Desi Arnaz Biography
(1917-1986)

Desiderio Alberto Arnaz De Acha III, was born March 2, 1917 in Santiago, Cuba. Desi's mother Dolores de Acha was considered to be one the most beautiful women in Latin America. Desi's father, Desiderio Arnaz II, became the mayor of Santiago in 1923. Desi was a very pampered, spoiled child. Desi at a very young age controlled: three ranches (totaling one hundred thousand acres), a palatial home in the city of Santiago, a private island in Santiago Bay, an armada of speedboats, a fleet of automobiles, and a stable of racehorses. Desi lived a life of wealth and all the treasures of the world. By the age of sixteen his father had already planned young Desi's future of going to the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, study law, and then return home to a ready-made practice.

On August 12, 1933 the first Batista revolution occurred, resulting in the imprisonment of Papa Arnaz, and the confiscation of all his property. Within twenty-four hours, everything was gone except five hundred dollars that Mrs. Arnaz had saved up. Young Desi and his mother fled to Miami where they devoted the next six months to the effort of freeing Papa Arnaz from prison. Desi then attended the St. Patrick's High School in Miami.

Desi's father owned and run a small import business that specialized in providing tiles for builders. Also Desi got a job in show business at a rumba band at Roney Plaza Hotel in Miami Beach. Desi's weekly salary was fifty dollars a week. Shortly thereafter, Xavier Cugat saw Desi in the show, auditioned him and hired him the next day. Desi joined Xavier's band after he finished high school, a year he quit Xavier's band and went on his own.

After a few months, 5'11½ Desi got a job at a swanky club, La Conga Café, for a weekly salary of seven hundred and fifty dollars. Not long after he and his band went to New York. Desi was hired to be in the Broadway show "Too Many Girls," RKO bought the film rights, and hired Desi to star in the film version. RKO hired many of the leading characters but when Marcy Wescott did not go on the part went to RKO contract player Lucille Ball.

After a short courtship Desi and Lucille fell madly in love. On November 30, 1940 they were married at the Byram River Beagle Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. Soon thereafter the two bought a five acre ranch in Chatsworth, California, in the San Fernando Valley for about eighteen thousand dollars. The couple had pets and livestock on the ranch, they called Desilu.

After a few attempts in the movie business Desi went back on the road with his band, while wife Lucille Ball's career was rising. The couple was apart for most of this time which caused a strain on the relationship. In September of 1944 Lucille filed for divorce, but Desi ended up getting her back. While Lucille was appearing in Detroit, and Desi was touring, Desi left his band for the night to surprise Lucille. The bus the band was traveling in, and Desi would have been in, was in a serious accident. No one in the band was killed but there were several injuries. The part of the bus where Desi would have been sitting had gotten most of the damage. This terrible ordeal brought the Arnazes closer together.

In 1950 Lucille was approached by CBS to take her radio show "My Favorite Husband" to television. Lucille who wanted to save her crippling marriage wanted her husband in the show also. CBS did not want Desi, so the two went on tour to show them that they were the perfect two. During this time Lucille found out she was pregnant. CBS later agreed to have Desi play the husband, Ricky Ricardo. On July 17, 1951 at 8:15 AM, Desi became a new father to daughter Lucie Arnaz.

To produce the new series "I Love Lucy," Desi and Lucille formed their own production company, Desilu. In the fall Desi and Lucille began production on their series "I Love Lucy." All throughout "I Love Lucy" and "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" Desi made Desilu one of the largest production companies in Hollywood. On January 19, 1953 at 8:15 AM, Desi became a father to a second child, Desi Arnaz IV.

The last episode of "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" was filmed March 2, 1960, on Desi's forty-third birthday. The following day Lucille filed for divorce. The two were divorced on May 4, 1960. Desi remained the chief executive of Desilu until 1962 when Lucille bought his twenty-five percent of Desilu.

On March 2, 1963, Desi married his second wife, redheaded, Edith Mack Hirsch. Desi owned a successful horse breeding farm, was a professor at San Diego State University, and was appointed ambassador to Latin America by President Nixon. In 1976 Desi wrote his own autobiography, "A Book." In 1985 Desi's wife Edith passed away after a three year battle with cancer. Then in 1986 Desi was diagnosed with lung cancer, and died on December 2, 1986 in Del Mar, California.

