He Died 40 Years Ago, Now His Children Confirm the Rumors

foreign [Music] build a television Empire he made up half the formula of the sitcom genre he lived the American dream and nearly tore it all down for himself in the end I don't think any public figure is so full of contradictions quite like Desi Arness the legend himself and husband to the icon Lucille Ball but just how was Desi as a father and how did his thirst for alcohol and women destroy his supposedly picturesque family life Welcome to do you remember I am nostalgic Nick today we have some explaining to do about Desi Arnaz so buckle up if you enjoy our Deep dive give this video a thumbs up it really helps subscribe to our channel so you never miss a memory but without further Ado let's uncover the turbulent life of Desi Arness did Desi Arnaz come from a wealthy family Desi Arnaz was born all the way in Cuba where his father held political office as his home City's youngest mayor and the descendant of some old Cuban royalty but in 1933 the Cuban Revolution broke out and totally uprooted Desi's entire family a violent mob destroyed their entire property and livestock they lost everything and Desi barely escaped The Fray his mom went into hiding and his dad wasn't so lucky he ended up being jailed Desi's uncle worked very hard to get him out and finally the family fled with what little they had to Miami Florida Desi just 17 years old here pretty much penniless and he didn't even speak a lick of English he and his dad stayed in a garage and their roommates were rats and roaches of course everyone remembers their first job well his was working at a local Woolworths but all the Y well he was mopping floors at Woolworths Desi Arnaz had hope and through this whole turbulent phase of his life the young man became a budding Patriot because he knew no matter where he fell in America he could climb back up so he let his dreams stay big turning his sights to Showbiz he slowly built a name for himself and he introduced the conga line from Cuba to the U.S clubs was Lucy really engaged when she met Desi no matter what you've done I forgive you love in all its truly messy forms Define the truly complicated relationship between Desi and Lucy they were in love when they met just not with each other the year was 1940 and both rising stars crossed paths on the set of too many girls boy isn't that a coincidence the two were unlike anything America or each other had ever seen Lucille tended to date older taller men the two started chatting and couldn't stop they set up a dinner date crossed paths at the beach and stuck together like magnets but they both were in very serious relationships with other people at the time Desi was with the girl he nicknamed freckles and Lucille was outright engaged but The Story Goes Lucille broke off the engagement the next day after that the couple was Inseparable actress rudely saw Lucille oscillate between an independent woman way ahead of her time and a traditi National housewife whenever it came to Desi Stuck Together Like Glue whether America liked it or not and some really did not for one the couple lied about their ages Lucille was six years older than Desi and Executives would have made a big thing about that so instead they made a big thing about Lucille being American Born and Raised and Desi Cuban in fact the higher-ups at CBS warned Lucille the American public would never go for a show revolving around a couple like this but in classic Lucille fashion she stood her ground and boy was she right setting herself and Desi up as the first interracial couple on American TVs the Supreme Court hadn't even legalized interracial couples yet it was this first ever mixed couple that showed the world just how successful this television show thing could be you gorgeous exciting woman you why did Lucy and Desi get divorced Desi and Lucille were in the spotlight like no other couple was before and behind the scenes of their sweet idyllic marriage before during and after Desi's time with Lucille there was a lot of cheating in fact right after they began going out they worked on their own projects before Lucille heard Desi met up with his ex-lover actress Betty Grable Lucy showed up at his house and told him off and then Desi proposed but that was just a Band-Aid on a persisting flesh wound Desi's first girlfriend nicknamed freckles never protested even when she knew he was cheating on her with Lucille that made him feel terrible but he did it anyway and that would be a bit of a theme in his Memoir he said quote even though I might have done some bad things in my life none of them could have been as bad as what I did to her Lucille and Desi had conflicting schedules one wrapping up just as the other one was heading out this and Desi's wander hearing I made romance and intimacy hard to coordinate and when they tried for a baby Lucille suffered several miscarriages before they conceived their first child baby Lucy and for a while things did change for the better Desi and Lucille biographer Bart Andrews asserted quote some of Desi's womanizing was alleviated from the moment little lucy was born director William Asher seconds this saying Desi looked