Desi Arnaz, Desidero Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III, was born in Santiago, Cuba, on Friday, March 2, 1917. Desi was born into a very wealthy family, his father was the mayer of Santiago, and as a teen had everything you could imagine, including: three houses, horses, boats, cars and even more! Although when Desi was 16 (1933), the Batista Revolution destroyed almost everything the Arnaz family owned, and Desi's father was arrested and sent to Miami. Later his father was let go since he was believed to be neutral. Desi and his mother then moved to Miami.

For some time, Desi worked cleaning bird cages, then he joined the Siboney Septet, at the Roney Plaza. Then in 1936, Desi was spotted by Xavier Cugat and hired for 35 dollars a week. In 1937, Desi quit working for Xavier Cugat, and put together his own rhumba band, and the band debuted on December 30, 1937.

Then in 1939, Desi was cast to be in the play "Too Many Girls," where he would meet his future wife: Lucille Ball. Then in 1940, RKO sent him out to Hollywood, this is where Desi met Lucille Ball. Now it wasn't love at first site, it took about five minutes. They saw each other a brief time and then at about 11am, November 30, 1940, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball were married.

Unfortunetly, Desi was drafted to the Army in 1943. During an army baseball game, Desi dislocated his kneecap. Because of this, he had to work the army hospital, entertaining troops. This hospital was located in Birmingham, California, which was not far from his ranch and Lucy. Then in 1945, Desi was released from the army, and continued to make band engagements around the country. Since Desi was on the road most of the time, and Lucy's hectic movie schedule, the marriage almost fell completely apart. So in 1949, Lucy and Desi remarried.

To help save their marriage, Lucy and Desi created a pilot entitled "I Love Lucy". This pilot became a big hit and aired from 1951 to 1957, when Desi wanted to creat hour long episodes, called "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour," which ran until 1960, when Lucy and Desi divorced.

In 1963, Desi married Edith Mack Hirsch. In 1985, Edith died of cancer. Then in 1986, Desi was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died in 1986 (Desi was 69).

See Also: Lucille Ball | Vivian Vance | I Love Lucy Info.

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