Hollywood stars traveling the South Seas for the USO , visiting fighting troops in the Pacific. Still, she did not revert her decision after she was set straight by Solow. " She may have initially misunderstood the Star Trek concept, " author Marc Cushman wrote, " but TV's "wacky redhead", known for playing a character that had always had a harebrained scheme up her sleeve, had learned well from Desi Arnaz. He had been called crazy many times by Industry insiders, but always proved his critics wrong. " ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, p. 22; These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , 1st ed, p. 39) Solow and Producer Robert H. Justman have at a later point in time added, " Lucy really did not understand the show; it was very foreign to her and she was watching this thing being done. We'd talk once or twice a week and she never looked away when we were over budget. She was there with the money. No interference whatsoever, in fact as I said in the book, when I gave her the first and second pilot scripts, I don't think she even read them. " [5] (X)

Most crucially, however, it actually had been Ball who had saved Star Trek from cancellation for the very first time, but not directly after the initial "too cerebral" refusal in February 1965 by NBC as claimed by Roddenberry in later years and taken as gospel by 1970s-2000s " Trekdom ". One year later, in February 1966, her small studio found itself unexpectedly confronted with the production of three expensive television properties, all brought in by Oscar Katz and Herb Solow (who were specifically hired to do so, in order to safeguard the future existence of the ailing studio), where there had only been one before, her own I Love Lucy show. Under advisement were Star Trek , the action series Mission: Impossible and the western series The Long Hunt of April Savage (also produced by Roddenberry between the first and second Star Trek pilots), and the conservative board of directors feared, not unjustified, that the studio would financially overstretch itself. Vigorously defended by Solow, not a voting board member but a firm believer in the show, and despite the fact that Star Trek was already picked up by NBC after the second pilot, " Where No Man Has Gone Before ", had been produced, virtually the entire board (including her second husband Morton and her brother Fred, but save for executive Bernard Weitzman) unanimously voted to cancel Star Trek . Katz was also a voting board member, but was not present as he was already on his way out. Yet, as Chairwoman of the Board, Ball had the power to override her board, and this she did with a mere nod of her head towards Solow. " That was all Star Trek needed, " as author Cushman had succinctly put it, " A nod of Lucille Ball. " ( These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , 1st ed, pp. 32, 94) For all intents and purposes, and contrary to widely held beliefs in Star Trek -lore, this was factually the very first time that The Original Series came exceedingly close to cancellation, were it not for Lucille Ball, or as one of the other nay-sayers on the board, studio accountant Edwin "Ed" Holly, later conceded, " If it were not for Lucy, there would be no 'Star Trek' today. " [6] Roddenberry, as a "mere" contracted studio employee, was not allowed to attend, and had Star Trek been cancelled, so would he have been, his assertions to the contrary afterwards – again – notwithstanding. Ironically, the fears of the board were somewhat allayed when ABC canceled April Savage , before production of the regular series was slated to start.

Solow's and Holly's account of Ball saving the Star Trek series for the first time was later corroborated by Ball's daughter, Lucie Arnaz (wife of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier actor Laurence Luckinbill ), when she reconfirmed her mother's involvement at the 2006 induction of William Shatner into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, albeit in more flowery terms, "[At one point, her own studio chiefs said], " And the two most expensive shows are Mission: Impossible and Star Trek , [so] they have to go. " She used to always listen to everything the dyed-print suits said. But she said, " No, I like 'em! " And they said, " They cost too much! " And she said, " But I like 'em! " So they left them! " [7] (X)

Incidentally, Post-Production Executive Bill Heath , nearly ended Star Trek shortly thereafter all by himself by exercising a far too strict reign over the visual effects budget. Heath, a "Lucite" (but not a voting board member), was of the belief that he was looking out for Ball's (financial) interests by denying the Star Trek production the budget needed for the effects production. His misguided penny-pinching caused Star Trek to nearly miss its television premier broadcast deadline, which would have inevitably led to its cancellation after all. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, pp. 99, 110, 259-261)

Though overruling her board, Ball was not insensitive to their concerns as she had already demonstrated earlier, when the second pilot struggled to finish shooting on 28 July 1965, in a, for her so typical, plucky way. Keeling over with fatigue, Director James Goldstone , Producer Robert Justman and Solow had the stage cleared for another shoot, when they noticed another broom on the stage. It was Ball, who declared to Goldstone while sweeping, " What do I have to do to get you to finish? ", and to Justman and Solow, " What I won't do to get the wrap party started! " ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, p. 85) Goldstone himself corroborated the episode in the documentary , Inside Star Trek - The Real Story , where he has added that champagne was served after they were done.

Despite her reluctance to become involved in the operational minutiae her studio, Lucille Ball became well known for her character trait of valuing moral propriety after her marriage with Arnaz (which had fallen apart partly due to Arnaz' philandering), and she expected this of her staff and employees as well. When she found out that the married Roddenberry had an illicit affair with Majel Barrett (ironically an actress she herself had hired for Desilu and having personally instructed her in one of own comedy seminars in 1957, [8] (X) [9] (X) ) she could not abide by this kind of behavior and wanted to fire the both of them on the spot, starkly contradicting his later "affinity" assertions. Ironically, Ball had wanted to do something similar, albeit at the opposite end of the spectrum, with Mission: Impossible co-stars Barbara Bain and Martin Landau when she found out that the two were actually a married couple, and wanted to fire them as she suspected a severe case of nepotism, which she could not abide by either. And indeed, this had been the additional reason for Ball for wanting to fire the future Roddenberry couple as well, as she had also became aware that he had surreptitiously sneaked an as a blonde-disguised Barrett back into the Star Trek production (as nurse Christine Chapel ) against the express wishes of NBC. Through an intermediary, her personal publicist Howard McClay, Solow had a tough time to convince Ball otherwise for both Roddenberry / Barrett and the Landau couple, as Mission was also produced under his aegis. ( Inside Star Trek: The Real Story , 1997, p. 223; These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One , 1st ed, pp. 25-27)

