Doll | doll set:I Love Lucy: Lucille Ball, Legendary Lady of Comedy

Lucille Ball flaunted a successful career as a movie actress and star of radio when in 1951 she first appeared in "I Love Lucy" along with her real-life husband Desi Arnez and actress Vivan Vance (playing Lucy's friend and landlady Ethel Mertz) and William Frawley (as Ethel's husband). The TV comedy, which aired originally from 1951 to 1960, usually featured Lucy's failed attempts at doing something clever or difficult. The show, and some of its most memorable episodes, made the redhead the most popular and beloved female comedienne and television star. Even after the break up of her marriage to Arnez, the show continued in syndication. Some 50 years later, the series airs several times a day on cable networks, and it appears in many foreign languages throughout the world. Lucy herself continued in two other comedy series well into the 1970s. Lucille Ball is probably the most popular female comedian of the 20th century, and "I Love Lucy" ranks in the top TV show of all times in many popular-culture venues such as "TV Guide" and "Time" magazine. To commemorate some classic moments from "I Love Lucy," Mattel, Inc., maker of the Barbie doll, created collectible editions of Lucy, Desi, and Ethel as they appeared in the funniest scenes from the series. One need only say "Lucy and the grapes," "Lucy and the conveyor belt of chocolates," or "Lucy and Vitameatavegamin," to make a room full of people laugh. The episodes and the moments are well-known to all TV viewers and deeply embedded in our cultural memory.