Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff from How Stuff Works, Hey, brain Stuff,
Speaker 1: Lauren Vogelbaum here. The nineteen fifties most iconic television show
Speaker 1: may have centered around Loving Lucy, but the famous Redhead's
Speaker 1: ex husband, entertainment industry pioneer Desi Ernez, deserves a whole
Speaker 1: lot of love too. Born in Santiago, Cuba in nineteen seventeen,
Speaker 1: Arnez immigrated to the United States just before the Cuban
Speaker 1: Revolution and went on to change the landscape of TV
Speaker 1: as we know it. Arnez started life in a somewhat
Speaker 1: privileged position. His great great grandfather, Don Manuel Arnez, made
Speaker 1: an early move to the US, buying up tons of
Speaker 1: land all over Los Angeles, including the area that would
Speaker 1: become Posh Beverly Hills. Arnez's father was the mayor of Santiago,
Speaker 1: his mother was the daughter of one of the Cardi
Speaker 1: Rum Company founders, and his grandpa had accompanied Theodore Roosevelt
Speaker 1: and the Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill.
Speaker 1: All in all, not a bad family treat to sprout from,
Speaker 1: But in ninety four, an uprising in Cuba landed Arnez's
Speaker 1: dad in jail and once he was released, The family
Speaker 1: fled to Miami, Florida, rebuilding a much humbler life in
Speaker 1: the States. Two years later, Arnez, then a musically inclined
Speaker 1: high schooler, started playing guitar and singing in a small
Speaker 1: raumba band. That's when famous band leader Xavier Kuga discovered him,
Speaker 1: swooped him into his band, and Arnez found enough success
Speaker 1: to branch out on his own. Ever heard of a
Speaker 1: congo line, Arnez is credited with introducing that dance party
Speaker 1: staple to Miami crowds. Gaining more and more popularity, Arnez
Speaker 1: and his band made the move to New York, started
Speaker 1: on Broadway in a musical called Too Many Girls, and
Speaker 1: then was asked to appear in the film adaptation of
Speaker 1: the play. On the set of that nineteen thirty nine movie,
Speaker 1: he met Lucille Ball. The two fell in love, and
Speaker 1: six months later they eloped. Though they briefly separated in
Speaker 1: nineteen forty four, the pair reconciled and began dreaming up
Speaker 1: opportunities to collaborate again on screen. The magic moment came
Speaker 1: in nineteen fifty when Arnez and Ball pitched CBS on
Speaker 1: a sitcom that developed called I Love Lucy. Network executives
Speaker 1: initially weren't sold on the Cuban born actor's accent, so
Speaker 1: the couple used their own money to produce a pilot
Speaker 1: and convinced the big bosses that ar Neez was more
Speaker 1: than fit to play the fictional Ricky Ricardo and that
Speaker 1: the show would be a hit. Not only was it
Speaker 1: a hit, it was the hit. I Love Lucy was
Speaker 1: America's most popular TV show for four of its six
Speaker 1: prime time seasons between nineteen fifty one and nineteen fifty seven,
Speaker 1: and viewers fell in love with the couple's non traditional
Speaker 1: partnership that's now credited as a groundbreaking example of multi
Speaker 1: ethnic relationships, progressive Latino American masculinity, and gender dynamics. But
Speaker 1: Arnez wasn't just the on screen straight man, two balls
Speaker 1: uproariously funny lead character. He was also heavily involved in
Speaker 1: every aspect of production, from coordinating taping in front of
Speaker 1: a live audience a first for televised sitcoms, to figuring
Speaker 1: out how to simultaneously operate three cameras in real time.
Speaker 1: Filmmaker Penny Marshall once said, bless Desi Arnaz for creating
Speaker 1: the three camera you could find out what's funny you're
Speaker 1: not with an audience, they're faster than anything. Arnez and
Speaker 1: Ball formed the first ever independent television pction company, Desilu,
Speaker 1: in preparation for the show, and they convinced CBS to
Speaker 1: give them full ownership of their episodes. When Arnez later
Speaker 1: sold them back to CBS, he reportedly made millions and
Speaker 1: the show continues to live on thanks to his business
Speaker 1: savvy But Desi Luke Productions wasn't just responsible for I
Speaker 1: Love Lucy. The company also produced major projects like The Untouchables,
Speaker 1: Mission Impossible, and Star Trek. Although Arnez and Ball eventually
Speaker 1: divorced in nineteen sixty, they remained close friends for the
Speaker 1: remainder of their lives. Arne has passed away from cancer
Speaker 1: in six at the age of sixty nine, but his
Speaker 1: legend indoors thanks to the immeasurable impact he had on
Speaker 1: the entertainment industry, his loved ones, and the communities that
Speaker 1: continue to draw inspiration from his immense contributions. Today's episode
Speaker 1: was written by Michelle Konstantinovski and produced by Tyler Clang
Speaker 1: for iHeart Media and How Stuff Works. For more on
Speaker 1: this and lots of other topics that dosoms plain, and
Speaker 1: visit our home planet, how stuff Works dot com