"There is nothing red about Lucy except the hair--and even that is not
legitimate!"--Desi Arnaz

In 1953, at the height of the so-called Second Red Scare, when the news of
Lucille Ball's 1936 voter registration as a Communist came out, it looked as
if it might shatter her (and Desi's) career--especially as other news came
out: she had signed a petition for a Communist candidate to the California
state Assembly, she was named a delegate to the state CP's central committee,
a meeting for new CP members was held at her house in 1937--without her
present, to be sure, but according to testimony "on arrival at this address I
found several others present; an elderly man informed us that we were the
guests of the screen actress, Lucille Ball, and showed us various pictures,
books, and other objects to establish that fact, and stated she was glad to
loan her home for a Communist Party new members' class;"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Ball

Lucy voluntarily appeared before HUAC, and it and the FBI basically took her
word for everything. Yes, she registered Communist but only to please her
*Daily Worker* reading grandfather, all the other stuff was done without her
knowlege, etc. : "Ball stated she has never been a member of the Communist
Party "to her knowledge" ... [She] did not know whether or not any meetings
were ever held at her home at 1344 North Ogden Drive; stated... [that if she
had been appointed] as a delegate to the State Central Committee of the
Communist Party of California in 1936 it was done without her knowledge or
consent; [and stated that she] did not recall signing the document sponsoring
EMIL FREED for the Communist Party nomination to the office of member of the
assembly for the 57th District ... A review of the subject's file reflects no
activity that would warrant her inclusion on the Security Index.[73][74]"
Ibid.

Given that the FBI was not usually so trusting of people with past Communist
affiliations, I have even seen it speculated that maybe Desi had something on
J. Edgar Hoover...A more likely explanation is that everyone wanted to
believe a beloved comedian, especially since that all was so short-lived
(really just 1936-7) and took place so long ago and she was now an Eisenhower
Republican. But let's say that under her grandfather's influence she really
becomes interested in Communism and takes a more active role in Party
affairs. Obviously, if she stays with the Party, that is going to ruin her
career in the era of the blacklist. But even if she quits after the Hitler-
Stalin Pact (which she said is what disillusioned her grandfather) and
eventually names names to HUAC, having been an active, undeniable Communist
is likely to have effects on her career. For one thing, Desi Arnaz may not
want to marry an open recent Communist...

--
David Tenner
dtenner@ameritech.net