Following the path set by her iconic parents, Lucie Arnaz, born in 1951, embarked on a career in film, theatre, and television. Her skills are not confined to acting – she has also proved her mettle in producing and directing.
Desi Arnaz Jr. has lived in Boulder City, Nevada, since 1986, where he owns the Historic Boulder Theatre and helps direct non-profit Boulder City Ballet Company (BCBC) with his wife, Amy Arnaz.
After his father's death on December 2, 1986, Desi Jr. and Lucie inherited most of his father's estate. (Arnaz's mother, who was 91 years old at the time, was also left $250,000.) According to the Associated Press, Arnaz's will stated for his estate to be divided between Lucie and Desi Jr.
What Happened to Lucie Arnaz, Daughter of Lucille Ball
Did Desi Arnaz have a child at 15?
Arnaz has a daughter, Julia Arnaz, from a relationship with model Susan Callahan-Howe in 1968 when they were both 15 years old; Julia's relationship to Desi Jr. was proven by a paternity test in 1991.
Lucy filed for divorce in 1944, over issues with Desi's heavy drinking and cheating, according to People. Desi was also gone a lot on tour and, when he was home, he would be out late while Lucy had to be up early for work. The two eventually decided to work things out.
Lucille had an estimated net worth of $60 million at the time of her death at age 77 in 1989, according to Celebrity Net Worth. The Emmy winner, born to Henry Durrell "Had" Ball and Désirée Evelyn "DeDe" Ball in 1911, earned her first credited acting role in 1935's I Dream Too Much.
In 2002, Ball's and her mother's remains were re-interred at the Hunt family plot at Lake View Cemetery in Jamestown, New York, in accordance with Ball's wishes to be buried near her mother. The remains of her brother, Fred Henry Ball, were also interred there in 2007.
How many biological children did Lucille Ball have?
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz shared two biological children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. While they both decided to walk in their parents' footprints into the entertainment business, it's important to debunk the myth that Little Ricky from “I Love Lucy” was their real son.
On November 14, 2020, Ricky passed away peacefully at his home in San Leandro. He was loved and respected by all that knew him, and he will be truly missed. Ricky was the son of John and Bertine Ricardo, born in San Leandro, California on November 5, 1945. He graduated in 1963 from Pacific High School in San Leandro.
Desi Arnaz—whom she divorced in May 1960—was worth $20 million at the time of his death, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Arnaz, a regular cigarette smoker, died three years before Ball on December 2, 1986, from lung cancer.
Lucy stood about 3 feet 7 inches (109 cm) tall and weighed about 60 pounds (27 kg). She is stored at the National Museum of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Ball and Desi Arnaz were married a second time in 1946 in a church because his mother believed that the couple could not have children because they had not been married in the Catholic Church. (She suffered three miscarriages with husband Desi Arnaz, in 1942, 1949 and 1950.)
In her 1989 memoir, Love, Lucy, Ball revealed that she filed for divorce from Arnaz due to his drinking problem and alleged infidelity. “Desi's nightlife had even blasé Hollywood talking,” she wrote.
Arnaz's own politician father Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y Alberni II was Mayor of Santiago de Cuba from 1923-1932, and Arnaz's mother Dolores “Lolita” de Acha y de Socias had been the daughter to Alberto de Acha, an executive and founding member of the Bacardi Rum Company in Cuba.
They weren't your typical Hollywood couple: Ball was nearly six years older than her husband (a gap so taboo at the time that she reportedly lied about her birth year on their marriage certificate); Arnaz was Cuban. (Bear in mind: This was the '50s.)
Though Ball and Arnaz's marriage ended in a bitter divorce back in 1960, their "unconditional love for each other" lasted and "never went away," Lucie recalls: "There was forgiveness.
What was the age difference between Lucy and Desi?
They both also lied about their ages on the certificates to make the age gap between them a year, instead of the actual six. Lucy claimed to be 26, and Desi bumped his age up to 25, even though he was only 23 at the time. Both Lucy and Desi were extremely jealous, possessive, and hot-tempered.
Audiences across the country knew America's favorite redhead was adored by Desi Arnaz – but long after “I Love Lucy” came to an end and her marriage to her co-star ended in 1960, Lucille Ball became happily devoted to her second husband, comedian Gary Morton.
