Lucille Ball gives birth on TV—and in real life | January 19, 1953 | HISTORY

On January 19, 1953, in one of the most widely publicized births in TV history, actress and comedienne Lucille Ball welcomes her second child at Los Angeles’ Cedars of Lebanon Hospital on the same night Lucy Ricardo, her character on the hit TV show “I Love Lucy,” also gives birth. The “Lucy Goes to the Hospital” episode (Season 2, Episode 16) drew more viewers than any other television episode up to that date; at least 68 percent of American households tuned into CBS to watch the birth of "Little Ricky."