External links [ ]

• Lucille Ball at Wikipedia
• Lucille Ball at the Internet Movie Database
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Tom Holtkamp

‘Star Trek’ Fans Should Really Love Lucille Ball — Without Her, It Wouldn’t Exist

You wouldn’t think Star Trek and I Love Lucy have anything in common, but there is a major, hidden connection between the beloved shows. In 1950, when Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were getting ready to launch their show, they formed Desilu Productions. Desi handled the business side of things, innovating a number of concepts that changed television, most notably shooting a TV show on film using three cameras, and filming in front of a live studio audience. The impact of those things cannot be measured. Lucy, on the other hand, focused more on creative issues, successfully choosing shows she felt would appeal to the audience and stand the test of time. Among those shows? Our Miss Brooks , The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour , The Untouchables , The Lucy Show , Mission: Impossible , Mannix , and yes, Star Trek .

(Photo Credit: Getty Images)

And this is an important point to make — pay attention Trekkers out there — without Desilu and, specifically, Lucille Ball, Star Trek would not exist.

Author Marc Cushman, whose non-fiction book titles include the These Are the Voyages series, looking at the original Star Trek ; as well as Long Distance Voyagers: The Story of the Moody Blues , comments, “Desilu came into existence because Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz owned I Love Lucy . It was the first time someone owned the rerun rights to a show. For those rights they said they would cover the cost of shooting on film, and CBS agreed — no one had ever rerun anything before. Seems like a no-brainer today, but back then no one had done it.

“Eventually,” he continues, “CBS bought the rerun rights back from Lucy and Desi for a million dollars, which was a lot of money back then. They take that money and buy RKO studios and turn it into Desilu Studios and everyone is coming to them asking them to film their sitcoms the same way they did their own. The company grows, but then the marriage falls apart and Lucy ends up running the studio. By this time they don’t have many shows. Lucy says, ‘We need to get more shows on the air,’ and Star Trek was one she took on, because she thought it was different.”

So did its creator, Gene Roddenberry. But he couldn’t convince anyone that his sci-fi adventure that took place on the galaxy-hopping starship Enterprise would work. “Desilu was the only studio that would take it,” he said, perhaps uncharitably adding, “The reason Desilu took it was because they had gone five years without selling a pilot and they were desperate. They said, ‘We’ll even try Roddenberry’s crazy idea.'”

Herbert F. Solow, executive in charge of production at Desilu, admits he was met with a lot of opposition regarding the series. “I had so many people at the studio, so many old-timers trying to talk me out of it,” he says. “‘You’re going to bankrupt us, you can’t do this. NBC doesn’t want us anyway, who cares about guys flying around in outer space?’ The optical effects guy said it was impossible to do. Everyone said there wasn’t enough time or money, and from the physical production point of view, we can’t attract the talent needed. If you don’t listen to that and stubbornly go into it, that’s the only way we could have got it done.”

Marc points out that Lucy was trying to do things the way Desi had taught her. But he wasn’t there anymore. “He was drinking at that point; he was not leaving his house and was basically just burned out,” he explains. “So she is asking herself, ‘What would Desi do?’, because she really loved and respected him. ‘Desi would get more shows on the air that we own, not just that we’re producing for other companies.’ So that was her reasoning to do Star Trek — and she felt that this show could, if it caught on, rerun for years like I Love Lucy . And guess what? Those two shows — I Love Lucy and Star Trek — are two shows that have been rerunning ever since they originally aired. The problem was, her pockets weren’t deep enough.”

With NBC wanting to do business with Desilu, they agreed on a pilot for Star Trek , which Desilu would produce. The result was an episode called “The Cage” that had many elements that would become a staple of the Star Trek audiences would eventually encounter — including Leonard Nimoy as Mr. Spock. But there was no William Shatner; sitting in the captain’s chair was Jeffrey Hunter (who would go on to play Jesus in King of Kings ) as Christopher Pike. In the end, NBC rejected the pilot, but were intrigued enough to request a second.

“Getting a second pilot was enormously rare,” says Herbert. “If a pilot didn’t work the first time, the networks said, ‘Oh, forget it; it’s over.’ Television is unlike any other business in that way. But we got the second pilot.”

And that one, with William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk, got the green light to go to series; a series from which five TV spin-offs and 13 feature films would eventually spawn. Yet for all of that (and the same was true of Mission: Impossible , which debuted the same year as Trek ), in its original run, it was operating on a deficit, the belief being that the true money would come from reruns.

(Photo Credit: Tom Holtkamp)

The big problem in that regard for Star Trek was that the show wasn’t doing that great, and was more or less being canceled by NBC at the end of the second season. The only thing that saved it was a massive letter-writing campaign that generated a reported one million letters to the network and resulted in the show being renewed for a third and final year. That last year, it should be pointed out, gave them just enough episodes so that it could go into reruns in America. But for Lucille Ball and Desilu, it turned out to be too little, too late. With no choice, Lucy sold Desilu to Paramount, which in one fell swoop acquired ownership of everything (except I Love Lucy ), including, of course, Star Trek . Not that Paramount was doing corporate back-flips over that failing sci-fi TV show.

As Marc explains it, Paramount took over at the halfway point of Star Trek ‘s second season and immediately started tightening the budget, the attitude being that the production wouldn’t do to them what it had done to Desilu. “Lucille Ball lost her company because of Star Trek ,” he says. “She had gambled on the show and you can read the memos where her board of directors is saying ‘Don’t do the show, it’s going to kill us.’ But she believed in it and moved forward, and it cost her her studio.”

Veteran television director Ralph Senensky, who directed a number of episodes of Star Trek , comments, “Desilu was like a family. Herb Solow, who was the head of the studio, used to come down and talk with you on the soundstage. He didn’t seem like the other studio heads who never seemed to talk to you. Herb went out of his way to help you. Can you imagine a studio working like that? When Paramount bought it, a kind of corporate mentality took over. In a way, I think that’s why I resent Paramount having such a hit in Star Trek , because if they had their way, they would have killed it off. It survived in spite of them, and now they have this bonanza making them all of this money.”

