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Desilu logo as it showed in the ending credits of Star Trek
Desilu was a production company formed in 1950 by Lucille Ball and her then-husband, Desi Arnaz. The name, a portmanteau of the couple's first names, was originally applied to the Ball-Arnaz ranch. The success of the television show I Love Lucy enabled Desilu to grow and expand, producing such programs as Mission: Impossible and The Andy Griffith Show.
Desilu had a first-refusal agreement with CBS, which is why Star Trek was first pitched to that network. When CBS passed on the show, NBC was then approached.
Like most television studios during the 1950s and 1960s, Desilu had a stable of annually-contracted actors and behind-the-scenes personnel. Such talent moved from production to production as needed, and were paid a salary instead of a per-appearance fee. A notable Star Trek-related example was Majel Barrett, who began such a contracted relationship with Desilu in 1958. [1][2]
After the breakup of the Ball-Arnaz marriage, Desilu remained successful. In 1962, Ball bought out Arnaz and became the first woman ever to run a major Hollywood studio. Her solo success continued unabated until 15 February 1967, when Ball announced she would sell Desilu to Gulf+Western. This act brought Desilu under the same parent company as its next-door neighbor – Paramount Pictures. The event was commemorated by a dramatic ceremony in which Ball cut a ribbon of film stock which had replaced a long-standing wall between the two production companies. At the time of the ceremony on 28 July 1967, "Mirror, Mirror" was being filmed. [3]
Star Trek was a bone of contention in the transition between Desilu and Gulf+Western. Ed Holly once recalled a post-sale conversation he had with Charles G. Bluhdorn, chairman of Gulf+Western:
- "Just a week or so after the merger, when Bluhdorn had started seeing the cost figures, he called me in the middle of the night. All I heard was 'What did you sell me? I'm going to the poorhouse!' I said, 'Charlie, you must be looking at Star Trek and Mission: Impossible. Those shows are costing almost to the dollar what our projections showed they would cost. You and your people made the judgment that that was all right." [3]
For a brief time, Desilu continued to act as its own subdivision of Gulf+Western, but by December 1967, Gulf+Western fully merged Desilu with Paramount. This gradual transition resulted in several different forms of copyright for episodes of the second season of Star Trek. Hence, the initial episodes of the season bear a Desilu logo and copyright, while episodes of the latter half of the second season bear a Desilu logo but a Paramount copyright.
Occasionally, the sets from other Desilu productions were re-used by Star Trek. Notably, the downtown Mayberry set for The Andy Griffith Show was an irregular exterior.
Desi Arnaz
Desi Arnaz (2 March 1917 – 2 December 1986; age 69) was a singer and actor best known for his starring role on I Love Lucy. He co-founded Desilu with his wife Lucille Ball. She bought his shares of the company in 1961, three years before Star Trek joined their studio. His son-in-law, Laurence Luckinbill appeared as Sybok in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier.
References
- ↑ Majel Barrett's biography at the Earth: Final Conflict official site.
- ↑ Fisher, Deborah. "Spotlight: Majel Barrett Roddenberry". Startrek.com. 20 July 2000.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Sanders, Coyne Steven and Tom Gilbert. Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. HarperCollins. 1994. 297-298.
Appendices
Related topics
External links
- Desilu at Wikipedia
- Desi Arnaz at Wikipedia
- Template:IMDb-link