750

March 2, 1917 - December 2, 1986

His career included music, films and certainly television...

His films included Too Many Girls, Bataan, Cuban Pete, The Long, Long Trailer and Forever Darling.  Three of those films he made with his then-wife Lucille Ball.  He worked on radio most notably as the bandleader on "The Bob Hope Show" in 1949.  On October 15, 1951 he and Lucille Ball entered television history books as official pioneers when their sitcom "I Love Lucy" began on CBS.  It was on the air for just six years but it still reigns as one of the most popular television show of all time.  The show ended in the spring of 1957 but the characters returned in a series of "special" one-hour programs during the 1957-1958 television under the title "The Ford Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show."  The following year saw the beginning of "Westinghouse Presents the Desilu Playhouse" which ran from 1958 to 1960 and featured the final appearances of the "I Love Lucy" characters.  

He also appeared on "All Star Revue", "Make Room for Daddy", "Sunday Showcase", "The Red Skelton Hour", "The Virginian", "Ironside" and "Alice."  As himself he could be seen on "The Ed Wynn Show", "Our Miss Brooks", "What's My Line?", "I've Got a Secret", "December Bride", "The Bob Hope Show", "The Jackie Gleason Show", "The Ed Sullivan Show", "The Joey Bishop Show", "The Kraft Music Hall", "The Merv Griffin Show", "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In", "The Andy Williams Show", "The David Frost Show", "The Hollywood Squares", "Saturday Night Live", "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson", "Donny and Marie" and "Late Night with David Letterman."    
As a director/producer he was invovled with "The Mothers-In-Law" (which he also guest starred on), "The Ann Sothern Show", "The Lucy Show" and "The Untouchables."  His final film appearance was in The Escape Artist in 1982 in which he played a crooked politician.    

On his 96th birthday...

In Memoriam Remembers:
Desi Arnaz
     

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