Just Married

Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball had barely known each other for 6 months when he proposed to her. It's amazing how love at first sight does really happen! Just think, Lucy had a steady boyfriend and fiance, director Alexander Hall, and they had been together for years! She was also active in dating. Desi was like Elvis Presley in those days, he had dated beautiful blonde actresses such as Betty Grable. He had also fallen in love the first time with a girl he nicknamed Freckles and he wanted to marry her.

Why would the two of them give up the entire forest for a tree?

After their first night together (which didn't take long), Lucy phoned Al Hall and broke up with him, Desi did the same with Freckles.

"I'm sorry, Freckles. Please know that the last thing I ever want to do is to hurt you. You, of all people. I don't know why I'm doing this, it's so unnatural."

"Desi, nothing is unnatural. All things happen for a reason."

Little did Freckles know that she had created a prophecy. Indeed, all things happens for a reason. In this case, the thing is I Love Lucy. 

7. The Proposal

Soon after she received Desi Arnaz's touching telegram, Lucille Ball traveled to Milwaukee to appear in a benefit. This engagement was supposed to last one night, but one night stretched in five. Desi had made her promise to return to New York immediately after her Milwaukee engagement and he became as mad as an ant on a hot pan as she was held up at Milwaukee longer than expected. Moreover, it was in November and the snow was falling down hard and quick. He became suspicious and thought she was having an affair.

Was it possible for Lucy to return to New York into Desi's arms?

One midnight, Lucy took Desi's long distance call at the hotel lobby. She was tired from working, and he was yelling into the phone, with his strange accent "I know why you're stalling, you crumbum. You're screwing the mayor. And there's a very handsome actor playing in the scene with you, Joseph Cotten. Are you screwing him? Is that why you're stalling?"

Of course, being the woman with a hot temperament, Lucy was not going to take the accusations lightly. She in turn, accused him of being involved with every woman in every town he was in, and hollered right back "I don't even know this Joseph!" She had forgotten where she was- the entire lobby was at a standstill as everyone eavesdropped on her end of the conversation. It was no mystery who the person on the other end of the line was. It so happened that Joseph Cotten walked in and immediately, Lucy said to Desi "I got to go. I'll see you first thing in the morning," and hung up.

Lucy marched up to her hotel suite, still boiling mad at Desi, and told her personal maid, Harriet that she was going to charter a private plane and leave for New York right this minute. Her maid would follow her the next day, with her clothes and other personal belongings. When she returned to the lobby, Joseph was still there-- he kindly drove her to the airport.

Braving the snowstorm, Lucy finally reached New York and checked into Hamsphire House. Exhausted, she fell into a deep lumber till noon the next year, and then waited for Desi to appear between his shows at the Roxy. Just then, a reporter requested to interview Lucy on the article "Why I Will Always Remain a Bachelor Girl". She accepted it as she wanted to keep Desi waiting-- she was still mad at him. In her hotel room, she cited all the reasons Desi and her were never going to get married, and that their differences would never be resolved. Of course, she would continue seeing him, just as friends.

Finally, the lady reporter left. The two lovebirds had not seen each other for a long time. They wasted no time but to apologize for all the nasty accusations they had made about each other, kissed, and made love, all in a hurry as Desi had to return to the Roxy and do the next show.

As Desi was dressing and leaving, he said "This girl is going to have a hell of a time with that story."

"Why?" Lucy was curious, and becoming increasingly excited.

"Because I have everything arranged to marry you tomorrow morning, if you would like to marry me."

"Where?" Lucy was lost for words.

"In Greenwich, Connecticut." He shed light on her that he had been adamant on wanting her back in New York as soon as possible because he had already postponed the elopement 5 times.

"But I thought we decided that we couldn't get married."

"That's right, but we are."

"You're kidding, right?"

"No, I'm not kidding. I want to marry you and I want to marry you tomorrow."

"Why couldn't we just live together?" she asked.

