Full name: Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III
Birthdate: March 2, 1917
Place of Birth: Santiago, Cuba
Death date: December 2, 1986
Place of death: Unknown
Wives: Lucille Ball (1940-1960), Edie Mack (deceased in 1983)(196?-1983)
Children: Lucie Arnaz Jr. (born in 1950) and Desi Arnaz IV (born in 1953)
Family: Desiderio Alberto Arnaz II (father) and Dolores de Acha (mother)
Career: Lived in Cuba for his early childhood until riots pushed his family out of their
home. He eventually moved to the United States. Provided a life for himself in Miami, FL
by cleaning bird cages and doing odd jobs to make money. His father helped him be part
of the Xavier Cugat orchestra. As he completed high school, he continued to perform
with Cugat for one year and eventually flew off on his own. Desi created “La Conga” and
created a fad among Miami Nightclubs. Eventually he fell into Hollywood on the set of
Too Many Girls where he met and fell in love with none other than Lucille Ball.
Thereafter, history was made with the creation of I Love Lucy, which Arnaz and Ball ran
together through their extremely powerful company, Desilu Productions. Arnaz ran as the
head producer and invented the three-step camera, which is what we use in television
today. The show ran and split off to the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour until their divorce in
1960. Thereafter, he married Edie Mack and retired to his music and ranch life until his
death 1983.
Homelife: In his free time Desi enjoyed ranching and being with his children. During his
marriage to Lucille, he bought a ranch they named Chatsworth where they took care of
agriculture and threw parties.
Personal: Lucy and Desi had two childeren. Lucie Jr. and Desi Jr. On July 17, 1951, little
Lucie was born. On January 19, 1953, little Desi was born. However, the same day that
little Desi was born, so was little Ricky; on the episode, "Lucy Goes to the Hospital". It
made television history!
Thank you for taking time to learn about Desi!
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