Desi Arnaz Jr. | About Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz Son

Publish date: 2024-05-17

Desi Arnaz Jr. is a well-known American actor and musician who is the son of iconic Hollywood actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. His parents are most remembered for their roles in the CBS sitcom I Love Lucy, which aired from October 1951 to May 1957.

Arnaz Jr. is an actor and musician in addition to being a celebrity child. He appeared in various films and television series during his Hollywood career. But, in addition to his work, he drew media attention for his numerous love relationships with high-profile actresses and artists. In this regard, he used to refer to himself as a playboy. So, how many girlfriends did he have? Desi Arnaz Jr. is he married? Who is his wife’s name?

Read on to learn everything there is to know about Desi Arnaz Jr., from his childhood to his Hollywood career, and his numerous relationships and children.

Desi Arnaz Jr. was born into a family of iconic Hollywood stars;

Desi Arnaz Jr. was born on January 19, 1953, at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, to legendary Hollywood actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. He will be 69 years old in 2023. Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV was his given name at birth.

His father, Desi Arnaz III, was a musician, actor, producer, and the creator of the popular Latin music band Desi Arnaz Orchestra, and his mother, Lucille, was a singer, model, actress, and businesswoman. Arnaz Jr. also spent the majority of his boyhood in his hometown and a few years of his adolescence in New York.

Moreover, Desi, who is 5 feet 11 inches tall, is of mixed heritage because his mother has ancient Colonial English ancestry and his father is Cuban. Desi Arnaz Jr. is of American descent.

Desi’s birth was incorporated into the ‘I Love Lucy’ narrative.

Desi’s mother, Lucille, was a star on the TV sitcom I Love Lucy at the time of his birth. Despite calling it quits, his mother continued to work on the show, and her genuine pregnant journey was included into the plot of the sitcom. Lucille was pregnant in both the actual and fictional worlds, and on the same day Lucille gave birth to Desi Arnaz Jr., her fictional character also gave birth to a boy.

In this way, Desi Arnaz Jr.’s birth is regarded as one of the most widely covered events in American television history throughout the 1950s.

Desi’s Schooling

In terms of education, he went to University High School in Los Angeles. He also attended New York’s St. Vincent Ferrer School and Beverly Hills’ Good Shepherd Catholic School.

Lucie Arnaz is Desi Arnaz Jr.’s older sister.

Desi is not his famous parents’ only child. He has an elder sister named Lucie Arnaz, who was born on July 17, 1951, and will be 71 in 2023. Arnaz Jr.’s sister, like his parents, is a prominent American actress.

Aside from her job, Lucie is a happily married woman. Laurence Luckinbill, an actor and writer, has been her husband since June 1980. She was previously married to her ex-husband, Philip Vandervort Menegaux, before marrying Luckinbill. Similarly, she has five children from her two marriages: Simon, Joseph, Nicholas, Benjamin, and Katharine Luckinbill.

Desi and his sister have a strong bond.

Desi has a special bond with his older sister Lucie Arnaz. They work together and support each other in both personal and professional situations. On Desi’s birthday, January 19, 2022, his actress sister posts a beautiful photo of the brothers on Instagram with the remark,

Who cares about you, Baby?

Happy 69th birthday to my lovely and crazy brother!!! Desi, I adore you.

Based on the caption, we may conclude that the brother and sister have a strong bond despite being in their late 60s and early 70s.

Desi Arnaz Jr. Is An Actor; How Long Has He Been Acting?

Desi made his professional acting debut in 1968, alongside his sister Lucie, as the son of his mother, Lucille Bell, in the American sitcom Here’s Lucy. He performed until 1974, when he retired. Following his acting debut, he appeared as a guest in The Mothers-in-Law episode “The Hombre Who Came to Dinner: Part 2.”

Arnaz Jr. also participated in a number of other TV shows and films till 1992. His filmography includes roles in Fake-Out, Automan, The Night the Bridge Fell Down, Matlock, A Wedding, The Mambo Kings, and others. He is also said to have been on his parents’ hit sitcom I Love Lucy. So, did he actually appear in I Love Lucy in 1957?

Is Desi Arnaz Jr. the actor who played Little Ricky in I Love Lucy?

Most viewers are curious about whether or not Desi Arnaz’s real son played the character Little Ricky on the classic sitcom I Love Lucy. Let us inform you that Little Ricky in I Love Lucy was not Desi Arnaz’s biological son, but rather an actor named Richard Keith. Arnaz Jr. once said in this regard,

“I can still remember watching the show when I was about three and wondering who was the baby with Mommy and Daddy,” she says. “When my parents said it was me, I was confused, because I knew it wasn’t me.”

The actor also revealed that people’s perceptions of him as Little Ricky caused him to have an identity issue. In an interview, he admitted to having an identity crisis. He stated,

“I had this identity problem, and it wasn’t helped by people calling me Little Ricky, a name I learned to despise, “I recall wanting to be better at something – anything – than the boy who portrayed Little Ricky. For a time, it seemed like everything in my life was intertwined with Little Ricky’s.”