"No, I don't want to just live together. I want to marry you and I want to have some children with you and I want to have a home. I'm not like the image you have of me. Now, do you want to marry me or not?"

"Of course I want to marry you, you idiot! Aren't we supposed to wait for three days for a permit or something?"

"I got the whole thing straightened out. I've already gotten a permit, and the judge to give us an exemption. You love me, don't you?"

"I love you very much."

"I love you very much too. So what the hell else is there? I have to go now. I'll be back after the next show."

It was a hectic day for Desi. But he had never been happier. Years later, he could recall the exact details of this unorthodox and poignantly sweet proposal. So could Lucy.

6. Before the Proposal

2 December marks Desi Arnaz's death anniversary. It was the day when Lucille Ball lost the most important thing in her life- forever. I'm sure it broke her heart as her health started to decline shortly. There were just so many mistakes they wished they could undo. One "I love you" wouldn't suffice. They had to repeat and enunciate their love for each other, over and over again.

Desi and Lucy had been involved in serious discussions of why they should not get married. Their outlooks on life were different: he was a rich kid in Cuba and had speedboats and horses before the Revolution happened, she was poor and didn't even own a bicycle. He was a believer of being the master of the house as a man, she was independent and self-sufficient. He was a bandleader who loved to be on the road, she was committed to Hollywood. He was a romantic who lived to enjoy life and not worry about the future, she was a realist.

They finally decided that they shouldn't get married. Lucy of course, was devastated. She went along with the promotion of her pictures, smiling, shaking hands and signing autographs for her fans, but she had never been more depressed in her life.

Desi couldn't give her up. He phoned her constantly, daily, hourly. His telegram to her "Just wanted to say I love you, goodnight and be good. I think I'll say I love you again, in fact I will say it. I love you love you love you love you" broke her heart. Of course, she was heart wrenched with tears.

Yet, the saying that "opposite attracts" was the case...

The jealousy, possessiveness and passionate love kept them wanting for more of each other. The attraction was too powerful. 

5. Not Even The Start

After the first date, Desi thought it would be the end of the Lucy story.

As it turned out, it wasn't even the beginning.

It was the start of a passionate and possessive love, of a great production I Love Lucy that still brings much laughter around the world today, of the results of wrong choices made, of an enduring love which proved that even after remarrying, there could only be one great long-lasting love, that true love does exist...

4. Lucy? Isn't it Lucille?

Contrary to popular belief, using the name "Lucy" was not a result of the funniest sitcom in the world, "I Love Lucy". In fact, "I Love Lucy" was the result of the name "Lucy".

Why not the name "Lucille", her real name?

When Lucille Ball was much younger, she used to hate it when people call her "Lucy". She wanted to be known as Lucille Ball, because it sounded classier, Like Katherine Hepburn. No one in the right mind would call Katharine "Kathy" Hepburn.

It was only after she started going out with Desi Arnaz that became known as Lucy. Shortly after they met, Desi started calling her Lucy. He hated the name "Lucille" because that name had been used by other men. "Lucy" was his, and his alone.

The possessiveness both felt about about each other was both infuriating and sweet, you know what I mean?

3. The Passionate Courtship

It was the sweetest, most passionate, spiciest and emotionally challenging courtship- nothing was moderate about them. They would love furiously and fight passionately.

Lucille kept Desi busy by making them travel along the west coast for some sightseeing. At first, she was afraid of Desi's fast and seemingly reckless driving. Now, Lucille herself drove speedily and furiously. After seeing that Desi was a safe driver who did not take chances, she relaxed and enjoyed herself.

They posed as tourists, and back then, they looked odd together as a couple with Desi's tanned skin and Lucille's flaming red hair. in the 1930s and 1940s, interracial relationships were rare, if present. On one occasion, Desi said to his friend that the best thing that happened to him that year was meeting Lucille. She melted right into his arms. They were both criticized for hugging and kissing too much publicly, but according to Lucille, "(they) were so gone, (they) didn't care."

