Desi Arnaz

While famous for "I Love Lucy," he was also an innovative television producer.

Desi Arnaz; a legendary actor, performer, musician, producer, entertainment mogul, innovator, and star. Not only did Desi Arnaz break barriers on “I Love Lucy,” he also pioneered the concept of TV syndication and is the reason we’re able to laugh with Ricky, Lucy, Ethel and Fred more than 60 years later.

Desi Arnaz, an actor, musician and producer and an important figure in the history of television, died yesterday of cancer at his home in Del Mar, Calif. He was 69 years old. With Lucille Ball, to whom he was married from 1940 until 1960, Mr. Arnaz created the situation comedy ''I Love Lucy.'' The program, which featured Mr. Arnaz and Miss Ball as Ricky and Lucy Ricardo, a Cuban band leader and his wacky, high-spirited wife, was produced from 1951 through 1956 and achieved unprecedented popularity. Monday nights all across America, people would gather in front of what was usually the first television set in the house and watch the continuing adventures of Lucy and Ricky and their good-natured landlords and best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz, portrayed by William Frawley and Vivian Vance. Lucy and Ethel were partners in comedic mischief; whenever Ricky became particularly exasperated, his broken English would degenerate into a torrent of Spanish epithets.

The Cuban-born American entertainer was much more than Ricky Ricardo.

Cuban entertainment legend Desi Arnaz alternated between music and acting while married to Lucille Ball on I Love Lucy. Learn more at Biography.com.

Learn about Desi Arnaz (TV Actor): his birthday, what he did before fame, his family life, fun trivia facts, popularity rankings, and more.

Desiderio Alberto Arnaz ye de Acha the Third was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917. His father was the mayor of Santiago. The 1933 revolution ...

Desi Arnaz, Producer: The Ann Sothern Show. Desiderio Alberto Arnaz ye de Acha the Third was born in Santiago, Cuba on March 2, 1917. His father was the mayor of Santiago. The 1933 revolution led by Fulgencio Batista had landed his father in jail and stripped the family of its wealth, property and power. His father was released because of the intercession of U.S. officials who believed him to be neutral during the revolt. The family fled ...

Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986), better known as Desi Arnaz or Desi Arnaz, Sr., was a Cuban-born American actor, musician, and television producer. He is best remembered for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American television series sitcom I Love Lucy. He co-starred on that show with Lucille Ball, to whom he was married at the time. He and Ball are generally credited as the inventors of the syndicated rerun, which they pioneered with the I Love Lucy series.[2]