Keith Thibodeaux and Desi Arnaz Jr

Hey guys! Thank you for leaving me those wonderful comments. Well, I miss you all too! And I'm deeply honored and humbled that what I've been doing to this blog has received compliments. I love Lucy, and I'm sorry for not posting. Here's one.

A lot of people believe that Ricky Ricardo Jr. was Desi and Lucille's real son. They couldn't be more wrong.

The role of Little Ricky was played by a talented young drummer called Keith Thibodeaux. He displayed such great skills with the drums that he was hired by Desi Arnaz immediately. Lucille took care of his wardrobe, his hair, and even his education. Keith stayed over at the Arnaz's place often and was a playmate to Desi Jr. and little Lucie.

"It was like having three children instead of two," said the couple.

Of course, that meant that young Keith had witnessed Desi and Lucille's explosive tempers and raging quarrels many times.

Having Little Ricky on television was kinda tough for Desi Jr., it caused him to have identity problems. When he was young, strangers would walk up to him and say things like, "hey, you're Little Ricky!" or "hey, you don't look like Little Ricky!" It was tiring to have to try to explain to people that he wasn't little Ricky, but Desi Jr.. They wouldn't have gotten it. Bear in mind that back then, communication methods were tough. There wasn't television reruns, not many books were written about the legendary couple, DVDs and documentaries didn't exist, and there wasn't internet. Television audience "invited" the Ricardos and Mertzes into their living room once a week, and they were like family. Telling them that Little Ricky wasn't Desi Jr. wouldn't have gotten anywhere because they were too used to having another concept.

I'm glad that Desi has straighten out his life and is living meaningfully and happily with his family.His parents would be so proud of him.

Desi's Death Anniversary, 2 December

Reasons to love Desi Arnaz:

1.  Lucille trusted no one but him. Even after divorce, she still did. That really says something about his love for her.

2. He took up the responsibility for his mother after his parents' separation.

3. Even though his mother never really cared about him, he continued providing for her his entire life.

4. He was the brains and backbone of Desilu productions, and I Love Lucy.

5. No matter how busy at work he was, he found time to play with his children.

6. He continued loving Lucille in his special way even after realizing (or thinking) that his wife loved her work more than she loved him.

7. In spite of being discriminated by Hollywood and television heads and producers for being 'Cuban', he stayed resilient and proved them wrong by staying by Lucille and thereby creating television's best sitcom.

9. Even though he was ridiculed and bullied in his army days as being 'Mr Ball', he did the injured men good by bringing entertainment and improving their welfare.

10. He was the only person in the world who knew how to make Lucille 'Lucy'.

11. He could remember the entire I Love Lucy script just after one reading, and he even gave excellent suggestions to improve it!
12. Despite his womanizing ways, he made it clear that he wanted no one but Lucille to father his children. 
13. He continued sending Lucille her favorite red and white carnations, as well as jewelry after their divorce, on special occasions like wedding anniversaries, her birthdays, their children's birthdays and even Mother's Day!

Even though the world recognized your talents and contributions posthumously, you'll always be remembered, not just as Ricky Ricardo, but in spite of being Ricky Ricardo. You'll always be Desi Arnaz, one of the most intelligent man who created Desilu Inc. and loved Lucille Ball. 

2 December 2012.

Lucy Goes to Scotland

Studio audience who viewed Lucy Goes to Scotland got a real treat. Normally, the I Love Lucy sets were made up of neutral colors because they'd look better on black and white film, but Desilu Inc. decided to make an exception for this episode for publicity purposes.

Desi even brought his own video camera to record the color version. Too bad we don't get to see it. I really hope that the Arnaz family could release the color version because till this day, there's only one true color segment of I Love Lucy on earth, filmed secretly by a studio audience member.

CBS has painstakingly colorized this episode, though! They made use of the picture above can colored as accurately as they could on Ricky and Lucy Ricardo's Scottish costumes.

Quote from Lucille Ball

"We try to make a game of our lives--but a game without any fixed or definite pattern. We believe that too many couples allow themselves to become 'settled' and prosaic, and as a result lose the fun which drew them together in the first place, and which keeps romance alive"
- Lucille Ball, circa 1942

You can imagine how romantic and exciting the earlier years of their marriage had been. They fought like mad, and made love like crazy. They loved playing games to test each other's devotion and depth of love.

I suppose that spending too much time together was one of the reasons Desi and Lucille ultimately filed for divorce. Their marriage got routine, and their responsibilities accumulated a great deal. They spent the day working on I Love Lucy, publicity tours, etc., and the night together too. Even the closest couple need a break from each other.

That's why after the divorce, they finally realized they were each other's greatest loves. They had that break, but it was eternal.

Modern Lucille Ball

This is what Lucille Ball would have looked like if she had been born in this era.

Hope you've recognized her.

And hope you've enjoyed it.

The Arnaz Family

I know there are many negative opinions on Desi and especially Lucille that are circulating.In my opinion, given the astounding workload, amounted with the broken childhood, Lucille was the best mother she could ever be. And Desi certainly did spend quality time with his kids even though he was busy with his movie studio and the roles.

I see pictures of Lucille playing with her kids in snow or in the swimming pool, Desi and Lucille having their kids visit the I Love Lucy set, Desi and Lucille holding parties for the kids and taking the kids along on their publicity tours, the Arnaz family touring Hawaii, New York and other states and Europe, celebrating many important occasions together, etc.. And I read interviews where Lucie Arnaz said her mum was always there in the morning to say goodbye when she went to school, and there at the dinner table at night.

Tell me, after reading this, do you still think they were bad parents? Come on, they were the famous Ricky and Lucy Ricardo, how much personal time on their hands do you think they had?

The Ricardos and the Mertzes

The success of I Love Lucy is due to its fundamental principle of love, that love conquers all, that a happy ending ensues. Aren't these what human beings subconsciously aim for? The purpose of living life the way we do is to hope that a happy ending occurs.

No matter how zany Lucy Ricardo's antics are, her husband, Ricky, always forgives her. Her neighbors and best friends, Fred and Ethel Mertz always support her. And it so happens that Ricky's best friend happens to his neighbor, and Lucy's best friend happens to be her neighbor, and they're all paired up.

As long as they are honest people who work hard, it'll entail a good life, good enough to travel to Hollywood and Europe as a foursome.

It's America's dream: the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!

I Love Lucy is a global treasure, really.