The 1950s ' most iconic tv show may have centered around bang Lucy , but the famous carrottop ’s ex - husband , entertainment manufacture groundbreaker Desi Arnaz , deserves a whole lot of dear too . Born in Santiago , Cubain 1917 , Arnaz immigrate to the United States just before the Cuban Revolution and went on to change the landscape of TV as we get laid it .
Arnaz initiate life history in a somewhat privileged position — his gravid - great grandfather , Don Manuel Arnaz , made an early move to the U.S. , buying up stacks of land all over Los Angeles , including the area that would become posh Beverly Hills . Arnaz ’s papa was the mayor of Santiago , his mommy was the daughter of one of the Bacardi Rum Company founders , and his grandpa had accompanied Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill — all in all , not a unfit family Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree to shoot from .
From Cuba to Miami
But in 1934 , an uprising in Cuba land Arnaz ’s dad in jail , and once he was released , the family fledto Miami , Florida , rebuild a much humbler life in the States . Two years later , Arnaz , then a musically inclined high schooler , depart playing guitar and singing in a modest rhumba band . That ’s when illustrious bandleader Xavier Cugat discover him , swoop him into his band , and Arnaz discover enough winner to branch out on his own . Ever heard of a conga line ? Arnaz is credited with introducing that dance party staple to Miami crowds .
Gaining more and more popularity , Arnaz and his band made the move to New York , starred on Broadway in a musical called " Too Many Girls , " and was then need to come out in the celluloid adaptation of the play . On the set of that 1939 movie he metLucille Ball . The two fall in love life andsix months later on they eloped . Though they briefly separated in 1944 , the pair make up and began dreaming up opportunities to get together again on - CRT screen .
“I Love Lucy”
The wizard minute get in 1950 when Arnaz and Ball pitch CBS on a sitcom they ’d developed prognosticate " I have it away Lucy . " internet executives initially were n’t deal on the Cuban - support actor ’s stress , so the married couplet used their own money to bring on a pilot and convinced the grown bosses that Arnaz was more than primed to play the fictitious Ricky Ricardo and that the show would be a hit .
Not only was it a hit — it wasthehit . " I roll in the hay Lucy " was America ’s most democratic television receiver show for four of its six prime - time seasons between 1951 and 1957 , and viewers fell in love life with the pair ’s non - traditional partnership that is now credit as a innovational example of multi - ethnical relationships , progressiveLatino - American masculinityand gender kinetics .
But Arnaz was n’t just the on - screen unbowed serviceman to Ball ’s hilariously - funny lead graphic symbol . He was also heavily involved in every facial expression of product , from coordinating taping in front of a live interview ( a first for televised sitcoms ) to figuring out how to simultaneously go three cameras in material time . " Bless Desi Arnaz for creating [ the ] three camera,“filmmaker Penny Marshall once said , harmonise to PBS . " You could find out what ’s peculiar or not with an audience . They ’re faster than anything . "
Desilu Productions
And if you roll in the hay a secure rerun marathon , you have Arnaz to thank — he and Ball formed the first - ever autonomous television set production companionship , Desilu , in preparation for the show , and convinced CBS to give them full ownership of the installment . When Arnaz later sell them back to CBS , he reportedly made gazillion , and the show uphold to live on thanks to his clientele savvy .
Although Arnaz and Ball finally divorced in 1960 , they remained close friends for the end of their lives . They had two baby together , and in fact , grant to the record " Desilu : The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz , " the multi - talented king said theselast wordsto his ex - married woman who was about to embark on a new goggle box projection : " I love you too , love . Good luck with your show . " Arnaz blow over away from cancer in 1986 at the age of 69 , but his fable stomach thanks to the incomputable impact he had on the entertainment industry , his hump single and the communities that continue to eviscerate stirring from his vast contributions .
