Today is the 100th birthday of Desi Arnaz. His talent and comedic timing often are overshadowed by Lucy’s loudness, I believe by design. To say that without him there would not have been a Lucy is an exaggeration, but there would not have been the iconic I Love Lucy. Not in the way we still watch it today. The world is a better place because he was in it and still feels the loss that he has left.
NAME: Desi Arnaz
OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Television Actor, Musician
BIRTH DATE: March 02, 1917
DEATH DATE: December 02, 1986
HEIGHT: 5′ 10″
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6220 Hollywood Blvd (television)
HOLLYWOOD WALK OF FAME 6327 Hollywood Blvd (motion pictures)
DID YOU KNOW?: Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball gave birth to their actual son Desi Arnaz, Jr. on January 19, 1953, the same day that they gave birth to Little Ricky on the series I Love Lucy.
PLACE OF BIRTH: Santiago, Cuba
PLACE OF DEATH: Del Mar, California
REMAINS: Cremated (ashes scattered)
BEST KNOWN FOR: Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born actor and musician who is remembered for his marriage to Lucille Ball and their TV show, I Love Lucy.
Actor and musician Desiderio Alberto Arnaz III was born on March 2, 1917, in Santiago, Cuba. Born to a wealthy family, the Arnazes fled Cuba for Miami after a revolution in 1933. After working a number of odd jobs to help support the family, Desi got his first musician’s gig as a guitarist for the Siboney Septet.
After working briefly for Xavier Cugat in New York, Arnaz returned to Miami to lead a combo of his own and introduce the Conga Line to American audiences. It was such a hit, both locally and nationally, that Arnaz returned to New York to start his own band. He was offered a role in the 1939 Broadway musical Too Many Girls and later starred in Hollywood’s film version. It was there that he met his future wife, Lucille Ball. They were married in 1940.
Arnaz made three more films before being inducted into the Army during WWII. During his two years in the service, he was responsible for entertaining the troops. He formed a new orchestra after being discharged and recorded several hits during the late 1940s. During this time he served as orchestra leader on Bob Hope’s radio show from 1946 to 1947.
In 1949, Arnaz turned his efforts to developing the hit television series I Love Lucy, which ran for six years on CBS and became the most successful television program in history. Arnaz and Ball had a clear goal in mind when the series began development. Not only did they request the the show be shot on film as opposed to the cheaper kinescope, but they also retained full ownership of the program under their production company, Desilu Productions. The show aired in 1951.
The show touched on many personal and taboo issues of the time, including marriage and pregnancy. And as a couple both on and off camera, Arnaz and Ball’s show had parallells to their actual marriage, giving birth to their son on the show on the same day that Ball gave birth to their son in real life. The novelty of the series, coupled with Arnaz and Ball’s strong chemistry, proved to be a success. I Love Lucy became the No. 1 show in the country for four of its six seasons. The series ended in 1957.
Desi’s marriage to Lucille Ball ended in 1960. He retired from show business and eventually moved to Baja California with his second wife, Edith. He died in 1986 at the age of 69.
TELEVISION
I Love Lucy Ricky Ricardo (1951-57)
The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour Ricky Ricardo (1957-60)
The Mothers-in-Law Raphael del Gado (1967-69)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
The Escape Artist (28-May-1982) · Mayor Quiñones
Forever, Darling (9-Feb-1956) · Lorenzo Xavier Vega
The Long, Long Trailer (18-Feb-1954) · Nicholas Carlos Collini
Bataan (3-Jun-1943) · Felix Ramirez
The Navy Comes Through (27-Oct-1942)
Four Jacks and a Jill (23-Jan-1942) · Steve
Father Takes a Wife (4-Sep-1941) · Carlos
Too Many Girls (8-Oct-1940) · Manuelito
Author of books:
A Book (1976)
Source: Desi Arnaz – Wikipedia
Source: Desi Arnaz – Film Actor, Actor, Television Actor – Biography.com
Source: Desi Arnaz
