Saluting Desi Arnaz
On the 100th anniversary of his birth, we celebrate this TV pioneer
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CBS/Getty Images
Much More Than Ricky Ricardo
En español | Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III was born in Santiago de Cuba, on March 2, 1917. His father was the city’s mayor, and his mother belonged to the upper-class family who founded Bacardi, the rum-distilling company. Young Arnaz was raised in luxury and privilege, yet under the strict discipline of the Jesuit
school he attended. -
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An Upper-Crust Family
In 1933, Sgt. Fulgencio Batista’s revolt forever changed the Arnaz family’s future. Helped by a servant, Arnaz and his mother hid in Havana while the rebels took over their properties. Arnaz’s father, freed from jail, departed for Miami with $500 in borrowed cash in his pocket. In June 1934, the 17-year-old Arnaz arrived in Key West by ferry and embraced his father for the first time in the United States, his new home.
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Courtesy of Everett Collection
Everything Changes
One afternoon, his high school friends stopped by to see him play with the Siboney Septet, clapping profusely every time he sang. In the audience was the well-known Spanish bandleader Xavier Cugat. Impressed by all the cheering, he offered the young singer an audition. The following day, Desi sang “In Spain, They Say Sí, Sí” for Cugat, who then hired him on the spot.
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Start in Music
His orchestra’s success landed Arnaz a role in Rodgers and Hart’s Broadway musical Too Many Girls. In 1940, after 294 performances, he accepted the same role in the movie version of the musical. While filming, he fell madly in love with his
costar , the beautiful Lucille Ball. Filming got tricky as the couple spent their nights clubbing in Hollywood. -
Left: Mondadori Portfolio/Getty Images Right: George Rinhart/Corbis/Getty Images
Enter Xavier Cugat
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His Star Rises
During World War II, promoter Sidney Piermont suggested that Lucy and Desi do theater together to cater to an audience eager for distraction. Their song-and-dance routines were a hit and provided the foundation for what would later become their TV projects. Meanwhile, Arnaz was drafted into the military, but a bad knee limited his work to a military hospital in Los Angeles.
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Courtesy Everett Collection
From Broadway to the Big Screen … and Lucy
I Love Lucy allowed Arnaz to establish a series of important innovations: recording the episodes in front of a live audience, for example, while using three cameras at the same time, a practice later adopted by most sitcom producers. He also fully controlled rights to the series and allowed a pregnant Ball to appear on-screen. Success was instant and overwhelming. In 1953, the couple signed an $8 million contract with Philip Morris, the largest in TV history at that time.
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Wedding Bells
With their financial interests and the well-being of their children in mind, Desi and Lucy
split on good terms and continued to be friends until the end of their lives. In 1961, Ball married comedian Gary Morton, but only after receiving Arnaz’s approval. In the meantime, the actor surprised his ex-wife with the news that he wanted to retire from the business and quit as director of Desilu. In November 1962, Ball became the sole president of the company. -
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With time to enjoy his homes,
friends and family, Arnaz disappeared almost entirely from the entertainment industry. He last appeared in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1982 film The Escape Artist. He died of lung cancer on Dec. 2, 1986, at age 69. Ball died in 1989, at age 77. Lucy and Desi stayed in touch until the end — testimony to an enduring relationship that changed the history of television. -
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A glimpse of Desilu
Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer/Getty Images
Wartime Entertainment
Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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CBS/Getty Images
‘I Love Lucy’
Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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Leonard Mccombe/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
Desi the Innovator
Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
End of an Era
Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Friends Forever
Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
One Family
Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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Ron Galella/WireImage/Getty Images
Retired and Happy
Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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Desi Arnaz found immortality when he fell in love with Lucille Ball. Together, they started a television empire that put smiles on millions of faces around the world. Yet Arnaz was much more than Ricky Ricardo: The real Desi was a talented musician always true to his Cuban roots, a TV innovator, and a savvy businessman. Today, on the 100th anniversary of his birth, we pay tribute to his extraordinary life.
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