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Quick Facts
- NAME: Desi Arnaz
- OCCUPATION: Film Actor, Television Actor, Musician
- BIRTH DATE: March 02, 1917
- DEATH DATE: December 02, 1986
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Santiago, Cuba
- PLACE OF DEATH: Del Mar, California
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.
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Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz - Fact or Fiction?
Think you know your Lucy and Ricky trivia? Did CBS refuse to have Desi Arnez as Lucy's husband on the show? Find out by watching this Fact or Fiction clip!
Lucille Ball - Mini Biography
Lucille Ball moved to Hollywood and met Cuban-born entertainer Desi Arnaz while working on the film "Dance, Girl, Dance." The pair formed Desilu Productions and soon began their own pioneering television sitcom on CBS, "I Love Lucy."
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Play NowDesi Arnaz. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:49, May 18, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/desi-arnaz-9542545.
Desi Arnaz. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/desi-arnaz-9542545 [Accessed 18 May 2013].
"Desi Arnaz." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 18 2013, 04:49 http://www.biography.com/people/desi-arnaz-9542545.
"Desi Arnaz," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/desi-arnaz-9542545 [accessed May 18, 2013].
"Desi Arnaz," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/desi-arnaz-9542545 (accessed May 18, 2013).
Desi Arnaz [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 18] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/desi-arnaz-9542545.
Desi Arnaz, http://www.biography.com/people/desi-arnaz-9542545 (last visited May 18, 2013).
Desi Arnaz. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/desi-arnaz-9542545. Accessed May 18, 2013.
Synopsis
Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz III on March 2, 1917, in Santiago, Cuba, Desi Arnaz fled Cuba to the US with his family in 1933. Early success led to him being offered a role in the 1939 Broadway musical Too Many Girls, and he later starred in the film version, where he met his future wife, Lucille Ball. In 1949, Arnaz developed the hit TV series I Love Lucy, which ran for six years.
Quotes
"Comedy needs heart and warmth, even a tear or two, not just a lot of slapstick laughs."
Profile
Musician, actor. Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz III 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. After being discharged, he formed a new orchestra, recording several hits during the late 1940s, and 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.
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.
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Included In These Groups
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- In this group:
- Lucille Ball
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Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz
View groupModel and comedienne Lucille Ball met Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz in 1940 while filming Too Many Girls. They fell for one another instantly and eloped later that year. In 1951, they debuted the hit television series I Love Lucy, starring as the zany middle-class couple Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. With near-perfect timing and a genius for ad-libbing, the red-haired Ball cruised through 179 episodes. The duo also founded Desilu Productions in 1950, a successful independent television production company. Ball and Arnaz divorced in 1960, ending one of television's greatest marriages, though they remained friends until his death in 1986.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz 2 people in this group
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Hispanic Actors 26 people in this group
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Hispanic Musicians and Singers 21 people in this group
