Died On This Date (December 2, 1986) Desi Arnaz / World Famous Bandleader and TV Star
themusicsover Desi Arnaz
March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986
Desi Arnaz was a world famous Cuban-born singer, musician, band leader, television actor and producer who became a household name thanks to his starring role in the 196os sitcom, I Love Lucy. Arnaz was playing guitar for Xavier Cugat when, in 1940, he was cast in the film version of the Broadway musical, Too Many Girls. It was there that he met future wife and I Love Lucy co-star, Lucille Ball. The weekly comedy program premiered in October of 1951 and went on to become one of television’s most beloved shows. Besides the show’s world famous theme song, Arnaz and his orchestra performed many Latin jazz numbers on the program, most of which have been released on album. The show’s success lead to the couple forming their own production company which developed several groundbreaking techniques that have become standard in the industry. Desilu Productions went on to produce such shows as the Andy Griffith Show, Star Trek, The Untouchables and the Danny Thomas Show. After I Love Lucy went off the air in 1960, Arnaz mostly retreated to behind the scenes to run the studio. On December 2, 1986, Desi Arnaz died of lung cancer at the age of 69.
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Xavier Cugat was a musician, singer, songwriter, band leader, cartoonist, and actor whose various careers ran some 65 years. Born in Spain, he moved with his family to Cuba where he was trained on the violin. In 1915, his family moved again, this time settling in New York City. His first band of note, the Gigolos, was a popular Tango band in New York. During the ’30s, Cugat became the leader of the house band at New York’s fames Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. It was around this time he got into acting, so he spent much of the next three decades flying back and forth between New York and Los Angeles to work at th hotel and make movies. He also did some time as the cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times. Cugat made several hit records during the ’40s, most of them popular Latin dance tunes of the day. Xavier Cugat died of heart failure at the age of 90.