Desi Arnaz Essay, Research Paper

Cuban bandleader and singer-turned savvy Television mogul who, after his matrimony to comedienne Lucille Ball in 1940, parlayed their successful & # 8220 ; I Love Lucy & # 8221 ; series into the Desilu Television production imperium, which in its flower besides produced the successful and extremely moneymaking & # 8220 ; The Untouchables & # 8221 ; and & # 8220 ; Star Trek & # 8221 ; series. *p*Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III was born in 1917 to wealthy Cuban landholders. His male parent was besides the city manager of the town they lived in, but that shortly changed. At the age of 16, Desi and his female parent had to fly to Miami because of Batista & # 8217 ; s overthrow of the Machado Government in 1933. *P**BR*When Desi arrived in America, it was a battle for he and his female parent. But shortly after he arrived, he joined the Siboney Septet at the Roney Plaza. Subsequently, he started working with Xavier Cugat & # 8217 ; s set in 1937 and subsequently set together his ain rumba set. His vernal good-looks and prosecuting presence shortly won him a featured topographic point in the 1939 Broadway musical and theatrical version of & # 8220 ; Too Many Girls & # 8221 ; and the undermentioned twelvemonth he was signed by RKO. On the film set, he met his future married woman, Lucille Ball. Later that twelvemonth Desi and Lucy eloped to Connecticut and got married in a state nine. Arnaz was featured in several movies, largely as a colourful Latin. Joining MGM, he won attending for his exclusive dramatic function in the war play, & # 8220 ; Bataan & # 8221 ; ( 1942 ) , but gave up movies for touring with his successful set. The matrimony was capable to the route most of the clip and to Lucy & # 8217 ; s film calling. When the twosome came up with the thought for a telecasting series, they fought to make it together to salvage their matrimony. But the web didn & # 8217 ; t think the telecasting series would work with Desi being Cuban. But that didn & # 8217 ; t halt Lucy and Desi. In the summer of 1950, they went on circuit, executing for unrecorded audiences to turn out that the show would work. Well, as you know, the remainder is telecasting history! *P**BR*Desi made the first 5,000 dollars spent into 1000000s in merely four old ages. He convinced the show & # 8217 ; s patron, Phillip Morris, that Lucy holding a babe on the show would give them great promotion. He was right:

the birth of Little Ricky drew 44 million viewers (the swearing in of the President that year only drew 22 million), and the story made headlines everywhere across America. With Desi as a successful executive, and head of the couple’s production company, DesiLu, Arnaz pioneered a new way of producing TV shows, shooting each episode of I Love Lucy on film, by three cameras, in front of a live studio audience, so that the final product could be rebroadcast any number of times instead of preserved only on a fuzzy kinescope. Although Arnaz initially reserved all rights to these shows to Desilu, he eventually sold them to CBS, allowing the couple to buy their own studio, the former RKO. He also produced “December Bride”, “Make Room for Danny”, “Our Miss Brooks” and other shows. Even fashion wise Desi brought back smoking jackets, adult denims, and matching he-and-she pajamas.*P**BR*In his private life Desi was a party animal, entertaining extensively on his yacht, The Balboa. Lucy could only take so much of this, and they divorced. After Desi and Lucy divorced for the second time in 1960, Desi divided his time between his Corona horse-breeding ranch and his Del-Mar retreat. In 1963, Desi married Edith Mack Hirsh, to whom he spent the rest of his life with. A couple of years later he formed Desi Arnaz Productions. But that didn’t last long. *P**BR*In 1974 Desi wrote his autobiography, “A Book”, which hit the best-seller charts. Desi’s second wife, Edith, passed away in 1985 of cancer. Desi spent the rest of this life struggling with alcohol, and with the help of his son, he finally stopped drinking entirely. Though this gave him quality time, the years of abuse had taken their toll. The last time Lucy and Desi talked was on November 10, 1986, 46 years after they first exchanged vows. Desi later died on December 2, 1986 at the age of 69 of lung cancer. He was cremated.*P**P**P**BR* Quote from Desi at Ed Sullivan’s “Toast of the Town”: “When I came to this country, we didn’t have a cent in our pockets. From cleanin’ canary cages to this night here in New York, I would like to say Thank you America, Thank you.”