Table of Contents
Introduction
Desi Arnaz Jr., born as Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV, is a popular actor and musician. Born to two iconic Hollywood stars—Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz—he was thrust into limelight at his very birth. He made his first television appearance at the age of four and established himself as a musician by twelve. However, such glare of publicity also had a negative effect on him and he started falling in love at the age of thirteen, eventually fathering his firstborn at the age of fifteen, concurrently suffering from substance abuse.
However, he was ultimately able to get out of it and establish himself as an actor. He has 38 credits to his name, his last film being The Mambo Kings (1992), in which he portrayed his father. Later on, he returned to his music. He is currently a resident of Boulder City, Nevada, where he purchased and renovated historic Boulder Theatre in 1997 and runs the Boulder City Ballet Company from that premises since then.
Desi Arnaz Jr’s Age
Desi Arnaz Jr. was born in Los Angeles, California, United States of America, on January 19, 1953. He is 69 years old and is under the astrological sign, Capricorn. He holds American nationality and his birth name is Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV.
Desi Arnaz Jr Height, Weight & Measurement
The body measurements of Desi Arnaz Jr such as his height, weight, chest size, waist size, hip size, bicep size, and any other sizes are not available until now and are still under review. Moreover, Arnaz has white hair as he is old now and has brown eyes.
Desi Arnaz Jr Wiki/Biography
Desi Arnaz Jr. was born on January 19, 1953 in Los Angeles, USA. His father, Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III, better known as Desi Arnaz, was a Cuban-American actor-cum-musician, while his mother, Lucille Désirée Ball, was one of Hollywood’s greatest icons. His elder sister, Lucie Désirée Arnaz, is also a successful actress. At the time of his birth, his parents were starring in the popular television series, I love Lucy. On the very day he was born, his mother’s television character, Lucy Ricardo, gave birth to a son called Little Ricky.
Likewise, Desi Arnaz Jr’s birth was one of the most publicized in the history of Television. His parents were the stars of the television sitcom “I Love Lucy”, and his mother’s pregnancy was part of the storyline as well and was considered daring in the year 1952. And, the same day she gave birth to him, the fictional Lucy Ricardo gave birth to “Little Ricky”. Moreover, Arnaz appeared on the cover of the very first issue of TV Guide with the headline “Lucy’s $50,000,000 baby,” ($487,280,702 in 2020 dollars) because revenue from advertising tie-ins was expected to top that mark. Regarding Desi Jr’s educational background and qualifications, he attended the St. Patrick Catholic School and Miami Senior High School. He then went on to study at Saint Leo University.
When Desi Arnaz Jr. was three years old, he visited the sets of I love Lucy, where he found some other kid playing his parents’ son and felt his fist pang of jealousy. Neither did it help when people started calling him Little Ricky. With time he started hating everything about Little Ricky and wanted to be better than him every respect. Eventually it gave rise to an identity crisis. Meanwhile in 1957, he first appeared in an uncredited role of a spectator in one episode of I love Lucy By 1960, his parents’ marriage collapsed under the strain of his father’s alcoholism and infidelity.
Eventually they divorced on May 4, 1960; but remained in good terms until the death of Desi Arnaz. Sometime in 1961, he and his sister were sent to New York, where they studied at St. Vincent Ferrer School. From 1962 to 1965, he appeared in six episodes of The Lucy Show, a follow up of well-known I love Lucy. In 1972, Desi Arnaz Jr. received Golden Globe Award in the New Star of the Year – Actor category for his performance in Red Sky at Morning. In 2002, he received nomination for Emmy-Outstanding Special Class Program Award.
Desi Arnaz Jr’s net worth is estimated at around $40 million as of 2022.
Desi Arnaz Jr. was a drummer along with Dino, Desi, and Billy when he was 12 years old. Their band was able to score two hit singles “I’m a Fool” and “Not the Lovin’ Kind” in the year 1965. Then, he along with his sister Lucie co-starred opposite their mother in “Here’s Lucy” as her children from the year 1968 to 1974. Finally, Arnaz had a guest-starring role in the episode, “The Hombre Who Came to Dinner: Part 2”, in the year 1968 from the show “The Mothers-in-Law”, executive-produced as well as directed by his father.
Then, in the year 1970, he was able to appear on The Brady Bunch episode “The Possible Dream”.
