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 to Miami, Florida. One of Desi's first jobs in America consisted of cleaning canary cages. However, after forming his own small band of musicians, he was hired by Xavier Cugat, the "king" of Latin music. Desi soon left Cugat, formed his own Latin band and literally launched the conga craze in America. he was cast in the Broadway play "Too Many Girls", resulting in his being brought to Hollywood to make the film version of the play. It was on the set of Too Many Girls that he and Lucille Ball met. They soon married and approximately ten years later formed Desilu Productions and began the I Love Lucy shows. Desi and Lucille had two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.. At the end of the I Love Lucy run (including the The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour) the two divorced. Desi later wrote an autobiography entitled "A Book." In 1986 he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and died on December 2, 1986.


The Long, Long Trailer (1953): $125,000 + $150,000 (profits bonus)
"I Love Lucy" (1951): $2,000/episode + 50% of the profits for the first 39 episodes as well as full ownership to negatives of all future shows (1951-52)
Cuban Pete (1946): $10,000
Bataan (1943): $650/week
The Navy Comes Through (1942): $10,000
Four Jacks and a Jill (1942): $10,000
Father Takes a Wife (1941): $10,000

Father of Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.. For many years during their marriage, Desi and Lucille Ball hid the fact that she was six years older then him by splitting the difference in their ages. She (born in 1911) said she was born in 1914 and he (born in 1917) also said he was born in 1914. Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy" by Ronald L. Smith. pg. 25-26. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387 Invented many techniques that are now taken for granted in sitcoms, including the use of several cameras to film the performance, preceding performances with a warm-up act, performing before a live audience, and the rerunning of old episodes. Author of the candid autobiography 'A Book', detailing his alcoholism and infidelities. He had planned to write a sequel, called 'Another Book'. Ashes were scattered at sea. Is portrayed by Maurice Benard in Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (1991) (TV) In 1957, recognizing the need for the company to expand, he purchased the real estate of the former RKO Studios, home of Lucille Ball's former employer. The industry balked at their decision to plunk down $6,150,000 for the fledging studio property, but it was a strategic move that ultimately made both he and Lucy millionaires. In 1945, after his service in the Army, he found himself $30,000 in debt, mostly due to back taxes. Lucille Ball helped him pay his debt, but due to his pride, considered it a loan, and kept a strict account of the money he owed her. In 1953, with "I Love Lucy" (1951) the #1 show in America, Philip Morris, their primary sponsor, agreed to sponsor the show for an additional 2 and a half years for $8 million, $5 million of which went directly to the Arnazes and their company. In 1957, he opened the Desi Arnaz West Hills Hotel, with 42 rooms and a restaurant featuring his own personal recipes, in Indian Wells. With all the time he spent with his new real estate ventures, he and Lucille Ball built a home on the 17th fairway at the Thunderbird Golf Club on land he won in a poker game. In his 1985 will, he left a $250,000 trust fund for the benefit of his mother, who survived him.