•                  Desi Arnaz was an entertainment industry pioneer back in the days when television was a brand-new medium. L-R: Lucille Ball, Vivian Vance, Desi Arnaz (driving) and William Frawley in a scene from "I Love Lucy.                                                                                                                                                                                 Desi Arnaz: Ricky Ricardo and a TV Pioneer Too                                                                            

  •                                                The 1950s' most iconic television show may have centered around loving Lucy, but the famous redhead's ex-husband, entertainment industry pioneer Desi Arnaz, deserves a whole lot of love too. Born in Santiago, Cuba in 1917, Arnaz immigrated to the United States just before the Cuban Revolution and went on to change the landscape of TV as we know it. 


  •              Arnaz started life in a somewhat privileged position — his great-great grandfather, Don Manuel Arnaz, made an early move to the U.S., buying up tons of land all over Los Angeles, including the area that would become posh Beverly Hills. Arnaz's dad was the mayor of Santiago, his mom was the daughter of one of the Bacardi Rum Company founders, and his grandpa had accompanied Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders at the Battle of San Juan Hill — all in all, not a bad family tree to sprout from.