Likewise, Desi Arnaz’s best chance at enduring Hollywood fame came in the year 1973, when he was able to play the title role in the film “Marco”. It was a musical about the life of the adventurer Marco Polo. Then, in the year 1974, he was able to play the title role in the Western movie Billy Two Hats. Two years later, Arnaz was able to feature in two episodes of the television series, The Streets of San Francisco. Arnaz also appeared in an episode of Saturday Night Live (SNL) hosted by both Desi Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr.in the same year. Moreover, he was the lead in the film Joyride opposite fellow children of famous actors Melanie Griffith, Robert Carradine, and Anne Lockhart in the year 1977. However, his acting was able to extend into the late 1980s with various television appearances, and a leading role in the series Automan, which ran from the year 1983 to the year 1984. In the year 1992, Arnaz was able to play his father in the movie “The Mambo Kings”.
Desi Arnaz Jr was touring along with a new configuration of Dino, Desi, and Billy, known as “Ricci, Desi, and Billy”, also featuring Arnaz reuniting with Billy Hinsche and joined by Ricci Martin. The group performed original material as well as the songs of the original band. Then, Arnaz Jr became vice-president of the Board of Directors of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown, New York, the United States of America, from about the year 2002 to 2007.
Later on, he resigned over a dispute with the executive director over the center. Likewise, he was also able to appear at the 5th Annual TV Land Awards to accept the Legacy of Laughter award posthumously given to their mother in the year 2007 along with his sister Lucie. Then, he even was able to perform in Babalu at the Coolidge Auditorium of the Library of Congress in October 2011.
| Birth Name | Desi Arnaz |
| Nick Name | Desiderio Alberto Arnaz Y De Acha III |
| Age | 69 Years |
| Famous | Hispanic Men Hispanic Actors |
| Founder/Co-Founder | Desi Arnaz Productions |
| Sun Sign/Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| Date of Birth | March 2, 1917 |
| Died On | December 2, 1986 |
| Birth Place | Santiago De Cuba, Cuba |
| Place Of Death | Del Mar, California, U.S. |
| Cause Of Death | Cancer |
| Personality | ESFJ |
| Nationality | American, Cuban |
| Hobbies | Not Known |
| Mother’s Name | Lolita Arnaz |
| Father’s Name | Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha |
Desi Arnaz Jr’s Ethnicity
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American actor, bandleader, and film and television producer.
Desi Arnaz Jr Career
Around 1964, while studying at Good Shepherd. Beverly Hills Catholic School, Desi Arnaz Jr. became friendly with Dean Martin’s son, Dean Paul Martin (Dino) and Billy Hinsche. Eventually the three boys formed their own band, Dino, Desi & Billy, releasing Since You Broke My Heart / We Know in the same year. In 1965, the band released their best-known number, I’m A Fool, which peaked at the seventeenth position on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Also in the same year, they had another hit, Not the Lovin’ Kind, which peaked at the twenty-fifth position. Desi played the drum in them. In 1965, they released their first album, I’m A Fool. It was followed in 1966 by three more, Our Time’s Coming, Memories Are Made of This and Souvenir. Also in 1966, the three boys made an appearance in the Dean Martin film Murderers’ Row.
The band broke up in 1969. By then, they had released 17 singles and had toured as an opening act for the many well-known musical bands, including Beach Boys. In 1968, while Desi Arnaz Jr. was around fifteen years old, he debuted in acting, starring as Craig Carter in the CBS sitcom, Here’s Lucy, for the first three seasons. Also in the same year, he appeared in two episodes of The Mothers-In-Law.
From 1970 onwards, he began to make regular appearance on small screen, playing small roles in television series like The Brady Bunch, Love, American Style, Mod Squad, Night Gallery. Sometime around this time, he graduated from Beverly Hills High School.
In 1971, he debuted in films, appearing as Bo Jo Jones in Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones. Starring as William ‘Steenie’ Stenopolous in Red Sky at Morning was another hallmark of this year In 1973, he played in the title role of Marco Polo in the Japanese musical adventure film, Marco, which was followed in 1974 by another title role, this time in Billy Two Hats. Meanwhile he continued to appear in numerous television productions including She Lives! and Voyage of the Yes.
In 1976, he co-hosted one episode of Saturday Night Live with his father and appeared in one episode of The Streets of San Francisco. In 1977, he starred as Scott in Joyride, as Steve Aletti in Black Market Baby and as Rick Bender in Flight to Holocaust. Throughout 1970s, he continued to appear in various television productions, starring in television films like How to Pick Up Girls!, To Kill a Cop and The Courage and the Passion in 1978 and Crisis in Mid-Air in 1979.
They were followed by Gridlock (1980), Advice to the Lovelorn (1981) and Fake-Out (1982). From December 1983 to August 1984, he played the lead role of Walter Nebicher in 13 episodes of Automan. Thereafter, he continued to work sporadically, appearing in his last film, The Mambo Kings, in 1992, portraying the role of his father in it. In 1998, he joined his old friends, Billy Hinsche and Ricci Martin (the youngest son of Dean Martin), to resume his musical career, touring with his band, Ricci, Desi & Billy, until he decided to retire from limelight in 2010.
