Desi Arnaz

Acting

Desi Arnaz

Born March 2, 1917 · Santiago, Cuba

Died December 2, 1986 · aged 69

Desi Arnaz (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy, starring with then-wife Lucille Ball.

Known For

The Long, Long TrailerThe Long, Long Trailer · 1954
The Long, Long Trailer
7.01954
MovieComedyRomance
A newly wed couple, Tacy and Nicky, travel in a trailer for their honeymoon. The journey is a humorous one that could end up destroying their marriage.
The Escape ArtistThe Escape Artist · 1982
The Escape Artist
6.21982
MovieComedyCrime
The young and self-confident Danny bluffs at the local police-station that he will escape from prison within an hour. What follows is a flashback showing his childhood with his uncle and aunt, who are 'vaudeville'-artists themselves.
Star Trek: The CageStar Trek: The Cage · 1965
Star Trek: The Cage
6.01965
MovieScience FictionTV Movie
Led by Captain Christopher Pike, the crew of the starship Enterprise investigates of a far-off planet which was the site of a shipwreck eighteen years earlier. They encounter telepathic aliens who seek a human male specimen for their menagerie.
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony AwardsBroadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards · 2005
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
7.22005
MovieMusicDocumentary
Broadway royalty and Tony-winners Tommy Tune, Carol Channing, Robert Goulet, and Harvey Fierstein are your hosts for this third compilation of great musical performances from the archives of the Tony Award® broadcasts. Legendary stars from legendary shows strut their stuff in 23 performances that have become part of Broadway history.
TV in Black: The First Fifty YearsTV in Black: The First Fifty Years · 2004
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
5.32004
MovieDocumentary
Discover how television has reflected the African American experience in this retrospective of the medium's first half-century. Actors, writers and historians discuss the image of black America on television from Amos and Andy to the present day. The interviews accompany clips from groundbreaking shows and performances by entertainment pioneers that create a timeline of the portrayal of African Americans throughout TV history.
Forever, DarlingForever, Darling · 1956
Forever, Darling
6.91956
MovieComedyRomance
Susan and Lorenzo have been married for over five years and they are starting to drift apart. So into her life comes an angel, which only Susan can see, to tell her that there will be trouble ahead if they do not work out their problems. Lorenzo is developing insecticide #383 at Finlay Vega Chemical Co. and plans to test it on a camping trip that he takes with Susan, but the trip becomes an obstacle course for him.
Classic TV Bloopers UncensoredClassic TV Bloopers Uncensored · 2011
Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored
2.02011
MovieComedyDocumentary
A compilation of television's biggest and best stars as they are caught in hilarious moments while filming. See stars and blooper moments from such hits as I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Happy Days, M*A*S*H*, The Andy Griffith Show, Laverne and Shirley and so many more! Its a nonstop marathon of outtakes, goofs, blunders and gag reels that will have you laughing out loud. You'll see such megastars as Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Dick Van Dyke, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ron Howard, Elizabeth Taylor and many more. A collection to show you that stars aren't quite as perfect as they would have us believe! Sit back, relax and enjoy the show!
Four Jacks and a JillFour Jacks and a Jill · 1942
Four Jacks and a Jill
6.51942
MovieComedyMusic
Karanina "Nina" Novak, is befriended by Nifty, the leader of a four-piece orchestra, and in return, secures an engagement for them at the Little Aregal Cafe, with herself as the vocalist, by pretending she once knew the King or Aregal back in the old country. Steve shows up pretending to be the King of Aregal, and complicates the growing romance between Nina and Nifty. When Steve runs off with Opa, the real King of Aregal (also Steve) appears and complicates things again.

Filmography

Sort
Classic TV Bloopers UncensoredClassic TV Bloopers Uncensored · 2011
Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored
2.02011
MovieComedyDocumentary
A compilation of television's biggest and best stars as they are caught in hilarious moments while filming. See stars and blooper moments from such hits as I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Happy Days, M*A*S*H*, The Andy Griffith Show, Laverne and Shirley and so many more! Its a nonstop marathon of outtakes, goofs, blunders and gag reels that will have you laughing out loud. You'll see such megastars as Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Dick Van Dyke, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ron Howard, Elizabeth Taylor and many more. A collection to show you that stars aren't quite as perfect as they would have us believe! Sit back, relax and enjoy the show!

