Desi Arnaz was one of the biggest performers both on and off the screen, which earned him popularity all over the world. He is perhaps still best known to the world as Ricky Ricardo in the sitcom “I Love Lucy”, in which he co-starred with Lucille Ball, his then wife. Desi’s second wife was Edith Mack Hirsch – the two were married from 1963 until her death in 1985.
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Contents
Biography- age, youth, education
Edith Mack Hirsch was born on April 15, 1917 in Illinois, USA; growing up was hard for Edith, and education was hard to come by. Still, she managed to attend a nearby high school in Illinois.
Desi Arnaz and his second wife Edith Mack Hirsch.
Posted by A daily dose of I Love Lucy On Sunday 11 March 2018
Desi Arnaz . meet and get married
Three years after his divorce from Lucille Ball, Desi and Edith met, and it took them just six months to get married. Desi was so in love that he knew on the spot that she would become his wife, turned out to be equal as the two stayed together until she died. During their marriage, Desi had cut his career and appeared only a few times, as a Spanish matador, Senor Delgado on the show “The Mothers-in-Law”. They had no children; Edith died on March 25, 1985 in Del Mar, California USA from cancer. Desi died the following year on December 2.
Edith’s husband, Desi Arnaz
Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III on March 2, 1917 in Santiago de Cuba, Republic of Cuba, the son of Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Alberni II, and his wife Dolores de Acha. Growing up, Desi enjoyed a lavish lifestyle as his family owned farms, and even a vacation villa on a private island in the Bay of Santiago, Cuba. His father, the mayor of Santiago, was removed from office after the Cuban Revolution of 1933; Alberto Arnaz was incarcerated, spent six months in prison, during which time the family property was confiscated, and after he was released from prison, the Arnaz family fled to Miami, Florida.
Desi attended St. Patrick Catholic High School in Miami, and since the English language was a problem for him, he also attended Saint Leo Prep to improve his language skills.
Career Start
Since his family was new to the country and stripped of their lavish past, Desi had to find a job to support himself and also take care of the family. Desi started out as a canary cage cleaner, but that didn’t last long as he focused on the performing arts. He formed a small group of musicians and was soon hired by Xavier Cugat, the king of Latin music at the time. His stint in Cugat’s band didn’t last long, though, as he wanted to start his own Latin band. Desi became one of the greatest Latin musicians and launched the conga craze in the US.
He focused entirely on show business and in 1939 secured his first acting gig, starring in the Broadway musical “Too Many Girls”.
The following year, the entire musical was made into an on-screen movie, and that’s when he met his future wife, Lucille Ball. Throughout the 1940s, Desi built up a reputation and starred in many films of the decade, including the romantic comedy “Father Takes a Wife” (1941), then “Cuban Pete” (1946) and “Holiday in Havana” (1949). .
Rise to stardom
It was in 1951 that he and Lucille launched their own sitcom, “I Love Lucy”, broadcast until 1957, and brought Desi world fame. He won a Primetime Emmy Award for his work on the series, and in 1956 was awarded the Golden Globe for his achievements in television, particularly American comedy.
He is credited with inventing many techniques that contribute to the quality of sitcoms now taken for granted, including performing in front of a live audience and re-running old episodes. Desi remained active through the ’80s, but after his marriage to Edith, he remained largely off screen, appearing only as a guest star in a few episodes of “The Mothers-In-Law” (1967-1968), then in “The Virginian” (1970), “Ironside” in 1974 and the lead role in the comedy crime drama film “The Escape Artist” (1982).
In addition to his work as an actor, Desi is also known for producing numerous hit TV series except “I Love Lucy”. Some of the credits include the TV series “Willy”, which ran from 1954 to 1955, then “The Untouchables” (1961-1963) and of course “The Mothers-In-Law” (1967-1969).
Desi Arnaz Net Worth and Personal Life
At the time of his death, Desi was worth $20 million. His successful career has been a major contributor to his wealth and his legacy lives on.
Before Edith, he was married to Lucille Ball, who was six years his senior.
The couple married on November 30, 1940 and remained together for 20 years. However, their romance was marred by problems; Lucille was aware of Desi’s infidelity and his alcohol problems, which led to them breaking up just four years after their wedding ceremony. Nevertheless, the two reconciled and their romance lasted until 1960, welcoming two children along the way, Desi Arnaz Jr. who is also an actor, and Lucie Arnaz, an actress, singer and producer.
Desi died of lung cancer on December 2, 1986, aged 69; he was a heavy smoker all his life, smoking Cuban cigars until he was sixty.
Arnaz published an autobiography in which he talked about his affairs and problems with alcohol. The book is titled “A Book”, and he planned to write the sequel under the title “Another Book”, but he died before reaching his goal. He was survived by his mother, who died about two years after his death.