“Lucy’s instincts about Star Trek were right,” Marc adds, “but they were losing $15,000 an episode, which would be like $500,000 per episode today. The board was saying, ‘We’re not a big studio,’ and she would say, ‘Somehow it’s going to work out.’ You know, if she could have hung on just six months longer, it would have worked out, because by the end of the second season, once they had enough episodes, Star Trek was playing in, I believe, 60 different countries around the world. And all of that money is flowing in. It’s just that she couldn’t last those extra six months.”

She was, he says, several million dollars shy of being able to hang on, and in those days bank loans weren’t as available as they are today. And credit cards weren’t a viable option either, leaving her with little choice.

“Lucy actually took off and went to Miami,” Marc details. “She ran away, because it was so heartbreaking to sign the contract. They had to track her down to get her to do it. There’s a picture of her cutting the ribbon after they’ve torn down the wall between Paramount and Desilu, and she’s standing next to the CEO of Gulf and Western, which owned both studios now, and her frozen expression is she’s trying to put on a brave face for the photographers, and trying to fake this smile for the camera. And you know it’s just killing her. But, again, she was right . One hundred percent. The two most rerun shows in the history of TV are I Love Lucy and Star Trek .”

For much more on this and Star Trek , check out The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek by the author of this article and Mark A. Atman.

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Star Trek: Lucille Ball’s Unsung Role in its Origin Story

Without the I Love Lucy star, Star Trek could have remained a failed pilot

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Star Trek is one of those franchises whose origins have become so mythologised its practically a superhero origin story. Every fan knows the story of Gene Rodenberry, ex-US Air Force pilot-turned-beat cop-turned TV producer. We have all heard about his original “ wagon train to the stars ” pitch, and his idea that stories about alien worlds could be used to address real issues on our own planet.

But one name you might not associate with the earliest days of Star Trek is Lucille Ball. When director Brian Volk-Weiss set out to make The Center Seat: Celebrating 55 Years of Star Trek , one of the things he set out to change was that a lot of the history of Star Trek that had been covered by books and journalism had never been seen in a documentary, and Lucille Ball was the most egregious example of that.

“This has bothered me since high school, maybe even junior high,” Volk-Weiss tells us. “I did the whole opening episode on this topic, which is how can we keep talking about Gene Rodenberry as the father of Star Trek and never talk about Lucille Ball?”

Even if you’re not an aficionado of vintage sitcom, Lucille Ball is a familiar face and name. Gillian Anderson’s character Media paid memorable tribute to her in American Gods . The first episode of WandaVision was an homage to her wildly successful show, I Love Lucy . Aaron Sorkin’s latest film, Being the Ricardos , documents Ball and her husband, Desi Arnaz, during one week of the production of the show. That was recently joined by the Amy Poehler-directed documentary Lucy and Desi , which goes behind-the-scenes on the star and her marriage using audio recordings provided by the family.

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Ball and Arnaz would eventually channel the success of their TV show into purchasing their own studio, forming the portmanteauing their names to form Desilu Productions, a name that will be familiar to anyone who watched Star Trek to the end of the credits.

When Ball and Arnaz eventually divorced in 1960, Ball took over the studio herself, becoming one of the most powerful women in Hollywood. That clout would become an essential part of the Star Trek story.

Ball had risen to prominence thanks to I Love Lucy pioneering the rerun on broadcast television, and so to make a name for her studio she wanted a show that could do equally successfully with rerun rights. Star Trek was to be that show.

“Gene’s great, I’ve nothing against Gene, but a script is nothing without money and she didn’t just finance the pilot once, she financed it twice,” Volk-Weiss says.

This is part of the story that is probably more familiar to Star Trek fans. Before there was the version of Star Trek we all know and love, there was the pilot episode, “ The Cage .” It saw the Enterprise encounter the mysterious, alien Talosians.

Rodenberry’s first pick for the show’s heroic Captain Pike, William Shatner , was unavailable, and so instead Jeffrey Hunter was cast in the role. At the same time, Rodenberry’s choice for the ship’s doctor, DeForest Kelley, was turned down for being too sinister thanks to his villainous Western roles.

The resulting pilot, which had already been one of the most expensive ever filmed at over $600,000, received a lukewarm response, and the entire Star Trek franchise could have ended there. But Ball stepped in and financed another pilot.

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“That would be considered insanely risky in 2022,” Volk-Weiss points out. “To do that before syndication existed was nuts.”

The second pilot, “Where No Man Has Gone Before,” saw Rodenberry finally manage to bring Shatner and Kelley onboard, as well as Nichole Nicholls as Uhura. It also saw the introduction of the “Galactic Barrier”, a concept the franchise is still getting storylines out of today.

Meanwhile, the original pilot has gone on to enjoy a second life, first as the two-part original series story ‘The Menagerie’, then with Captain Pike returning in Star Trek: Discovery and even meeting the Talosians again.

“The original pitch was ‘Lucille Ball turns the lights on, Rick Berman turns the lights off’,” Volk-Weiss says of his documentary series.

But with Star Trek: Strange New Worlds set to return this May, described by executive producer Henry Alonso Myers as “the longest pilot-to-series pickup in the history of television,” Lucille Ball’s impact on Star Trek may not be done yet.

Star Trek: The Center Seat is available to stream now on IMDb TV in the UK

Chris Farnell

Chris Farnell is a freelance writer and the author of a novel, an anthology, a Doctor Who themed joke book and some supplementary RPG material. He…

Old News, Vintage News, Historical News, Retro News

Lucille ball is the reason we have ‘star trek’.

