The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum,, formally The Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum & Center for Comedy and commonly known as the Lucy Desi Museum, is a museum at 2 West 3rd Street,

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest pop ...

that is affiliated with the nearby

National Comedy Center The National Comedy Center is an American museum dedicated to comedy. The museum and its archives are located in Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, New York. The museum documents the history of comedy and the artists, producers, writers, c ...

with which is shares executive director Journey Gunderson. The museum is dedicated to the lives and careers of

Lucille Ball Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...

and

Desi Arnaz Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer. He played Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, Ricky Ricardo on the American television sitcom ''I Lov ...

. Jamestown was Ball's birthplace. The museum opened in 1996 and as of 2015, drew approximately 25,000 international visitors annually. The Comedy Center followed in 2016.

Displays

In addition to re-created sets, including the series' iconic living room, the museum showcases the work of

Desilu Studios The Culver Studios is a movie studio in Culver City, California. Originally created by silent movie pioneer Thomas H. Ince, classics from Hollywood's Golden Age were filmed there. It is currently owned by Hackman Capital Partners, which completely ...

in an adjacent building, houses the couple's artifacts and memorabilia including Ball's Emmy Awards, and an event facility dubbed the Tropicana Room, a recreation of

Ricky Ricardo Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, also known simply as Lucy and Ricky or the Ricardos, are fictional characters from the American television sitcom ''I Love Lucy'', portrayed respectively by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The Ricardos also appear in '' The ...

's nightclub.

Comedy festival

Formerly, each May, the museum celebrated Lucy-Desi Days, which featured several events including panel discussions with those closest to Ball and Arnaz. In the spring of 1989, Ball was meant to attend the commencement ceremony at

Jamestown Community College Jamestown Community College is a public community college with campuses in Jamestown and Olean, New York. It is part of the State University of New York system. JCC also has extension centers in Dunkirk, New York and Warren, Pennsylvania. The ...

and receive an honorary degree from the institution, and during the same weekend she planned to attend the Lucille Ball Festival of New Comedy, which she had developed in cooperation with the Arts Council of Jamestown, but she died shortly before the scheduled event. In 1991, the National Comedy Center established the annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, which is now held every August to honor Ball's August 6 birthday. Past festivals have featured

Ray Romano Raymond Albert Romano (born December 21, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his role as Ray Barone on the CBS sitcom ''Everybody Loves Raymond'', for which he received an Emmy Award, and as the ...

Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...

Lewis Black Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy routines often escalate into angry rants about history, politics, religion, or any other cultural trends. He hosted the Comedy Central series ''Lewis ...

Billy Gardell William Gardell Jr. (born August 20, 1969) is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Gardell played Chicago police officer Mike Biggs on ''Mike & Molly.'' He also had a recurring role as Billy Colivida on ''Yes, Dear'' and appeared in a dozen e ...

Jay Leno James Douglas Muir Leno (; born April 28, 1950) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and actor. After doing stand-up comedy for years, he became the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show'' from 1992 to 2009. Beginning in September 2009 ...

Bill Engvall William Ray Engvall Jr. (born July 27, 1957) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and television host. Engvall has released a number of stand-up comedy albums through Warner Records and the defunct BNA Records. His most commercially successf ...

Joan Rivers Joan Alexandra Molinsky (June 8, 1933 – September 4, 2014), known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona—heavi ...

Paula Poundstone Paula Poundstone (born December 29, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, author, actor, interviewer, and commentator. Beginning in the late 1980s, she performed a series of one-hour HBO comedy specials. She provided backstage commentary durin ...

Kathleen Madigan Kathleen Madigan is an American comedian and TV personality. In addition to her stand up comedy performances, she is a regular guest on a variety of U.S. television programs. Early life and education Kathleen Madigan is one of seven children in t ...

Tammy Pescatelli Tammy Pescatelli (born Tammy Gillespie) is an American stand-up comedian. Life and career Pescatelli was born in Perry, Ohio, and spent her childhood summers in her mother's hometown of Meadville, Pennsylvania. Pescatelli worked as a morning ra ...

, and many more.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center 1996 establishments in New York (state)

Ball A ball is a round object (usually spherical, but can sometimes be ovoid) with several uses. It is used in ball games, where the play of the game follows the state of the ball as it is hit, kicked or thrown by players. Balls can also be used f ...

Jamestown, New York Lucille Ball Mass media museums in New York (state) Museums established in 1996 Museums in Chautauqua County, New York Women's museums in New York (state)