especially tender in those episodes that immediately followed their daughter's birth but for some people success also means more to lose and farther to fall and Desi began to feel pressures of well everything from family to work being a sitcom icon and husband to the legendary Lucio ball to managing their company desolu Productions up went the drinking and cheating it was an Open Secret that Desi's father and grandfather had Mistresses even sep separate properties to see them at those who knew Lucille and Desi knew they could both be a piece of work which is why the legendary Lucille Ball is also on our real-life Hollywood jerks video if you want to watch that one next one time ball saw a magazine that promised the juicy details on who Desi was sleeping with it went into detail about him and a relative recruiting ladies who were referred to as quote cuddle for cash babes and how the women left quote considerably richer Lucille disappeared into her dressing room came out and told Desi right to his face quote I could tell them worse than that some of his alleged Affairs included dancer Lilian molieri and actress Patricia Medina who inherited Lucy and Desi's money before they split Desi and Lucille became the parents of two Lucy and Desi Jr according to daughter Lucy Lucille balanced and separated her work life and home life keeping all the zany Antics to the stage and using her mind for organization and discipline at home to run an organized household Lucy called her mom a list maker and as for Desi she says he had a love of life and a sense of humor she called Twisted but Lucy inherited her appreciation for music from him and his business sense operating by some simple rules if you don't know ask there are no stupid questions also hire the right people who can do their job and finally if you don't know what to do don't do anything which actually helped his daughter a lot Lucy got a front row seat to learning that love is complicated as for her brother we have an entire deep dive on his his complicated life so be sure to watch that one next Lucy and Desi Jr inherited some life lessons wisdom from their parents and some difficult first hand wake-up calls and something a bit more tangible Lucille set it up so Lucy was a trustee in her estate then split it three ways between her second husband and her two kids did Desi Arnaz ever get sober does these substance abuse exacerbated problems that were already there like his quick temper his poor choices and attitude it's something that would plague his life and that of his son but it would also be his son who would help him Desi's daughter tells how Desi quote resisted going into any program for a long long time the family didn't want to air their dirty laundry to others the idea made Desi sick but so did the alcohol and so did the death of his second wife Edith when Junior saw his dad so downtrodden he told him quote come on dad you can do this and that was enough to get Desi on the road to recovery and Junior was right there with him when Desi said quote my name is Desi and I'm an alcoholic but sadly this huge step happened not too long before Desi would leave this world what did Desi Arnaz say to Lucy before he died not long after getting sober Desi found out he had lung cancer but Desi and Lucille's lives were forever connected by that point even after splitting they were Forever Friends Lucille's close friend actress Carol Channing once said quote they spoke so lovingly of each other you almost forgot they weren't together anymore that's because what Lucille called their unconditional love for each other that could not die as she puts it quote there was forgiveness there was understanding there was an appreciation for that other person and what you got from that other person regardless of the stuff that hurt that never went away so does he still had his family in his life when he passed away at 69 years old December 2nd 1986 passing away in his daughter's arms while Lucy held the phone and he talked to Lucille who said the same three words to am over and over I love you and Desi said back I love you too honey good luck with your show Desi Arnaz's life was an adventure packed with loss and victory sometimes at the same damn time and sometimes for our benefit he was half the formula that revolutionized television experimenting with the use of film introducing the very idea of reruns and bringing in a live audience to give TV something special he gave his kids great advice both as a cautionary tale and as fatherly wisdom and often he could have used that guiding voice himself all right now we need to hear from you all who grew up watching I Love Lucy what's a great episode you recall what surprised you the most about Desi's life get in the comments and tell us any suggestions and all things Desi Arnaz if you enjoyed today's video please give it a thumbs up it really helps subscribe to our channel so you never miss a video and from all of us here at do you remember thank you very much for watching [Music] foreign

Channel: DoYouRemember?

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Id: _CQ42f8_PdE

Length: 12min 3sec (723 seconds)

Published: Wed Jun 21 2023