• Vintage Hollywood

Most people know Lucille Ball from the sitcom I Love Lucy,  which ran between 1951 and 1957 and was the most watched and influential TV show in the U.S. It starred Ball alongside her husband and co-creator of the show, Desi Arnaz. Both of them pioneered revolutionary ideas that changed television forever.

Arnaz and Ball met in 1940 while working on a movie set and got married the following year. Although everyone believed that they wouldn’t last for more than a year, they remained together for 20 years and proved to be a powerful couple not only privately but also professionally.

Both rose to fame with the show I Love Lucy  created by Ball. First, the show was produced by CBS studios, but Arnaz and Ball established their own Desilu Productions Company and bought the rights for the famous sitcom and made millions.

Although initially Arnaz lacked formal education in business and had a very basic knowledge in show production, he managed to develop the standard production method for sitcoms.

At the time, the majority of TV programs were broadcast live, with the largest markets situated in places like New York, while the rest of the nation received only images derived from kinescopes to follow new episodes.

Along with Karl Freund, the man behind the camera on I Love Lucy, Arnaz developed the linked multi-film camera setup, making use of contiguous sets in front of the live audiences. It was hard accomplishing a design of set that would enable filming while allowing the audience to be present, and to comply with safety standards.

Also, network executives were mostly suspicious about using film. Arnaz persuaded them saying that any additional production cost would be covered by his company, which would retain ownership of all copyrights to the film prints and negatives.

The result was the show being broadcast in high-quality across the nation. In the first seasons, Arnaz didn’t profit much, but incomes improved throughout the next ones.

Many people believe that this arrangement was one of the best deals in television history.

While making millions, Arnaz and Ball became the most beloved couple in America. In 1953, their second child was born. Coincidentally, the episode “TV birth” coincided with the real birth of their son.

After that, Arnaz and Ball became everything that the majority of Americans aspired to be – a perfect family.

However, everything seemed perfect only on screen. Privately, things weren’t going so well. Arnaz was a drinker and a womanizer, and no matter what his wife did to settle him down, he couldn’t abandon old habits.

The two divorced in 1960 but remained close friends and collaborators, and co-parented their two children. In 1962 it was Lucille Ball’s turn to take charge of the company, purchasing her ex-husband’s shares of the Desilu Productions Company.

Back in 1929, Ball was working as a model while struggling to become an actress. Due to her shy nature, she was fired from various shows and told not to waste her time.

However, she loved acting and after years of not giving up, things went well for her. She became the first woman to run a major television studio alone. Moreover, she made Desilu Productions increasingly profitable on her watch.

Ball was a mature woman with a decade-long experience with TV production. She could appreciate art and smell profit. She had developed an intuition about what would and wouldn’t work on TV.

It was Lucille Ball who approved some genuinely outstanding production concepts such as Star Trek, The Untouchables, and Mission Impossible. Imagine if it was someone who didn’t believe or didn’t recognize the potential in the idea for the Star Trek series. From today’s point of view, it is hard to imagine a world without the series.

For every suggested project, Ball’s evaluation and judgement depended on the response of the public. She was always seeking long-term enjoyment programs.

She made a profitable success for Desilu in a period of only five years. In 1967, Ball sold her shares to Gulf & Western/Paramount Studios for an astonishing $17 million. After the sale, the company was renamed Paramount Television.

Read another story from us: ‘Scotty’ from Star Trek Took Part in D-Day and was Shot 6 Times

For her part, Lucille Ball, as well as Arnaz, left quite a legacy and managed to change the face of television production forever, giving the world some of its favorite shows.

I Love Lucy, Mission: Impossible, Star Trek?

By rich libero | mar 2, 2018.

The link between I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball, Mission: Impossible and Star Trek creates an entertaining challenge for fans of The Original Series.

How does Ball, the I Love Lucy star, fit in with Star Trek?

Back in the 1960’s, Ball and her then-husband Desi Arnaz owned Desilu Studios. In 1966, the 16-year-old studio took a flyer on a guy named Gene Roddenberry and produced the first season of Star Trek.

Actors – particularly those who specialized in television shows – contracted to studios in those days. These actors could appear across a wide range of shows as supporting actors and guest stars. They performed a myriad of roles from backup characters to antagonists.

Desilu sold to Gulf+Western in 1967, but in ’66, they produced three exciting and challenging shows in Star Trek , Mission: Impossible and Mannix .

If you think Star Trek provided a glimpse of the future, Mission: Impossible offered spy gadgetry and thrills to a geo-political backdrop.

The biggest Trek-to-Mission crossover took place when Leonard Nimoy assumed the role of “The Great Paris” in Mission’s fourth and fifth seasons. His role replaced Martin Landau as a makeup artist and impersonator extraordinaire.

. Star Trek. S1E27. John Colicos. A

The notion of seeing Nimoy without his Vulcan gear proved a shock, but back in those days, with the Trek off the air, a familiar face offered some sense of hope that show might live on. Still, it’s interesting to see Nimoy taking on his role as Paris after admittedly subjugating his personal identity to his Vulcan alter-ego.

One of the greatest Trek-to-Mission-to-Mannix links belongs to John Colicos better known to TOS fans as Klingon Command Kor in the seminal episode Errand of Mercy .

Colicos enjoyed a prolific acting career , passing away in 2000 at the age of 71.

"“Good, honest hatred. Very refreshing,” Kor to the incognito Captain Kirk."

Colicos delivered a memorable Klingon line during his first encounter with an incognito Captain Kirk. “Good, honest hatred. Very refreshing.” Overall, his crisp, brash portrayal supplied TOS fans with the first encounter of a Klingon captain.

Colicos excelled in the role of bureaucrat and foreign officer. He performed in three different Mission: Impossible episodes:

• The Reluctant Dragon in 196, as Commissioner Taal Jankowski
• The Play in 1968, as Milos Kuro
• The Flight in 1970, as Chief of Internal Security Manuel Ferrar.