Desi Arnaz Jr Family
His father was a Cuban-American actor, musician, bandleader, comedian, and film and television producer, a revolutionary in the creation of modern television. And her mother, Lucille Ball was an American actress, comedian, model, studio executive, and producer. He also has an older sister named Lucie Arnaz.
Desi Arnaz Jr’s Wife
Desi Arnaz Jr. fell into an illusion of love since he was thirteen years old. By fifteen, he was in a relationship with Susan Callahan-Howe and fathered his eldest daughter, Julia Arnaz, with her in 1968. That Julia is his daughter was proved in a paternity test in 1991.
Desi Arnaz Jr was in a relationship with the model, Susan Callahan-Howe, in the year 1968. Both of them were just 15 years old at that time. The couple had a daughter, Julia Arnaz. Later, Arnaz went on to date actress Patty Duke when he was 17 years old but she was 23. Then, as a way out of the scandal after Arna and Duke broke up, the writer, as well as music producer Michael Tell, offered to marry Duke.
But, their marriage lasted only 13 days. And when Duke became pregnant, she told her son, Sean Astin, that Arnaz Jr was his biological father. But later on, the genetic tests later revealed that Tell was the father. Subsequently, he got involved with entertainer Liza Minnelli but this relationship also was disapproved by his mother disapproved. Then, he tied the knot with actress Linda Purl in the year 1979 but after a year they divorced. Then in the year 1987, Arnaz tied the knot with Amy Laura Bargiel. The couple lived in Boulder City, Nevada along with their daughter, Haley. Unfortunately, when Amy was 63 years old, she passed away due to cancer in the year 2015.
At seventeen, he began dating twenty-three years old Patty Duke, accompanying her to the 1970 Emmy Awards ceremony. Although she later told her son, Sean Austin (born in 1971) that Arnaz was his biological father, it proved to be otherwise. In 1979, Arnaz married actress Linda Purl. However, the marriage ended in a divorce in the following year. On October 8, 1987, Desi Arnaz Jr. married Amy Laura Bargiel and eventually adopted Haley, Amy’s daughter from her first marriage to Gary Charf. Amy died of brain cancer on 23 January 2015.
| Wife/Spouse | Edith Mack HirschLucille Ball (1940–1960) Divorced |
| Marriage Date | Not Known |
| Children | Desi Arnaz Jr.Lucie Arnaz |
Desi Arnaz Jr’s Net worth
According to celebrity net worth, he has a net worth of $40 million and his main income source is his career as an actor and also being a member of a band.
FAQs about Desi Arnaz Jr
How Did Desi Arnaz Jr Die?
Miss Ball Was Among About 100 People Who Attended The Private Service For Arnaz, Who Died Tuesday At His Home In Del Mar From Lung Cancer. He Was 69. The Cuban-born Bandleader Was Best-known For His Role As Ricky Ricardo On ″I Love Lucy,″ Which Set Several Precedents For Modern Television Situation Comedy.
How Old Is Desi Arnaz Jr?
66 Years
How Much Is Desi Arnaz Jr Worth?
Desi Arnaz Jr Net Worth: Desi Arnaz, Jr. Is An American Actor And Musician Who Has A Net Worth Of $40 Million Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz Iv In Los Angeles, California, In 1953, Desi Arnaz, Jr. Is The Son Of Legendary Actors Desi Arnaz And Lucille Ball.
How Tall Was Desi Arnaz?
Height 1.77 M
When Did Arnaz Die?
He Smoked Cuban Cigars Until He Was In His Sixties. Arnaz Was Diagnosed With Lung Cancer In 1986. He Died Several Months Later On December 2, 1986, At The Age Of 69.
How Old Was Desi Arnaz When He Died?
He Smoked Cuban Cigars Until He Was In His Sixties. Arnaz Was Diagnosed With Lung Cancer In 1986. He Died Several Months Later On December 2, 1986, At The Age Of 69.
Conclusion
Desi Arnaz was a famous American musician, actor, and television producer. Spouse/Ex Edith Mack Hirsch, Lucille Ball. He was the founder of the successful Latin music band, ‘Desi Arnaz Orchestra.’
Desi Arnaz Jr’s net worth is estimated to be around $40 million as of 2022.
This orchestra introduced America to a conga, a Latin-American dance that received huge popularity. It was Xavier Cugat, a popular figure in Latin music, who noticed Arnaz for his potentiality as a musician. His single ‘Babalu’ is regarded as his signature song.
