The Untold Truth Of Desi Arnaz

It's hard to express just how wildly beloved "I Love Lucy" is. Even those who aren't devout fans have their favorite episodes, and the Library of Congress calls it "an American legend."

The show's final episode aired in 1957, but it wasn't really the end. Everyone's favorite couple went on to star in programs like "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show," later known as "The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour." Even when they weren't front and center on-screen, the influence of their company, Desilu Productions, Inc., was undeniable. 

Alongside the iconic Lucille Ball was, of course, Desi Arnaz. The pair met when he was cast in the movie version of "Too Many Girls," a Broadway play he'd been in. One of the "girls" in the 1940 film was played by Ball, and they were married the same year.

What followed for him was a career at the head of the Desi Arnaz Orchestra and work alongside big names like Bob Hope. But by the late 1940s, Arnaz and Ball had set their sights on starring in a radio show of their own. That eventually transitioned to television, and although CBS executives reportedly doubted audiences would believe Ball and Arnaz were a married couple, the rest is history. Behind the scenes, though, there was a lot going on — a lot that's not as well-known as the success story.

While researching his novel "The Queen of Tuesday," Darin Strauss found that Lucille Ball had a very good reason for standing her ground and insisting that Desi Arnaz be cast as her husband on television: She wanted to keep him close and stop his cheating.

Strauss wrote in Vanity Fair that even before "I Love Lucy," Arnaz was a notorious womanizer whom one reporter described as having "sprinkled his affections all over Los Angeles." Ball had already threatened to divorce him but didn't. There's more to this story, but it's worth looking at one observation made in the tabloid Confidential, which reported: "He comes from a land, Cuba, where the men are torrid and the ladies, allegedly, are glad of it."

If that sounds cringey, here's the thing: According to The Daily Telegraph, Arnaz had spoken pretty openly about just how his father's family dealt with the idea of fidelity within marriage. His grandfather, Arnaz revealed, kept two separate houses, and one was for his mistress.

After saying that his grandmother probably knew about the other woman and that his grandfather's mistress was perfectly fine with having to hide whenever his grandmother came around, Arnaz explained: "As long as he continued to love each of them, and cared for their children equally, they were satisfied. Having two houses and two sets of children was common among Latin men of means, and Latin women understood this and didn't make a fuss."

The conga is a dance that's super accessible to everyone — even those who have no rhythm. That's the brilliant thing about it: Everyone can join in, and while it's been danced in Cuba for a long, long time, it wasn't until Desi Arnaz set foot in Miami that Americans started doing it, too.

That's according to Arnaz's daughter, Lucie (via Outsider). She said Arnaz had gotten into the music industry not entirely because he wanted to, but because he and his father were living in a warehouse and needed a way out. For Arnaz, that way out was music. It wasn't all smooth sailing, though. Lucie recalled him saying that, after being hired by a band and then breaking away to do his own thing, he had started dancing the conga because he was desperate to make it in the industry.

"That really was his ticket," she said in an interview. "He became quite famous for that, and playing the conga drum, and doing this conga dance in the conga line."

That's when he headed to New York, and the dance became so popular that he ended up working at a club named after it (La Conga). It was during his stint at La Conga that Arnaz was discovered by Broadway songwriting duo Rodgers and Hart, who cast him in "Too Many Girls."

In 1959, Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash — a tragedy now known as "the Day the Music Died." Waylon Jennings was originally supposed to be on the plane, but he gave his seat to the Big Bopper at the last minute. Valens wasn't supposed to be there, either, and only died because he'd won a seat on the plane in a coin toss.

What does this have to do with Desi Arnaz? Something eerily similar happened to him. According to the Akron Beacon Journal, it was July of 1947, and Arnaz — along with his orchestra — was in the middle of a national tour. Lucille Ball often made it a point to be at Arnaz's shows, but scheduling hadn't made it possible. After wrapping a show in Madison, Wisconsin, on July 7, Arnaz and his manager (who was also his brother-in-law) decided to send the rest of the band on to their next stop in Akron, Ohio, on a charter bus. Meanwhile, they were going to take a quick detour to Detroit to see Ball in a touring play.

The orchestra's driver fell asleep at the wheel, and the vehicle was hit by a truck. The bus came to a stop and caught fire.

Many of the trapped band members were freed by the truck driver, who hacked his way in with an ax. Some of the injuries were catastrophic: One man lost an eye and was partially paralyzed. The worst among the injured? The men who had moved up into the seats left empty by Arnaz and his brother-in-law.

Today, people are pretty used to the way television sitcoms are produced and shown. There are several cameras and often a live audience, and once they've aired, episodes continue to be shown over and over again, raking in a pretty penny. (Fox Business estimates "Seinfeld" creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld make somewhere around $400 million a year on syndication rights.)

Without Desi Arnaz, though, that business model would look pretty different.

NPR business correspondent Sonari Glinton took a look at just what kind of contributions Arnaz made — after Glinton heard that Arnaz designed and built the apartment building he'd just moved into. Glinton found that Arnaz started by insisting that, instead of the more traditional single-camera setup, they use three cameras to film "I Love Lucy." When the higher-ups dragged their feet, Arnaz promised to front the cost for the cameras and production, but in return, he and Ball would retain ownership of the shows.

The studios agreed, and Glinton says it was a while before Arnaz hit upon the idea that they could broadcast episodes again — and charge networks for the right to show them. With one brilliant business decision, he invented reruns and syndication, changing the way the television industry worked.

Arnaz and Ball ultimately sold "I Love Lucy" for enough money to launch their own Desilu Productions, and in turn, started putting out new, ground-breaking television that included shows like "Star Trek" and "Mission: Impossible."

"I Love Lucy" writer Bob Weiskopf told People that although Desi Arnaz didn't drink when he was on set, alcohol formed the backdrop to pretty much everything that he did. Associated Press reporter Jim Bacon recalled numerous occasions that involved Arnaz getting drunk and hiring sex workers.

By the time divorce papers were filed, Arnaz's reliance on alcohol — and all that went with it — was one of Ball's major complaints. Others saw it, too: When Arnaz was tasked with helping the widow of his old friend, Jimmy Durante, plan his funeral, he was so drunk that he kept inviting people who were long dead.

People also reported that Arnaz finally did get sober. According to his daughter, Lucie (pictured, with him), Arnaz had long refused to get help for his heavy alcohol use. "He resisted going into AA or any program for a long, long time," she explained. "We don't air our dirty laundry in front of other people; he hated that part. But he finally did after his wife Edy died."

It was Desi Arnaz Jr. who finally convinced him to stop drinking, and Lucie recalled: "I was right next to him when he stood up and said, 'My name is Desi and I'm an alcoholic.' It was the proudest moment of my life to sit next to him and hear him do that."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).