February 11, 2003

"REDHEAD: THE LUCILLE BALL STORY" (WORKING TITLE), A NEW THREE-HOUR TELEVISION MOVIE EVENT STARRING RACHEL YORK AND DANNY PINO, HAS BEGUN PRODUCTUION IN AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, The Team Behind Academy Award-Nominated and Golden Globe Award-Winning Movie "Chicago," To Serve As Executive Producers

REDHEAD: THE LUCILLE BALL STORY (working title), a new three-hour television movie event starring theater actress Rachel York ("Kiss Me, Kate") and Danny Pino ("The Shield"), has begun production in Auckland, New Zealand for broadcast on the CBS Television Network. The drama, based on a true story, is an inside, little-known account of the celebrated, complex, passionate and tumultuous relationship between Lucille Ball (York) and Desi Arnaz (Pino), as well as a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the creation of one of television's most groundbreaking and beloved shows, "I Love Lucy."

Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, executive producers of the Academy Award-nominated and recent Golden Globe Award winning "Chicago," are executive producers. The pair were also executive producers of "Martin and Lewis," on the Network, "Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows," "The Three Stooges," "Cinderella," "Annie" and "The Music Man."

Fifty years ago, the magical union of Ball and Arnaz enthralled American audiences who couldn't get enough of the fiery redhead or her sexy Cuban husband. But off-camera, the situation couldn't have been less comedic. Backstage battles, oversized egos, infidelity and the demands of phenomenal success undermined what was once a storybook romance.

In 1920 at her home in Jamestown, N.Y., young Lucy and her brother Fred enjoyed playacting for their mother, DeDe, and grandfather, Fred. While the loving family experienced its share of heartache and pain, a lively and spirited Lucy endured each disappointment and ambitiously forged ahead with her dream of becoming an actress. A mixture of fate and perseverance led Lucy to modeling in Manhattan and movies in Los Angeles, but neither allowed the future legend's comedic genius, which she herself was yet to discover, shine through.

Sparks immediately flew when the pretty actress met a young, charismatic Latin musician from an aristocratic Cuban family. It wasn't long before the passionate couple was married - and Desi began to stray. But despite the heartache - his constant and public philandering and their individual struggles to make it Hollywood - the fervor between them wouldn't die. The two needed each other and went on to build a family with the birth of daughter Lucie, and later, son Desi Jr.

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It was during Lucy's mid-30s, at the end of a disappointing movie career that never quite got off the ground, that her former MGM movie co-star Red Skelton and his friend Buster Keaton encouraged her comedic sensibilities and suggested a career in television. Although TV was considered a dead-end for an aspiring movie actress, Lucy, who had passed her prime in film, considered it an opportunity to extend her career - and keep her husband under her watchful eye. While network executives were fervently opposed to casting the Latin Desi as her husband on a sitcom based on the radio show "My Favorite Husband," Lucy eventually got her way and the rest, as they say, is history.

"I Love Lucy," with its revolutionary three-camera approach, shot live from Los Angeles (as opposed to New York) in front of a studio audience, starring an aging B-movie actress and her foreign husband, and covering formerly taboo subjects such as pregnancy, broke every imaginable barrier and paved the way for the modern sitcom. Despite continued personal challenges, including Lucy's investigation by the House Un-American Activities Committee and a perpetually turbulent marriage, Lucy and Desi continued to break ground with their enormously successful television series, and eventually, their own studio. Though their marriage didn't last, their impact on comedy, on television and on their legions of viewers continues to live on.

REDHEAD: THE LUCILLE BALL STORY (working title) is produced by Storyline Entertainment in association with Sony Pictures Television. Zadan and Meron are executive producers along with Emmy Award-winner Glenn Jordan ("The Long Way Home," "Barbarians at the Gate"). Jacob Rose ("Blonde") and Dave Mace ("Brian's Song") are the producers. Jordan is directing the movie from a script by Thomas Cook ("High Noon").

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Press Contacts: Andrea Ballas           323/575-2858            andrea.ballas@tvc.cbs.com
                        Diane Ekeblad           323/575-2029            diane.ekeblad@tvc.cbs.com
                        Jayna Pakman            212/975-3163            jpakman@cbs.com