He made seven appearances in Mannix, including a two-parter titled Race Against Time . Colicos played the role of heart surgeon Dr. Myles Considine. Mannix’s mission involved smuggling Considine into an authoritarian country to perform surgery on a revolutionary.

Digital Dancing from Data: Star Wars vs. Star Trek Dance Off

Tuning into old Mission: Impossible episodes offer a great variety – and longer run – than the three-season Star Trek Original Series . Why not see if you and your friends can spot and name the TOS characters present in almost every episode?

Of course, if you don’t have the inclination to binge, you can get all the data on the link between these two classic TV shows at Memory Alpha .

Lucille Ball Suffered Life-Changing Sacrifices For Star Trek

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 1957. Lucy and Desi divorced a few years later, and Ball became the sole owner of Desilu. 

Desilu oversaw a wide spectrum of shows, from sitcoms like "Our Miss Brooks" and variety shows like "Shower of Stars," but also Westerns like "The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp" and adventure programs like "Whirlybirds." When Ball took over sole ownership in the 1960s, her plans became far more ambitious. Ball oversaw the later seasons of notable shows like "The Untouchables," as well as "Mannix," "Mission: Impossible," and, most importantly to this article, "Star Trek." 

According to stories told in the 2016 book "The Fifty-Year Mission: The Complete, Uncensored, Unauthorized Oral History of Star Trek: The First 25 Years," edited by Mark A. Altman and Edward Gross, Ball was incredibly keen to promote "Star Trek." Despite being a relatively expensive show, and one that wasn't earning boffo ratings, Ball continued to push and push for the series. Sadly, her insistence on producing Gene Roddenberry's sci-fi program contributed to Ball selling off Desilu entirely. It seemed that her business legacy would have to end to launch a new one. 

I Love Lursa

Marc Cushman has orbited  "Star Trek"  for many years, but his most famous contribution involved pitching the story that would eventually become the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Sarek." Cushman also authored or co-authored several notable sourcebooks related to Trek, including 2013's "These Are the Voyages: TOS Season One,"  and "These Are the Voyages: Gene Roddenberry and Star Trek in the 1970s, Volume 1 (1970-75)."  In addition to "Star Trek," Cushman also wrote for other high-profile shows like "Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction" and "Diagnosis Murder." Perhaps most impressive was Cushman's main career — under the nom de plume Cash Markman — as a writer of erotic films. As Markman, he wrote multiple "Sex Trek" movies, including "Charly XXX," "Sex Trek: The Man Eater," "XXX Trek: The Final Orgasm," and "Sex Trek V: Deep Space Sex."

Cushman, being learned in the world of "Star Trek" knew all about Lucille Ball's struggles with Desilu in the mid-1960s. It seems that people around Ball advised her not to invest in "Star Trek," but she defied them and did it anyway. Cushman told the following story: 

"Lucille Ball lost her studio because of 'Star Trek.' She had gambled on the show, and you can read the memos where her board of directors is saying, 'Don't do this show, it's going to kill us.' But she believed in it. She moved forward with it, and during the second season, she had to sell Desilu to Paramount Pictures. Lucille Ball gave up the studio that she and her husband built, it's all she had left of her marriage, and she sacrificed that for 'Star Trek.'

It's worth noting that Paramount has owned "Star Trek" ever since. 

'What would Desi do?'

Although Ball and Arnaz have separated, it seems that Lucy still respected her ex-husband's keen business acumen, preferring to take business cues from his old habits. Cushman stated it thus: 

"Desi wasn't there anymore. So Lucy is asking herself, 'What would Desi do?' because she really loved and respected him. 'Desi would get more shows on the air that we own, not just that we're producing for other companies.' That was her reasoning to do 'Star Trek' — and she felt that this show could, if it caught on, rerun for years like 'I Love Lucy.' And guess what? Those two shows — 'I Love Lucy' and 'Star Trek' — are two shows that have been rerunning ever since they originally aired."

So Ball perhaps knew what she was doing. She believed in "Star Trek," and felt that it was to be an important part of the Desilu identity. That it was put in eternal syndication was perhaps the largest contributing factor to the franchise's longevity. Sadly, Ball herself didn't get to ride that train very long. Cushman recalls that Trek was just too expensive to maintain. He said: 

"Lucy's instincts were right about 'Star Trek,' that it would become one of the biggest shows in syndication ever. The problem was that her pockets weren't deep enough. They were losing $15,000 an episode, which would be like $500,000 per episode today. You know, if she could have hung on just six months longer, it would have worked out, because by the end of the second season, once they had enough episodes. 'Star Trek' was playing in, I believe, 60 different countries around the world. And all of that money is flowing in." 

Before those six months were up, Desilu was already sold.

The fake smile

Cushman even knew about Ball's attempts to flee the sale. Evidently, she delayed signing the contract with Paramount by leaving town for a few days. Cushman seems to feel that Ball was heartbroken over everything. He said: 

"She had no choice but to sell. She actually took off and went to Miami. She ran away because it was so heartbreaking to sign the contract. They had to track her down to get her to do it. There's a picture of her cutting the ribbon after they've torn down the wall between Paramount and Desilu, and she's standing next to the CEO of Gulf and Western, which owns both studios now, and she's trying to fake this smile for the camera, and you know it's just killing her."

The New York Times reported at the time that Ball was to remain president of Desilu after the sale. One can see the photo Cushman is referring to online . Ball seems to be smiling in the picture as Charles Bluhdorn, wearing shades, looks at her cutting the ribbon. the ribbon was made of 70mm film strips. Immediately after the 1967 sale, Desilu was effectively defunct, and Paramount Television was born. "Star Trek" was permitted to survive and survives to this day . Even through various studio schisms and re-mergers, "Star Trek" has persisted. It seems that Lucy gave the show its one final push into immortality before backing off and letting others take the reins. 

Ball, meanwhile, lost the studio with her name on it. One might say it was a heartbreaking sacrifice. 