Arnaz Jr. Is Also A Musician: A Look at His Other Profession

Arnaz, Lucille Ball’s son, is a musician. He began playing drums at the age of 12 in the trio band Dino, Desi & Billy, alongside Dean Paul Martin and Billy Hinsche. The band’s two songs, I’m a Fool and Not the Lovin’ Kind, charted in 1965. After that, Desi Jr concentrated on his acting career, but after Arnaz ceased acting in the 1990s, he returned to music and engaged in musical tours with his band members.

In addition to being a musician and actress, the celebrity child was the vice president of the Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Center in Jamestown. In addition, he owns Boulder Theatre in Boulder, Nevada.

Desi Arnaz Jr. has been married twice; who were his two wives?

Desi married his first wife, Linda Purl, a professional actress, in 1979. The couple had a one-year marriage that ended in divorce. His wife Linda filed for divorce on January 3, 1980, and the divorce was formalized the following year.

On October 8, 1987, Arnaz Jr. married professional ballet dancer Amy Laura Bargiel (as Amy Arnaz) after a seven-year separation from his first wife. The married couple had a fantastic feeling of understanding with each other and had a nice married life together. They relocated in Boulder City, Nevada, after their marriage, and Desi was a huge supporter of his loving wife Amy’s work as a ballet dancer.

Desi and Amy were rumored to have dated for three years before Desi proposed to Amy. They met for the first time during a presentation by spiritual author Vernon Howard, and after that, they began dating and eventually married. Amy and Arnaz Jr. had been married for over 28 years. Unfortunately, Amy’s death in 2015 brought an end to their lovely marriage. At the age of 63, his loving wife died of brain cancer.

Arnaz Jr.’s Relationship With Patty Duke; He Was Accused Of Being Patty’s Son, Sean Astin’s, Father

Desi dated actress Patty Duke, who was 23 at the time, while he was only 17 years old. When Arnaz Jr. attended the 1970 Emmy Awards Ceremony with his fiancée, his relationship with Patty became public. Their romance ended when his mother, Lucille Ball, disapproved of their affair.

In 1971, after a year apart, Duke gave birth to her son Sean. Patty chose to refer to Desi Arnaz Jr., her son’s biological father, because she had been in a relationship with him prior to his birth. However, when Sean had a DNA test, it revealed that Michael Tell, not Arnaz Jr., was his biological father.

His Other Romantic Relationships

He was in a relationship with model Susan Callahan-Howe while he was a teenager. Meanwhile, the loving couple was roughly 14/15 years old. During their relationship, 15-year-old Susan became pregnant with Desi’s child, but the pair eventually divorced, and Susan gave birth to her daughter Julia Arnaz and reared her alone, far from Arnaz Jr.

Furthermore, the artist dated actress and singer Liza Minnelli, but they split up after his mother disapproved of their marriage. He was also madly in love with other women, notably Kim Darby and Tina Sinatra.

Desi Arnaz Jr. has how many children?

Desi Arnaz has two daughters, Julia Arnaz and Haley Arnaz. Haley is his second wife Amy Arnaz’s daughter with her first husband Gary Frederick Charf. He legally adopted Haley after marrying Amy.

Desi is also the biological father of Julia Arnaz, his daughter. In 1991, when his daughter was 20 years old, a paternity test established his relationship with Julia. Following that, the father-daughter bond blossomed. Julia once discussed her closeness with her father in an interview, saying,

“When I was 20, we did a DNA test, and it came back 99.97% that I was indeed his daughter, and shortly after that, my father and I began a beautiful relationship.”

Later, The Mambo Kings star even reconciled with Julia’s daughter, his granddaughter, who sadly died.

Arnaz Jr.’s Granddaughter Died At 31 Years Old

He had a granddaughter named Desiree Anzalone from his daughter Julia, who died of breast cancer in her early 30s. At the age of 25, she was diagnosed with 2nd stage breast cancer. She had chemotherapy and a double mastectomy, but she still couldn’t get rid of her cancer.

After a six-year fight with illness, Arnaz Jr.’s granddaughter died in September 2020 at the Smilow illness Center in Connecticut.

Is Desi Arnaz Jr. still alive? What exactly does he do?

Yes, the answer is yes. Arnaz Jr. is still alive and well. Finally, on January 20, 2022, he appeared on his sister’s Instagram, where she wished him a happy 69th birthday. There is no current information on his whereabouts, but we suspect Desi Jr. is probably busy with his theatre, Boulder Theatre.

Aside from his career, he must be enjoying his old age with his loved ones.

Desi Arnaz Jr. Net Worth

As of 2023, Arnaz Jr.’s net worth is expected to be $40 million. He undoubtedly made a lot of money through his job in the entertainment sector. In addition, after his parents died, he received their estate.

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