The love affair was tumultuous from the start. The expanse of unbridled passion could only be matched with the clashes of tempers and bursts of jealousy. Too often, they had to be separated by miles to fulfill their personal engagements with movies, musicals and performances. Desi was too charming and other women were crazy about him, while Lucille's big blue eyes were too irresistible to other men.

Long-distance telephone calls amounted to around $30,000 (back then, that was a helluva lot of money!), and many of their conversations consisted of accusations of each other's infidelity. Desi once called her and said "Where were you when I called you the last time? I know you weren't at the studio. Who the hell were you having dinner with?" She replied nonchalantly, "I was here and there." He got so mad and after delivering "Well, the hell with you, that's all, forget it. I can't trust you, you're a this and that," he hung up. Of course, one would call the other up a few minutes later.

During Lucille's publicity trip to promote a new movie Too Many Girls at Milwaukee, Desi accused her of having an affair with the town's handsome mayor. "I know why you're staying in Milwaukee for a week instead of 2 days as scheduled, you're screwing the mayor, you crumbum!"

Lucille, was even more jealous; she in turn, burned up the telephone lines with "You Cuban son of a bitch, where were you all last night? What are you trying to do, lay every goddamned one of those chorus girls in Too Many Girls? No wonder they picked you for the show!" Then, she would hang up. Of course, again, one of them would call back 5 minutes later- all their quarrels always ended with embrace and back then, their arguments were sort of like a kind of lovemaking.

I would like to postulate that rumors of their affairs with others were disproportionately blown up. They both simple liked to make each other insanely jealous. It was dangerous, fun and the jealously was the proof that they loved each other with so much zeal. Lucille was a "one-man woman", and believe it or not, Desi was a "one-woman man". Affairs with other people were not counted.

Outsiders commented that there were chemistry and attraction so intense that they kept coming back to each other for more. Call it fate or destiny: they each began to care seriously for each other.

Desi's first telegram to Lucille, dated 15 October 1940 from Chicago:
"Darling, I just got up. I loved your note and adore you. Loads and loads of kisses, Desi."

Since then, he had written thousands of telegrams for her, and being the sentimental woman, she had kept each and every one of his love notes safely till the day she died.

Their love for each other was so fervent, yet, was it powerful enough to triumph the differences? Both of them had explosive tempers; their moods were volatile and they were the stubbornest people you could ever meet.

Was there any future between the two, with all those obstacles, problems and fights?

1. Love (not) at First Sight

By the age of 28, she had been financially successful. She had achieved all that she could, having risen up from rags to riches, thanks to her strong will, hard work and indestructible determination. However, something was missing from her life, and that something was love- an enduring love, someone to care for, someone who would protect her, someone to build a home with and someone to be the father of her children.

Lucille was going to New York City, and she was told by the studio head to be sure to catch the musical named Too Many Girls on Broadway, because she might be given a starring role in the film version later on. However, she had missed the musical as she had a great fall while doing a stunt on ice for a movie which hurt her sacroliac. She had been warned against doing that stunt, but back then, she felt that she was indestructible. She spent her days in the hospital in New York recuperating from her injury and show business friends who visited her at the hospital told her that Too Many Girls was indeed a great hit, but the greatest hit was a 22 year old Cuban, Desi Arnaz. He was a charming, attractive, extremely talented and modest man and every women in the country had fallen for him. Lucy of course, wasn't impressed. She was someone who had to see it to believe it.

After recovering from her fall, Lucille finally saw the musical. Sure enough, she couldn't take her eyes off him throughout the entire musical...

"Then Desi opened his mouth and began talking in his own peculiar brand of broken English, and a great belly laugh burst out of me. Now it's hard to make me laugh. I observe, I smile, but when I'm really amused you can hear me a block away. Here was a stunning-looking male who was not only thrilling but funny. What a combination!"- Lucille Ball in her autobiography: Love, Lucy.

It is true that Lucy wasn't amused easily. She had the knack of knowing what was funny, and what would tickle people to death. She knew how to make people roar with laughter, but she seldom roared with laughter herself. There were times when even while joining in the laughter, she wasn't really amused. Isn't that amazing!