We Wouldn't Have Star Trek Without Lucille Ball

The 'I Love Lucy' star was instrumental in shaping the future of the science fiction series.

It's hard to imagine a world without Star Trek . The exploration of the final frontier has led to multiple TV series — including the bedrock of Paramount+'s offerings — as well as novels, movies, and even comic books. But that wasn't always the case. In fact, Star Trek 's original pilot was received fairly poorly. But the series would find new life due to a surprising source: Lucille Ball . In fact, the I Love Lucy star is responsible for bringing Star Trek to television screens.The process, however, was a rough one as Ball had to deal with executives who didn't exactly see the value of the sci-fi series.

RELATED: 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2 Trailer Beams Up 'Lower Decks' Crossover, Klingons, and More

Lucille Ball Backed Star Trek When No One Else Would

Ball rose to prominence with I Love Lucy , which became one of the most popular sitcoms in history. This success let Ball and her husband Desi Arnaz form their own production studio, Desilu Productions . Under Desilu, TV shows including The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible enjoyed popularity — even spawning film adaptations of their own down the line. Ball and Arnaz eventually divorced in 1960, but Ball ended up buying out the remaining shares of Desilu by 1962. This made her one of the first female producers to head her own studio, and she'd use her clout to secure the rights for Star Trek .

First she had to convince her board members that the show was worth it. The original series pilot, "The Cage," didn't exactly set the world on fire. In his autobigraphy Up Till Now , William Shatner — who was up for the role of Captain Christopher Pike — revealed that NBC thought "The Cage" was "too cerebral," "too intellectual," and "too slow." Granted, those are words that have become synonymous with Trek , but when you're attempting to launch a television series those are hardly the adjectives one wants to be associated with a show.

Ball eventually stepped in and financed a second pilot titled "Where No Man Has Gone Before," which would serve as the series premiere proper for Star Trek: The Original Series . Many of Desilu's board members objected to spending so much time and money on the project, but Ball stood by Gene Roddenberry 's vision. Inside Star Trek: The Real Story author Marc Cushman made it clear that Ball had learned quite a few lessons from her ex-husband Arnaz when it came to taking crazy gambles.

But though Ball definitely saw the promise of Roddenberry's vision for Star Trek , the creator himself was less than forthright when it came to the nature of their relationship. Despite Roddenberry hyping up his personal connection with Ball, the two never met as she was busy with I Love Lucy in addition to helming her own production company. In fact, Ball almost fired Roddenberry when she learned he had been having an affair with his wife to be Majel Barrett. There was also the matter of Ball misunderstanding the nature of Star Trek . She apparently thought it was a show about actual Hollywood stars traveling across the globe for USO shows! Despite these roadblocks, Ball remained a major part of funding Star Trek: The Original Series and making sure it got on the airwaves.

The Seeds Of 'Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Lie In Ball's Approval

Ball bankrolling Star Trek gave Roddenberry the clout he needed to hire the cast he wanted, including Shatner and Forest DeKelly . Prior to playing Kirk, Shatner was actually considered for the role of Captain Pike before being rejected. DeKelly, who'd go on to play Leonard McCoy, was deemed "too sinister" for "The Cage." Barrett, who played the mysterious "Number One" in "The Cage," would later go on to play several roles in the Star Trek franchise including Christine Chapel in The Original Series and Lwaxana Troi in Star Trek: The Next Generation . In fact, the only character who reprised their role from the original pilot was Leonard Nimoy as Spock.

"The Cage" would later influence the two-episode story "The Menagerie," which saw Spock commandeering the Enterprise in order to complete a mission that Pike had embarked upon years ago. Large portions of "The Cage" were used for flashback sequences, mainly because Trek 's special effects were starting to take a toll on the production schedule . The gamble ultimately paid off, as "The Menagerie" is considered to be one of the best episodes of The Original Series .

These days, "The Cage" is best known as the foundation of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds . While Pike (played this time by Anson Mount ) had previously appeared in Season 2 of Star Trek: Discovery , Strange New Worlds fleshes out his character as well as the various members of the U.S.S. Enterprise . From delving into Spock ( Ethan Peck ) and his struggle with his dual nature to the history of Number One/Una Chin-Riley ( Rebecca Romijin ), the characters who were only briefly glimpsed in "The Cage" are now as beloved as the original crew of the Enterprise .

In a way, Strange New Worlds owes its success to the fact that Lucille Ball was willing to take a chance on Star Trek . The franchise's journey to television paralleled Ball's rise to running her own studio. Both have stood the test of time, and more than earned their place in pop culture.

Star Trek: The Original Series and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds are available to stream on Paramount+.

Why Star Trek Never Would Have Happened Without Lucille Ball

"Star Trek" has amassed a cult following since its introduction as a TV series back in 1966. Since then, the franchise has grown to include several TV series, movies, and even animated shows. It's hard to believe that "Star Trek" wouldn't have happened it wasn't for the backing of one of the entertainment industry's most powerful women at that time — Lucille Ball.

Lucille Ball was a fixture on television screens as the star of the sitcom "I Love Lucy," which aired from 1951 until 1957 on CBS. The show was produced by Desilu Productions, which was owned by Ball and her then-husband, Desi Arnaz, who was also her co-star in the series. "I Love Lucy" was such a huge success that the independent production company looked into creating more television shows. Arnaz and Ball divorced in 1960, and Ball bought her ex-husband's shares in the company, which made her the sole owner of the business and the first woman to run a television studio, per Women's History .

In the 1960s, Desilu Productions was desperate to launch another successful show. Ball was looking at two proposals that were brought to her attention — "Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible" (via Business Insider ).

Lucille Ball fought for Star Trek

Desilu Productions' board members were against choosing "Star Trek" as filming for the pilot episode alone would be costly for the company. However, Lucille Ball , as the head of the business, overruled the majority and gave the green light for producing "Star Trek". As the story goes, Ball initially thought that the show was about traveling USO performers — artists who provided entertainment for troops, as reported by Entertainment Weekly . Ultimately, Ball believed in "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry's project, and the pilot episode titled "The Cage" was filmed.

