My dad told me when I was a kid that Desi Arnaz was a genius. He was the one who decided to film "I Love Lucy" and invented the concept of a rerun. Before Desi, my dad said, they would record over shows once they'd been broadcast. No one ever thought anyone would want to watch them again. Desi was a visionary, though. He saw the potential in keeping those shows around.
I don't think he's gotten enough credit for how much he did for that show (and others). Lucy was the screwball comedienne. Everyone remembers her hiking her skirt up to stomp on grapes, getting drunk on Vitameatavegamin, and stuffing chocolates down her dress. Without straight man Desi, she wouldn't have been nearly as funny.
It's a shame his philandering and drinking destroyed their marriage. They truly seemed to love each other to the very end, they just couldn't live together. The years of drinking and smoking caught up to both of them: Desi died in 1986 at the age of 69, Lucy followed in 1989. Thanks to the vision of Desi Arnaz, generations that follow will always know who loved Lucy and we get to continue to love her antics.
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