Lucille Ball: Unpublished Photos 'I Love Lucy': LIFE on the Set

Sure, we all loved Lucy, but which one? The rubber-faced Lucy Ricardo of her classic TV sitcom I Love Lucy, undoubtedly. But what about Lucille, the struggling but determined Hollywood starlet who spent two decades lingering in B-movie purgatory? Or the powerful Ms. Ball, the behind-the scenes TV pioneer and the medium's first major female executive? Truth is, Lucille Ball (who was born 100 years ago this week, on August 6, 1911) lived several fascinating lifetimes -- many of them captured by LIFE's photographers on her way up the showbiz ladder.

Here, LIFE.com presents the best never-published photos of Lucy from the magazine's archives -- including this surprisingly sultry 1942 portrait by John Florea, taken when Ball was known as "Queen of the B's" for the string of subpar films that failed to make her a star. Years of dues-paying hard work are apparent in her eyes -- yet there is something innocent, too, an optimism that her big break is just around the corner.

How many Lucys can fit in Jamestown?

Plenty of people will be saying, “I Love Lucy” this weekend in Jamestown as they dress up like Lucille Ball. Jamestown is hoping to set a new Guinness World Record, on Lucille Ball’s birthday, for the most people dressed as television character Lucy Ricardo in one place, at one time.

It’s all part of the annual Lucille Ball Festival of Comedy, also known as Lucy Fest. The celebration has become a tradition in Jamestown, which is Ball’s hometown. But this year, organizers are taking it a step further since it marks her 100th birthday.

Journey Gunderson, with the Lucy Desi Center for Comedy says a huge crowd is expected from across the globe. "We'll have Lucys from Australia, Great Britain, Japan, Canada, and of course a large contingent coming from California and a number of states in between,“ she said. “We expect a minimum of between 500-1000 participants on August 6."

So how will all of those people meet the costume criteria and qualify for the record books? A red up-do hairstyle is required, along with red lips and clothing similar to what Lucy Ricardo wore on an episode of I Love Lucy.

A $5 registration fee includes a basic qualifying costume complete with a Lucy mask, but that just won’t do for some Lucy fans. "We anticipate some very quality look-alikes to be on-hand,“ Gunderson said. “Our Lucy Fans come from around the world for this festival and they do not disappoint when it comes to donning a Lucy resemblance.”

Men, women and children are all invited to take part. Will the public prove that Jamestown truly does “Love Lucy?” Stay Tuned. Registration begins at noon on Saturday, August 6, outside Jamestown City Hall.

The festival runs from August 3-7.

16 Lucille Ball Quotes to Celebrate Her Birthday

What better way to remember Lucille Ball on her 100th birthday, August 6th, than with some famous and humorous Lucille Ball quotes? Few women will ever enjoy the fame and adoration experienced by this American icon. Let these 16 famous quotes remind us of just how unique and fabulous Lucille Ball truly was.

1. "I think knowing what you cannot do is more important than knowing what you can do. In fact, that's good taste."

2. "Once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead."

3. "I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done."

4. "The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age."

5. "If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it. The more you do, the more you can do... and don't you forget it!"

6. "One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself."

7. "In life, all good things come hard, but wisdom is the hardest to come by."

8. "A man who correctly guesses a woman's age may be smart, but he's not very bright."

9. "Life's a banquet, and most poor suckers are starving to death!"

10. "Women's lib?...It doesn't interest me one bit. I've been so liberated it hurts."

11. "How I LOVE LUCY was born? We decided that instead of divorce lawyers profiting from our mistakes, we'd profit from them."

12. "I'm happy that I have brought laughter because I have been shown by many the value of it in so many lives, in so many ways."

13. "Love yourself first and everything else falls into line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world."

14. "I'm not funny. What I am is brave."

15. "Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced."

16. "I was shy for several years in my early days in Hollywood until I figured out that no one really gave a damn if I was shy or not, and I got over my shyness."

Lucille Ball truly was an inspiration. Not only was she one of the most powerful women in Hollywood in her day, she was also a true class act and a genuinely good person. These 16 Lucille Ball quotes remind us just how much of a difference one person can make in the lives of many.

Happy birthday, Lucille Ball: Looking good for 100

Lucille Ball, the long-stemmed looker born August 6, 1911, came to Hollywood when she was 22. For two decades. mostly at RKO Pictures, she was cast as dime-a-dance dames, b-girls and burlesque queens, ever the wisecracker, never the star. But she had the last laugh.

In the early 1950s, the studios lived in dread of television, refusing to sell their old films for broadcast or permit their stars to appear on the small screen. Nevertheless Ball and her husband, bandleader Desi Arnaz, took their radio show to television, renaming it I Love Lucy. Five years later, she and Arnaz bought the RKO real estate holding for their thriving TV studio, DesiLu. Like other smart, outspoken actresses (Eve Arden and Ann Sothern come to mind), Ball was a big-screen also-ran who became a queen of the small screen. This is not to say that Ball's big-screen career was negligible.

Her television career will be celebrated this weekend on MeTV, which between Friday and Sunday will air 100 episodes of I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show.

On her birthday, which is Saturday, TCM hosts an all-day mini-retrospective of her best-known films. Best Foot Forward (airs at 4:30 pm), Dance, Girl, Dance (6:15 pm) Stage Door (8 pm), The Big Street (9:45 pm) and Easy to Wed (11:30 pm).

Dance, Girl, Dance (1940), directed by Dorothy Arzner, is my favorite of Ball's tough-cookie performances. She plays a burlesque queen, "Tiger Lily" White, loosely based on Gypsy Rose Lee. She's funny, she's smart and she's belatedly compassionate to her co-star, Maureen O'Hara, rival for the affections of the unlikely Louis Hayward.

Your favorite Ball movie? Episode of her television show?  See more at the Everything Lucy website!

Lucille Ball Centennial Celebration on TV

TO MARK HER CENTENNIAL Saturday, Lucille Ball, the Queen of Comedy is being honored with TV marathons and a new comic book.

Hallmark Channel: It will air 102 episodes of "I Love Lucy" from 5 a.m. Saturday through 8 a.m. Monday, Aug. 8.

Turner Classic Movies: Lucy's big-screen career is showcased with a 24-hour block of 14 of her movies starting Saturday at 3 a.m. Highlights include "The Long, Long Trailer," her 1954 romp with hubby Desi Arnaz at 11:30 a.m., and "The Big Street" (1942) at 6:45 p.m., in which Lucy displays her dramatic chops as a callous nightclub singer confined to a wheelchair.

Comic book: In September, Bluewater Productions will release a 32-page commemorative comic book to sell for $3.99 celebrating Lucy's life and career, her contributions to society and her influence on the American public.