That wasn't the start of the sci-fi show, however, as NBC didn't like the pilot and rejected it for being "too cerebral." It seemed that "Star Trek" wouldn't be seen by the public but miraculously, NBC ordered a second pilot — an extremely rare occurrence in the entertainment business — to be shot. NBC likely wouldn't have given the show a second chance if it wasn't for the backing of Lucille Ball (via Star Trek ). The second pilot, titled "Where No Man Has Gone Before," had a completely different set of actors from the first pilot, save for Leonard Nimoy who retained his role as Mr. Spock. The second pilot was a success and gained NBC's approval.

Lucille Ball lost Desilu Productions

NBC ordered 16 episodes for the first season of "Star Trek," but again, Desilu board members tried to stop Lucille Ball from proceeding with the project as they were fearful that the cost to produce the show would bankrupt the company. Ball wasn't to be deterred, though, and production started, per Heavy . The first episode aired on September 8, 1966. A few years after its airing, Ball's own daughter, Lucie Arnaz, pushed for the board to cancel "Star Trek" as it was the most expensive show Desilu was producing. Again, Ball refused and said that she liked "Star Trek".

Desilu executives kept on trying to convince Ball to pull the plug on the show's second season, but she refused, believing that "Star Trek" will be a hit. However, production costs were piling up and in the middle of the second season, Ball was left with no choice but to sell Desilu Productions to Paramount. Shortly after, "Star Trek" became an international success under Paramount and aired in more than 60 countries. Sadly, Desilu ran out of funding before it was able to get its investment back and reap the rewards.

Star Trek Demythifies How The Iconic Lucille Ball Saved The Franchise & Helped It Become A Cultural Phenom!

August 9, 2023

Star Trek Demythifies How The Iconic Lucille Ball Saved The Franchise and Helped It Become A Cultural Phenom!

Star Trek reports .

How Lucille Ball Helped Star Trek Become a Cultural Icon The actress and her studio helped bring The Original Series to life.

The journey to get Star Trek: The Original Series on television was a long and arduous one, but series creator Gene Roddenberry had help from an unlikely heroine. Without the help of this woman and her studio, the franchise may have stalled and never seen the light of day. And so today, on the anniversary of her birthday, let’s think fondly of the incomparable Lucille Ball. Ball is, of course, most familiar to the world as the comedic star of I Love Lucy, the show she produced and starred in alongside her husband Desi Arnaz. The success of the sitcom, which ran for six years, allowed her and her husband to purchase their own studio, Desilu Productions. When Arnaz and Ball divorced in 1960, she took over the studio herself, making her one of the most powerful women in Hollywood.

Four years later, Roddenberry came to Desilu with an idea for a pilot that would grow into Star Trek. Ball bought the series, even if she didn’t quite understand it; allegedly, she thought the title referred to a group of traveling USO performers during WWII. Author Marc Cushman wrote of the actress in Inside Star Trek: The Real Story that, “She may have initially misunderstood the Star Trek concept, but TV’s ‘wacky redhead,’ known for playing a character that had always had a harebrained scheme up her sleeve, had learned well from Desi Arnaz. He had been called crazy many times by Industry insiders, but always proved his critics wrong.” Still, she supported his space western vision, even as some board members were resistant to the idea. It was thanks to her that “The Cage” was produced in the first place. Ball stood by the show through two pilots being shot and a massive budget, and the rest is history. A studio accountant named Edwin “Ed” Holly is on the record as saying “If it were not for Lucy, there would be no Star Trek today.”

Without the support of Ball, “The Cage” would have been the end of Star Trek. Second pilots are rarely commissioned, not without someone with some power backing them up. NBC could have passed on Star Trek overall, but Ball, who believed in the project, stepped in, and saved the day in a move that would’ve made every Starfleet captain proud. The comedian is one of many talented women who are among the many reasons that the Star Trek has endured into the 21st Century. Ball is simply one of the first. Her belief in Star Trek is why we have Star Trek as it stands today. Ball was more than just a comedian and a beloved television icon, she was a savvy producer who deserved credit for her work behind the scenes, including helping to achieve Roddenberry’s vision. For this, we can all love Lucy.

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Star Trek: How Lucille Ball's Breakout Film Inspired a Classic TOS Episode

Lucille Ball was one of Star Trek's early champions, and the franchise repaid her by homaging one of her classic films.

Lucille Ball’s contributions to Star Trek  have been well-documented, and they may even eclipse the seminal I Love Lucy in terms of the impact they had on television. Ball owned Desilu Studios, which produced Star Trek,  with her then-husband Desi Arnaz and greenlit The Original Series series when it first began. Her creative involvement was minimal, but, by all accounts, she fought the naysayers in the boardroom who thought the show was too expensive.

Star Trek found an elegant way to thank her for her patronage in  The Original Series , Season 1, Episode 13, “The Galileo Seven." This entry was an overt remake of Five Came Back,  Ball’s first big hit from 1939. The film was an adventure melodrama from RKO Pictures, which meant it housed the kind of dramatic hooks that worked extremely well in the franchise.

RELATED:  Star Trek: How Marvel Created Its Own Take on Strange New Worlds

Five Came Back entails a commercial airliner that crashes in the jungle en route to Panama City. The plane can be repaired but, out of the ten survivors, it could only rescue five. The remaining passengers must face a grisly death from headhunters in the jungle, and the decision of who lives and who dies falls to Vasquez, a convicted political assassin who makes surprisingly ethical choices.

Five Came Back  enjoyed both critical success and strong box office numbers in 1939, and it would help establish early parameters for what would become the disaster film. Ball earned praise for her performance as Peggy Nolan, which set her star on the rise and ultimately led to her landing the titular role in  I Love Lucy.

RELATED:  Star Trek's Vulcan Mind Meld Only Exists Because the Show Was Afraid of... Hypnosis?