Spouse

Lucille Ball / November 30, 1940 - May 4, 1960 (divorced) 1 daughter & 1 son
Edith Mack Hirsch / March 2, 1963 - 1985 (her death)

Filmography

1. Too Many Girls (1940) ... Manuelito Lynch
2. Father Takes A Wife (1941) ... Carlos
3. Four Jacks And A Jill (1942) ... Steve Sarto/King Stephan VIII
4. The Navy Comes Through (1942) ... Tarriba
5. Bataan (1943) ... Felix Ramirez
6. Desi Arnaz And His Orchestra (1946) ... Himself
7. Cuban Pete (1946) ... Desi Arnaz
8. Jitterumba (1947)
9. Holiday In Havana (1949) ... Carlos Estrada
10. "I Love Lucy" (1951) TV Series ... Ricky Ricardo
11. Screen Snapshots: Memories In Uniform (1954) ... Himself
12. The Long, Long Trailer (1954) ... Nicholas "Nicky" Carols Collini
13. Forever Darling (1956) ... Lorenzo Xavier Vega
14. "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" (1957) TV Series ... Ricky Ricardo
15. "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1958) TV Series ... Host
16. "The Mothers-In-Law" (1967) TV Series ... Raphael del Gado (1967-69)
17. Joys (1976) TV Movie
18. Salsa (1976) ... Himself
19. CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years (1976) TV Special ... Himself
20. The Escape Artist (1982) ... Mayor Leon Quinones (credited as Desiderio Arnaz)

Producer Filmography

1. "I Love Lucy" (1951) TV Series (Executive Producer)
2. Forever Darling (1956) (Producer)
3. The Fountain Of Youth (1956) TV Movie (Executive Producer)
4. "The Lucy Show" (1962) TV Series (Executive Producer)
5. "The Mothers-In-Law" (1967) TV Series (Executive Producer)

Miscellaneous Crew Filmography

1. "I Love Lucy" (1951) TV Series (Singer: Original Title Song)
2. The Scarface Mob (1959) TV Movie (Executive In Charge Of Production)

Director Filmography

1. "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour" (1957) TV Series
2. "Mothers-In-Law, The" (1967) TV Series

Composer Filmography

1. Holiday in Havana (1949) (Songs)

Guest Appearances

1. "Toast of the Town" (1948) playing Himself
2. "The Tonight Show" (1954) playing Himself
3. "Our Miss Brooks" (1952) episode "The King and Brooks" aired November 25, 1955
4. "What's My Line?" (1950) playing "Panelist" aired February 5, 1956
5. "What's My Line?" (1950) playing "'Mystery Guest'" aired February 9, 1956
6. "December Bride" (1954) playing Himself episode "Sunken Den" aired February 20, 1956
7. "Make Room for Daddy" (1953) playing Himself episode "Lucy Upsets the Williams Household" aired January 5, 1959
8. "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1958) episode "So Tender, So Profane" aired July 16, 1959
9. "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1958) episode "Thunder In The Night" aired December 4, 1959
10. "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" (1958) episode "Desilu Revue, The" aired December 11, 1959
11. "The Mothers-In-Law" (1967) playing Raphael del Gado episode "A Night to Forget" #1.4 aired October1, 1967
12. "The Mothers-In-Law" (1967) playing Raphael del Gado episode "The Hombre Who Came to Dinner-Part I" #1.18 aired January 14, 1968
13. "The Mothers-In-Law" (1967) playing Raphael del Gado episode "The Hombre Who Came to Dinner-Part II" #1.19 aired January 21, 1968
14. "The Mothers-In-Law" (1967) playing Raphael del Gado episode "The Matador Makes a Movie" #2.7 aired October 27, 1968
15. "The Virginian" (1962) playing El Jefe episode "The Best Man" #9.2 aired September 23, 1970
16. "The Andy Williams Show" (1969) aired March 6, 1971
17. "Ironside" (1967) playing Dr. Juan Domingo episode "Riddle at 14,000" #7.22 aired March 14, 1974
18. "Alice" (1976) playing Paco episode "The Cuban Connection" #2.18 aired February 26, 1978