In true Hollywood fashion, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz originally met while on a movie set. The year was 1940 and the movie was "Too Many Girls," a film about an eccentric heiress (played by Ball). She had just finished the movie "Five Come Back" and was in New York City doing a promotional tour (via Ball's autobiography, "Love, Lucy"). The studio urged her to see the stage version of "Too Many Girls," which starred a young Arnaz as a football player.
Upon seeing Arnaz on stage, Ball was immediately smitten with his good looks, charm, and comedic appeal. However, Arnaz's first impression of Ball went a little differently. Arnaz was already on set for "Too Many Girls" when Ball came in with smeared makeup and a black eye, looking completely disheveled (per Arnaz's autobiography, "A Book by Desi Arnaz"). Arnaz was taken aback by her appearance, thinking there was no way she would be a suitable leading lady for the film.
However, what Arnaz didn't realize was that Ball was already in makeup. She had actually just come from filming another film next door, "Dance, Girl, Dance," and she had just shot a scene that had her fighting someone. The black eye she was sporting was fake, and upon seeing Ball in costume on-set for their film, Arnaz was blown away. He could not even believe it was the same person, and he was immediately attracted to her.
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