How Desi Arnaz & Lucille Ball Helped Bring ‘Mission: Impossible’ to Life
Comedian-actress Lucille Ball and her husband, musician-actor Desi Arnaz, are shown in this undated photo. (AP Photo)
Mission: Impossible, starring Tom Cruise, is one of the biggest action franchises in Hollywood. The franchise, which has spawned 8 movies, is based on the Mission: Impossible show that aired for 7 seasons on CBS and is the 17th highest-grossing film series of all time, earning over $4.35 billion worldwide. But what not many people know is that Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball are, in many ways, responsible for the fact that the movies were even made in the first place.
That’s right, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball were not just actors. The two came together for Desilu Prods in 1950, a production company that, buoyed by the success of I Love Lucy, was responsible for producing and funding a string of hits that we might recognize today. That includes Star Trek on NBC, The Untouchables on ABC, and yes, Mission: Impossible on CBS—all, ironically, series that at some point had a movie adaptation. Pretty big names and a pretty big legacy that transcends the show the two were famous for.
Created, written, and produced by Bruce Geller, Mission: Impossible ran from 1966 to 1973 on CBS and was later revived for two seasons at ABC in 1988. The first season sees the team led by Dan Briggs (Steven Hill), with Jim Phelps (Peter Graves) taking over for the following six seasons on CBS. It would, however, be over 20 years before the series made its way to the big screen, with Cruise as a producer, in 1996.
Seven more Mission: Impossible movies have been made since then, proving the original decision to produce the show was correct. Not many franchises have a successful TV show and movie series. Or made as much money while maintaining such a good reputation for top-notch action.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz starred together in I Love Lucy, which ran from October 15, 1951, to May 6, 1957, on CBS. The show was popular in its time, but it became a cultural touchstone in the years after. The two were also married at the time the show was airing, and were together for over 20 years, before divorcing in 1960.
Their story has been brought to the big screen, more recently in the documentary Lucy and Desi and in the film Being the Ricardos. The film was very controversial, particularly because of its decision to cast a Spaniard, Javier Bardem, to play Desi Arnaz.