Lucile Ball is a Hollywood legend with her groundbreaking and successful show I love Lucy. Her career began in Tinseltown in 1929, and spanned the end of the Silent Era, through talk shows, television, and the era of home video, cable, and satellite television. She set the stage for female performers and was the first woman to head a major television studio.
She was married to actor, singer and World War II veteran Desi Arnaz, who co-starred with her in I love Lucy demonstration. Her legacy continues today with the American Comedy Awards being named “The Lucy” after her death. He starred in many shows and films such as The Lucy Show, This is Lucy, Yours, mine and ours, The Dark Corner, Best forwardand The Great Road. He was the head of her production company, Desilu Productionsfor producing hit TV shows like The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible, Star Trek and Mannix. He sold the company to Gulf+Western in 1967 for $17 million which is equivalent to $155 million today. Ball was an American patriot, and her story of thwarting Japanese spies during World War II is an example of this.
On THE Dick Cavett Show in the early 1970s, Ball revealed how her dental fillings could receive radio broadcasts. He had to have dental work done in the early 1940s and the dentist put in temporary fillings, which at the time were made of lead. She had multiple temporary fillings placed on her upper and lower jaw. He was driving early in the morning around 1:15 am. alone and had a long way to go. While driving, she suddenly heard music with a “loud beat” and looked down to turn off her radio and it “wasn’t on”. She looked around to see if anyone was following her and the music continued to grow louder and louder. At that point he realized, “…it was in my mouth.” He heard the tune and recognized and then started to fade out. He said, “What the hell was that? What could it be?’
The next day at the studio she mentioned her experience to Buster Keaton, a Hollywood icon and Silent Film star, and he replied, “Which street were you on, Moorpark?” Ball said “Yes” and withdrew, “You left the radio station. You picked it up. Do you have fillings?’ She told him she did and he said, “You picked it up in your teeth.” He was looking forward to driving to the radio station again. Having to wait a few weeks for the temporary fillings to be removed, five nights later he was driving again when he passed four empty seats where Birmingham [General Army] A hospital was to be built. As Ball walked through the lots, she heard a code through her fillings, like Morse code. She stopped her car and checked the area. The code continued in her head and she looked for the signal backing up her car. As he argued, the signal grew stronger and stronger. She stopped when the signal was so strong her “whole jaw was vibrating.”
She returned to MGM Studios the next morning with her new experience. He went to the security office and reported what happened. The security bureau passed the information on to authorities who found an underground Japanese radio station broadcasting. Thus, while working in the state of Hollywood, she helped thwart the Axis Powers and their plans through her temporary deposits and late-night trips to Los Angeles. Notably, the Birmingham General Military Hospital was intended for GIs, Desi Arnaz entertained troops through the USO during his WWII service, and the site is now Mulholland High School and William Mulholland High School. Some of the original buildings remain on the premises.
Watch Lucille Ball tell the story here:
