Desi Arnaz
“The bandleader who reshaped television while keeping the rhumba beating beneath it.”
In 1951, Arnaz and wife Lucille Ball co-created 'I Love Lucy,' insisting that he play her TV husband and that they own the production. Their company Desilu pioneered filming before a studio audience on 35mm, reshaping television and making Arnaz a powerhouse producer.
Cuban Roots
Born into a prominent family in Santiago de Cuba, Arnaz fled to Miami as a teenager after political upheaval. He broke into music with Xavier Cugat before forming his own Latin band and sparking the conga craze.
Reinventing Television
Cast opposite Lucille Ball, Arnaz insisted on playing her on-screen husband in 'I Love Lucy.' The couple's Desilu Productions filmed the show on 35mm before a live audience, an innovation that transformed the medium.
Mogul and Bandleader
As Desilu chief, Arnaz produced hits like 'The Untouchables' and built one of TV's most important studios. He and Ball divorced in 1960, and he died of lung cancer in 1986.
Career Timeline
- 1917Born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
- 1933Family flees to Miami after Cuban revolution
- 1937Joins Xavier Cugat's Latin orchestra
- 1940Meets Lucille Ball on 'Too Many Girls'
- 1946Records his signature song 'Babalu'
- 1951Launches 'I Love Lucy' with Lucille Ball
- 1951Co-founds Desilu Productions
- 1957'I Love Lucy' ends its original run
- 1959Produces hit series 'The Untouchables'
- 1960Divorces Lucille Ball
- 1986Dies in Del Mar, California, of lung cancer
Biggest Hits
- He is credited with helping popularize the conga line craze in the United States in the late 1930s.
- Desilu's innovations in filming sitcoms before a live audience set the technical standard for television comedy.
The Moment You Remember
He counts off the band, and Ricky Ricardo's number swings to life while Lucy schemes just offstage to join the act. That blend of Arnaz's genuine musicianship and the household comedy around it defined television's first great hit week after week.
Portrait: General Artists Corporation (management) · Public domain · via Wikimedia Commons