So you could imagine how intrigued she was with Desi. After 28 years of living, she finally found a potential someone who could make her laugh, laugh with no restrictions, laugh with no worrying about what was going to happen next.

Lucy went back to Hollywood, and was disappointed because she did not get the chance to be introduced to this Cuban musical talent she would later co-star with. It would be months before the director of Too Many Girls would be available to do the film version, and in the meantime, Lucy was given the starring role in a movie called Dance, Girl, Dance. Her role in the movie was a tough stripteaser in a burlesque club who often spoke sardonic remarks that were humorous in a twisted way.

One day after a few months, she was filming a scene where she had just fought with her friend from the movie and her lover had supposedly punched her. You could imagine her outfit: thick make-up, long sexy gold dress, hair down and wild, with a fake black eye.

That was how she looked like when she walked into the meeting room full of cast members, including Desi Arnaz, to say hello to the director of Too Many Girls, Mr. George Abbott. Now the cast members were all disconcerted as they looked at her from the top of her head to her toes. The role that Miss Lucille Ball was to play in the upcoming movie was an ingenue, but as Desi Arnaz described, "she looked like a two-dollar whore who had been badly beaten by her pimp, with her hair all over her face and a black eye, and she was dressed in a cheap costume". How could she play an ingenue?!

(Meaning of an ingenue: an innocent and unsophisticated young woman, according to Oxford. Or according to Desi Arnaz, an ingenue "is usually a very delicate, blond, blue-eyed girl with an innocent, virginal quality about her.")

After Lucille left, Desi immediately asked the director who the hell that woman was.

Mr Abbott answered, "that's the girl who is going to play the ingenue. That's Lucille Ball."

"That's Lucille Ball and she's gonna do the ingenue thing? You gotta be kidding," Desi's voice dripped with sarcasm and disbelief.

"Well, now, wait a minute. She was in makeup for something else right now."

"I think you've blown your top, George.There is no way they can change her back to look like an ingenue. No way."

After Lucille's shooting, she was dressed casually in tight slacks and a yellow sweater, with all traces of stage make-up removed. She had tied her blond hair neatly with a feminine bow. That was how she looked like when she walked back to the meeting room while Desi was rehearsing a song with his piano player.

Desi said to the piano player "Man, what a hunk of woman!"

His piano player was puzzled. "You met her today," he said.

"No, I never met her. I've never seen her before."

"That's Lucille Ball," his piano player said.

"THAT'S LUCILLE BALL?! You gotta be kidding. She sure doesn't look anything like she did this morning."

Desi was mesmerized. He was mesmerized, hook, line and sinker.

"Hello," Lucille said as she walked up to Desi. Of course she knew who he was; she had waited long enough to meet him, since she saw him perform back at New York.

Desi was still shocked and unsure. "Miss Ball?"

"Why don't you call me Lucille and I'll call you Dizzy."

"Okay, Lucille, but it's not Dizzy."

"Oh? How do you say it, Daisy?"

"No, Daisy is a flower. It's Desi, D-E-S-I."

Of course, he used the cheesiest line in history to invite her to dinner ("Would you like me to teach you how to Rumba? It may come in handy for your part in the movie."). She accepted.

He preferred the demure Lucille to the glamorous one, and that was the sweetest thing one could expect from a man.

They went to a nightclub, but instead of joining the conga line with the rest, they danced a while and then sat at a quiet corner and just talked and talked. They were in their own world and instant sparks flew. It was obvious even to the rest of their friends that it was love at first sight. Lucille, however, begged to differ: "It wasn't love at first sight. It took me full 5 minutes." She added on that "there was only one thing better than looking at Desi, and that was talking to him."

The night ended innocently. He drove her home, she thanked him for a wonderful evening and they said good night. 

Friends of Lucille warned her against him, that he was too young and was a playboy, but it was too late. She had fallen completely and irrevocably in love with him, and there was no turning back...