Desi Arnaz, Jr. (born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz, IV on January 19, 1953) is an American actor and musician and son of entertainers Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.
Desi Arnaz, Jr. was born in Hollywood, California on January 19, 1953. His sister, actress Lucie Arnaz, was born two years earlier.
His birth was one of the most publicized and anticipated births in TV history. His parents were starring in the unprecedented successful American television sitcom I Love Lucy and Lucille Ball's pregnancy was written into the storyline of the show, a move considered daring and groundbreaking in those times. The same day Lucy went to the hospital and gave birth to Desi, Jr., the network ran the scheduled episode where the fictional Lucy Ricardo gave birth to "Little Ricky" and millions of TV viewers watched. The newborn child was shown on the first cover of TV Guide. (Contrary to popular belief, Arnaz, Jr. did not play Little Ricky on the show. Little Ricky was played by Keith Thibodeaux.). A TIME Magazine cover around his birth labeled him "Lucy's $50,000,000 baby."
By age twelve, Arnaz, Jr., was working as a drummer with the group Dino, Desi, & Billy. The other members were Dean Paul Martin, (son of Dean Martin), and Billy Hinsche. The band scored two hit singles with "I'm a Fool" and "Not The Lovin Kind" in 1965.
In 1968, he and his sister, Lucie, played opposite their mother in her TV series Here's Lucy as her children. In 1970, Desi appeared on The Brady Bunch episode "The Possible Dream". In this episode, Marcia Brady (Maureen McCormick) wrote in her diary that she had a crush on Desi Jr. When Marcia's diary is discovered missing, the family begins a frantic search for the lost journal. At the end of the episode, Desi Jr. shows up at the Brady residence and is there when Cindy returns the diary to Marcia.
Arnaz, Jr.'s acting career extended into the 1980s with appearances in TV productions and a leading role in the short-lived Automan. He returned to acting to play his father in the movie The Mambo Kings (1992), based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that treated his father with the utmost respect. The film includes a scene in which Desi Jr., playing his father's famous character Ricky Ricardo, acts opposite his mother as Lucy Ricardo with film footage from the actual TV series intercut with the film's cast.In 1972 Desi joined the group ARIZONA, a group formed by Laramy Smith in Hollywood CA. Desi played Percussion, members include SneakyPete(Flying Burrito Bros)Pedal Steel,Steve Edwards(SpiritPiano/Guitar,David Atwood(America)Drums,and Andy Way(Spencer Davis)bass.
Recently, he has begun performing and touring with a new configuration of Dino, Desi & Billy. The newly formed group is called Ricci, Desi & Billy. It features Arnaz, Jr. reunited with Billy Hinsche, and joined by Ricci Martin (youngest son of Dean Martin) in place of his late brother Dino. The group performs original material as well as the songs of the 60's the original band performed when they were a musical teen sensation.
From about 2002 to 2007, he was the Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, New York. He resigned over a dispute with the Executive Director over the proper future direction of the Center; for further information, see the SaveLucyDesiCenter.org website .
Arnaz, Jr., was married and is now divorced from actress Linda Purl.
He was romantically linked to Patty Duke, Liza Minnelli and Victoria Principal. When Patty Duke gave birth to Sean Astin many assumed that Arnaz, Jr., was the biological father. Years later, Arnaz, Jr., took a blood test to determine Sean Astin's paternity. The test showed that Arnaz was not the father. He married Amy Bargiel in 1987, whose daughter Haley he adopted.
By the early 1980s, Arnaz, Jr. had developed an addiction to drugs and alcohol. He attained sobriety and a new direction in life with the help of a twelve-step program and the teachings of self-help guru and author Vernon Howard, for whom he became a spokesman during the mid-80s and early 1990s.
In 2007, Desi appeared at the 5th Annual TV Land Awards with his sister, Lucie, to accept the Legacy of Laughter award which was posthumously awarded to their mother.
Amy and Desi Arnaz, Jr. presently reside in Boulder City, Nevada, and are the owners of the Boulder Theatre, a former cinema converted into a live theatre and home to the Boulder City Ballet Company.
