Was Lucille Ball a communist? Star had dangerous brush with the 'Red Scare'
Lucille Ball is best known as Lucy Ricardo from 'I Love Lucy', the '50s sitcom that is still adored today as one of the best shows Hollywood has dished out. What's of little memory though is her encounter with the HUAC, known as the House Un-American Activities.
Now, Aaron Sorkin's new flick on Amazon Prime Video 'Being the Ricardos' sheds light on the scandal. The movie follows Ball (Nicole Kidman) and her husband Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem) during the single-week production of the show. The official synopsis reads, "A revealing glimpse of the couple's complex romantic and professional relationship, the film takes audiences into the writers' room, onto the soundstage and behind closed doors with Ball and Arnaz during one critical production week of their groundbreaking sitcom I Love Lucy." On that note, the movie may also show the actress's associations with the Communist Party and her deals with HUAC.
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Was Lucille Ball a member of the Communist party?
The FBI revealed that Ball had registered to vote as a member of the Communist party in 1936, a piece of news that she denied while also refuting claims of her being involved with the party activities. According to Bustle, former screenwriter Rena Vale testified that a Communist meeting was held at her place in 1937 though the star had given the meeting a miss. The FBI's investigation also revealed that Ball had served as one of the delegates to the party's state committee.
By the time Ball's involvement was made public knowledge, the Red Scare had already taken over causing enough pandemonium. It didn't help her case that one of Hollywood's most prominent actresses was moonlighting as one of the Communists had set the media and the people into a tizzy. When radio personality Walter Winchell broke the news of the HUAC’s investigation, the news caused quite the uproar and blew up into a national scandal. In her interview, Ball had claimed that she had registered to vote, but only as a favor to her grandfather and claimed she had no ties to the party.
Eventually, the HUAC had to let Ball off the hook and while she participated in interviews, later on, Bustle said that it was her husband who did a major chunk of the talking. "Lucille is no Communist! Lucy has never been a Communist, not now and never will be. I was kicked out of Cuba because of Communism. We both despise the Communists and everything they stand for," he had said.
'Being the Ricardos' premieres December 21 on Prime Video.