Desi Arnaz Net Worth
$20 Million
Name | Desi Arnaz |
Date of Birth | March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986 |
Age | 69 years old |
Height | 5 ft 8 inch (1.77m) |
Profession | Actor |
Nationality | American |
Religion | Catholicism |
Net Worth | $20 million |
Desi Arnaz Introduction
Desi Arnaz, commonly known as Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III, was an American actor, bandleader, as well as television and movie producer of Cuban origin. He co-starred alongside his then-wife Lucille Ball in the American television series I Love Lucy as Ricky Ricardo.
Desi Arnaz Early Life
Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Alberni II (March 8, 1894 – May 31, 1973), as well as Dolores “Lolita” de Acha y de Socias, were his parents (April 2, 1896 – October 24, 1988). His father was the youngest mayor of Santiago and a member of the Cuban House of Representatives. Alberto de Acha, an alcohol executive of Bacardi & Co., was his maternal grandpa.
Arnaz was a descendent of the Cuban aristocracy and the wonderful great-grandson of José Joaqun Portuondo y Rizo, 1st Conde de Santa Inés, and mayor of Santiago de Cuba. In his autobiography, A Book (1976), Arnaz portrays his rich family upbringing as a child: the family possessed three ranches, a sumptuous residence, and a holiday palace on a private island in Santiago Bay.
Arnaz and his family were forced to depart Cuba after the Cuban Revolution in 1933. The family’s residences, possessions, and animals were all destroyed by a mob. Arnaz nearly survived the attack because he was able to get away in a vehicle. Alberto Arnaz, his father, was imprisoned and his property was taken. Because six months, he was published after his brother-in-law Alberto de Acha intervened on his behalf.
Desi’s family escaped to Miami, where he attended high school. They arrived in the United States with no money, as well as Desi was forced to live with his father in a garage infested with rats and insects. He visited Saint Leo Prep in the summertime of 1934 to improve his English. His earliest employment was cleaning canary cages in Miami and working at Woolworth’s. He subsequently worked with his father in the tiling business before going into show business full-time.
Desi Arnaz Personal Life
On November 30, 1940, Arnaz wedded Lucille Ball. Their relationship was always rocky. Ball filed for separation in September 1944, convinced that Arnaz was unfaithful to her as well as because he came home intoxicated numerous times, but she reconnected to him before the interlocutory order became final. Arnaz and Ball went on to have two children, Lucie Arnaz (born 1951) as well as Desi Arnaz Jr. (born 1953).
Arnaz’s relationship with Ball started to fall apart as a result of his increasing issues with alcohol, gambling, as well as adultery. According to his book, the combined responsibilities of managing the production firm and monitoring its day-to-day operations had dramatically exacerbated as the company became larger, and he felt obligated to seek outlets to relieve the tension. Arnaz had diverticulitis as well. In 1960, Ball separated him. When Ball reappeared on weekly television, she and Arnaz hammered out a deal in which she bought back Desilu.
Arnaz’s second wife was Edith Mack Hirsch. He drastically restricted his show business operations after the two were wedded on March 2, 1963. Edith died of cancer in 1985, at the age of 67, after a 22-year marriage.
Despite the fact that Arnaz and Ball divorced in 1960, they maintained friends and became closer in his final decade. “I Love Lucy was never just a title,” Arnaz wrote in his latter years. Ball and Arnaz were seen in a family home film playing together with their grandson Simon soon before Arnaz’s death.
Desi Arnaz Age, Height, & Weight
Being born in 1917, on the 2nd, of March “Desi Arnaz” age is 69 years old at the time of his death and his height is 5 feet 8 inches tall, (1.77 m), and his weight is 75 kilograms and (165 lbs) in pounds at the time of his death in 1986, on the 2nd, of December.
Desi Arnaz Career
In 1950, Desi as well as Lucille established their personal production firm, Desilu Productions. They founded the firm to create their vaudeville show. In the beginning, Ball was in charge of artistic and creative choices, while Arnaz was in charge of the company’s business. Desi and Lucille would subsequently discover that being a Cuban immigrant with no business expertise would be incredibly profitable.
His odd financial strategies included requesting a season’s worth of production expenditures for the first episode rather than spreading the costs out. By doing so and following his budget, the program proved to be incredibly inexpensive to create in comparison to comparable current shows. They stayed on a budget because Lucille as well as Desi paid for the first episode.
His most clever unintentional choice was to insist that the program utilize movies from across the country when syndicated rather than a lower-quality media known as a kinescope. The cost of airing a movie to every station in the country was ridiculed by studio executives. Desi persuaded the studio to accede to his demand by promising to accept a wage reduction with Lucille.
But he added a stipulation that he and Lucille would keep the physical film prints as well as the re-broadcast rights. This clause earned the couple a fortune when the show became the most successful syndicated program in history. It is still regarded as the most astute business deal in television history.
CBS paid $4.5 million for the rights to the show’s 180 episodes in 1957. That equates to $40 million now. That same year, Lucille, as well as Desi, utilized the funds to make a down payment on their own new studio land. Desilu purchased $6 million for RKO Studios as well as its 14-acre film complex in 1957. Lucille was now the first significant female production tycoon.
Desilu went on to create a variety of successful series, including “The Untouchables,” “The Ann Sothern Show,” as well as “Sheriff of Cochise.” Their lot was also the setting for “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “The Andy Griffith Show,” “My Three Sons,” as well as other shows.
They went public with Desilu in 1958, when the firm had 800+ workers and much more than $20 million in yearly revenue. Desi and Lucille separated in 1960. Lucille paid $2.5 million for Desi’s interests in their firm in 1962. In today’s values, that equates to about $20 million.
Lucille devoted herself entirely to the production and creative aspects of the company. Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” was given the go-light by Lucille in 1964. She provided Roddenberry with the resources he required to shoot a pilot episode titled “The Cage.” The pilot was rejected by NBC.
NBC agreed to let Roddenberry make a second pilot, this time featuring William Shatner, at Lucille’s request. The rest became history. “Mission Impossible” was also approved by Lucille.
Lucille Ball sold Desilu to Gulf+Western for $17 million in 1967. In today’s money, that equates to $130 million. Desilu was changed into a producing subsidiary of Paramount Pictures by Gulf+Western. The two divisions were then called Paramount Studios.
Desi Arnaz Net Worth
Desi Arnaz has an approximate net worth is estimated to be around at $20 million at the time of his death in 1986, on the 2nd, of December. This Article is Based on our research, when we were writing this article we had gone through many renowned magazines & sites like Forbes, Wikipedia, etc.
Conclusion
Desi Arnaz net worth was reported to be $20 million at the time of his death. He was a Cuban-born actor as well as musician most known for his relationship with Lucille Ball as well as their television program, ‘I Love Lucy.’ He made the majority of his money through movies, television shows, and music.
In 1933, Desi Arnaz as well as his family departed Cuba for the United States. In 1939, he earned a position in the Broadway musical Too Many Girls, and he subsequently acted in the movie adaptation, where he met his future spouse, Lucille Ball. In 1949, Arnaz launched the six-year-long smash television sitcom I Love Lucy.