Ricky Ricardo (archive footage)

The Fountain of YouthThe Fountain of Youth · 1958
The Fountain of Youth
6.21958
MovieTV MovieDrama
A darkly comic fable about vanity and desire, "The Fountain of Youth" follows a newly married couple whose relationship is destabilized by the arrival of a potion that promises centuries of youth and beauty—but in a quantity sufficient for only one person. As temptation and resentment grow, the gift becomes a catalyst for moral and emotional collapse. Written, directed, and narrated by Orson Welles and based on John Collier’s short story “Youth from Vienna,” the film uses stylized narration and experimental visual techniques to construct a compact essay on human vanity. (Note: Originally produced in 1956 as a television pilot and broadcast once in 1958 as part of NBC’s Colgate Theatre anthology series (S1E5); it later achieved independent archival and cultural status, including a 1958 Peabody Award.)

Executive Producer

The Lucy ShowThe Lucy Show · 1962
The Lucy Show
7.01962
SeriesComedy
The Lucy Show is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962–68. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to I Love Lucy. A significant change in cast and premise for the 1965–66 season divides the program into two distinct eras; aside from Ball, only Gale Gordon, who joined the program for its second season, remained. For the first three seasons, Vivian Vance was the co-star. The earliest scripts were entitled The Lucille Ball Show, but when this title was declined, producers thought of calling the show This Is Lucy or The New Adventures of Lucy, before deciding on the title The Lucy Show. Ball won consecutive Emmy Awards as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the series' final two seasons, 1966–67 and 1967–68.

Producer

Cavalcade of AmericaCavalcade of America · 1952
Cavalcade of America
4.61952
SeriesDrama
Cavalcade of America is an anthology drama series that was sponsored by the DuPont Company, although it occasionally presented a musical, such as an adaptation of Show Boat, and condensed biographies of popular composers. It was initially broadcast on radio from 1935 to 1953, and later on television from 1952 to 1957. Originally on CBS, the series pioneered the use of anthology drama for company audio advertising. Cavalcade of America documented historical events using stories of individual courage, initiative and achievement, often with feel-good dramatizations of the human spirit's triumph against all odds. This was consistent with DuPont's overall conservative philosophy and legacy as an American company dating back to 1802. The company's motto, "Maker of better things for better living through chemistry," was read at the beginning of each program, and the dramas emphasized humanitarian progress, particularly improvements in the lives of women, often through technological innovation.

Executive Producer

The Walter Winchell FileThe Walter Winchell File · 1957
The Walter Winchell File
7.51957
Series
The Walter Winchell File is the title of a television crime drama series that initially aired from 1957 to 1958, dramatizing cases from the New York City Police Department that were covered in the New York Daily Mirror. The series featured columnist and announcer Walter Winchell, John Larch, George Cisar, Robert Anderson, Robert Brubaker, Dolores Donlon, and Gene Barry, a year before he was cast in the lead of NBC's Bat Masterson. Thirty-nine episodes were produced; the first twenty-six aired on ABC during the 1957-1958 season, and the final thirteen were seen in syndication in 1959. Among the guest stars was the child actor Dennis Holmes, who played 7-year-old Allie Marisch in the 1957 episode "Thou Shalt Not Kill."

Producer

The Lucy–Desi Comedy HourThe Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour · 1957
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
8.71957
SeriesComedy
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour is a collection of thirteen one-hour specials airing occasionally from 1957 to 1960, and originally served as part of Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Its original network title was The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show for the first season, and The Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Presents The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show for the following seasons. It was the successor to the classic comedy, I Love Lucy, and featured the same major cast members. The production schedule avoided the grind of a regular weekly series. Desilu produced the show, which was mostly filmed at their Los Angeles studios with occasional on-location shoots at Lake Arrowhead, Las Vegas and Sun Valley, Idaho. CBS reran the show under the "Lucy-Desi" title during the summers of 1962-1967, after which it went into syndication.

Director