“The Galileo Seven” borrows the same notion and dilemma as Five Came Back . The Enterprise’s shuttle Galileo crash lands on an inhospitable planet, and Mr. Spock is left in command of six crew members. The shuttle is damaged, and three of the seven will need to be left behind, meaning Spock has to make the decision. This episode was an early example of how Spock’s alien nature could set him at odds with the crew and formed an interesting parallel to Vasquez. Spock uses logic to resolve the dilemma, and the coldness of his calculations sets the other survivors on edge, while Vasquez, far from a mindless killer, makes the same kind of deliberations with an eye on the maximum good.

Thankfully, "The Galileo Seven" has a happier ending than Five Came Back . Two of the crewmen are killed by local monsters, but the remainder escape in the shuttle, and, thanks to Spock’s scientific acumen, they signal the Enterprise for a rescue. Five Came Back,  on the other hand, finds Vasquez and an older couple stranded, with Vasquez shooting them before they fall into the hands of angry headhunters. This change in the story keeps with Star Trek’s optimistic nature and demonstrates the benevolence and compassion beneath Spock’s icy exterior .

As a nod to Ball, the episode worked quite well. In fact, the shuttle became one of the series’ mainstay props and is almost as recognizable as the Enterprise itself. In that way, “The Galileo Seven” outlasted the film that inspired it, which is a fitting testament to the efforts of Ball and the Star Trek creative team.

KEEP READING:  Star Trek: The 7 Funniest Cheap Props on the Original Series

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• Women in Space - How Lucille Ball Saved Star Trek® and the Impact on NASA

Women have always played a pivotal role in space exploration. From key roles in sci-fi fantasy television shows and movies to real-life scientific heroines, the impact of women is undeniable, and we celebrate it.

Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Did you know that Star Trek® almost didn't make the network? After a failed pilot, Lucille Ball not only advocated for a second pilot but circumvented the board of her production company, putting up her own money to ensure that the show had another chance. But for the tenacity and support of Lucille Ball, Star Trek® might not be the cultural institution it is. The Star Trek® website says the Ball is one of the most influential people in the show's history. "NBC could have passed on Star Trek® overall, but Ball, who believed in the project, stepped in and saved the day in a move that would've made every Starfleet captain proud. Little did she know that the show would have far-reaching implications, much more than just quality entertainment.

Star Trek launched with a strong cast showcased a crew of multi-racial actors in key roles aboard the USS Enterprise. It was the first time that a mainstream television show depicted people of color in critical positions that were not overshadowed by stereotypes of the era.

Despite the success of Star Trek in its first season, Nichelle Nichols , who played Nyota Uhura, considered leaving the show in favor of an offer to perform on Broadway. However, Gene Roddenberry , the creator of Star Trek® , was disappointed when she submitted her notice to leave on a Friday afternoon. Rather than accept her resignation, he encouraged her to think about staying on with the show over the weekend. They agreed to talk about it the following Monday.

The following evening, Ms. Nichols attended an NAACP event and was introduced to Martin Luther King Jr. It was at that event that the conversation she had with Dr. King convinced her to stay on with the show when he shared that Star Trek® was the only show he and his wife allowed his young daughters to stay up past their bedtime to watch.

The reason? Because of her.

Because Ms. Nichol's character, Lt. Uhura, the communications officer, was an intelligent, articulate, black woman that played a critical role in the Star Trek® missions. Her character was the first black female role that didn't fall into the trope of black stereotypes. Dr. King shared that she was an example to his daughters and an example to the entire country of the dignity and intelligence of black women, and he begged her not to leave.

History shows that of course, Ms. Nichols did NOT leave Star Trek® for Broadway. Instead, she enjoyed a healthy career playing Lt. Uhuru from 1966-1982 in both the original television series and several Star Trek® movies. She was a great example to little girls everywhere that women could play a critical role in space exploration .

Ms. Nichols' contributions extended beyond the fantasy of Star Trek® and into the reality of NASA when she was recruited to help promote the program and recruit astronauts. Oscar Wilde said, "Life imitates art far more than art imitates life," and the role she played on TV and film paved the way for her contributions in growing NASA.

Like the fantasy world of Star Trek® , NASA's genesis was heavily influenced by women. The beginnings of NASA can be traced back to 1915 with the creation of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). Women have been an integral part of NACA/NASA operations since 1922, playing essential roles such as mathematician, computer, astronaut, engineer, and supervisors.

As the first woman hired by the NACA in 1922, Pearl Young served in the Instrument Research Division, responsible for "constructing, calibrating, and repairing virtually all instruments carried on aircraft." She quickly became an integral part of the organization spending nearly 40 years with the organization until her retirement in 1961.

Katherine Johnson was also employed by NACA (the precursor to NASA) in 1953 and worked there until 1986. She was a mathematician that calculated trajectories for NASA missions. It was said that John Glenn asked that Ms. Johnson hand-check the computer-generated calculations for his orbital mission, claiming that if she said they were good, he was willing to go into space. In 1960, she became the first woman in the division to receive author credit on a paper titled "Determination of Azimuth Angle at Burnout for Placing a Satellite over a Selected Earth Position."

It would be 61 years from the first female hire until NASA put a woman into space. Sally Ride's initial flight in 1983 as the first female US astronaut was the culmination of decades of pressure from both the media and scientists to include women in the astronaut corps. Ride applied to NASA when she responded to a NASA advertisement in her college paper. At the time, NASA was dominated by military test pilots. When she left NASA in 1987, she was the director of the exploration department. After that, she became a professor of physics and director of the California Space Institute at the University of California, San Diego.

The number of women at NASA has increased over the past decade. In 2012, one-third of employees were women, including 30% of supervisors and 20% of engineers. By 2017, 37% of new hires were women, and half of the latest astronauts were women.

Women have made a lasting impact on the space industry, and we celebrate their accomplishments and contributions to expanding our understanding of space.

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