# Desi Arnaz Jr.
**Desi Arnaz Jr.** (born 1953, birth name Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV) is an American actor and musician, the son of [Lucille Ball](https://www.edgepedia.org/lucille-ball) and [Desi Arnaz](https://www.edgepedia.org/desi-arnaz), known for the 1960s band Dino, Desi & Billy, for co-starring on his mother's series *Here's Lucy*, and for portraying his father in the film *The Mambo Kings*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1953, Los Angeles, California; birth name Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0036107/bio/) |
| Parents | Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, the stars of *I Love Lucy*[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/desi-arnaz) |
| Famous birth | Born on the same day the *I Love Lucy* episode in which Lucy Ricardo gave birth to Little Ricky aired on CBS[3](https://apnews.com/article/a3c255021d67e2a003d47245119f6db5) |
| Music career | At 14, a member of the hit rock trio Dino, Desi & Billy[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html) |
| Television | Co-starred as Craig Carter on *Here's Lucy* (1968–1974) with his mother and sister Lucie Arnaz[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/heres-50-years-heres-lucy-part-1) |
| Later life | Lives in Boulder City, Nevada, since 1986; owns the Historic Boulder Theatre and helps direct the non-profit Boulder City Ballet Company with his wife, Amy Arnaz[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0036107/bio/) |
## A birth tied to television history
Arnaz was born in 1953 to two of the most famous people in American television. His mother's pregnancy was written into *I Love Lucy*, and the episode in which Lucy Ricardo gave birth to the fictional Little Ricky aired on CBS on the same day Ball gave birth to her real son[3](https://apnews.com/article/a3c255021d67e2a003d47245119f6db5) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/desi-arnaz). Arnaz later explained that the episode had been shot four months before his birth, that the writers had decided in advance the baby would be a boy, and that because the birth was reported in every newspaper the next day, many people believed he had been born on the air[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html).
The publicity was immediate. A newborn Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV appeared on the cover of the very first issue of *TV Guide* in April 1953, billed as "Lucy's $50,000,000 Baby"[6](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/desi-arnaz-jr/3000320782/).
A persistent misconception holds that he played Little Ricky on the show. He did not; the role was played by the child actor and drummer Keith Thibodeaux, and several actors played the character over the years[7](https://wtop.com/entertainment/2019/08/qa-lucie-arnaz-reflects-on-i-love-lucy-as-tv-sitcom-hits-big-screen/) • [4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html). Arnaz did make a visible cameo on *I Love Lucy* as an infant, and he has described the pregnancy storyline as his first acting job, calling it "fetal performing"[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/heres-50-years-heres-lucy-part-1).
His parents divorced in 1960, when he was seven[8](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/desi-arnaz-singer-husband-dad-and-the-man-who-invented-tv/). He maintained a strong relationship with his father afterward, spending summers at the elder Arnaz's home in [Baja California](https://www.edgepedia.org/baja-california), where on his 16th birthday he received a family-custom letter urging him to simplify his life[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html).
## Music and acting career
**Dino, Desi & Billy.** At 14, Arnaz joined a rock trio with [Dean Paul Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-paul-martin), son of [Dean Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/dean-martin), and neighbor Billy Hinsche. The group produced the hit "I'm a Fool"[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-23-mn-8995-story.html).
**Here's Lucy.** When Lucille Ball retooled *The Lucy Show* into *Here's Lucy* (1968–1974), she asked for the on-screen presence of her real-life teenage children. Arnaz, then 15, played Craig Carter for the first three seasons of the series, while his sister Lucie, 16, played Kim Carter throughout all six seasons[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/heres-50-years-heres-lucy-part-1). The siblings had first made minor guest appearances on *The Lucy Show*[5](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/heres-50-years-heres-lucy-part-1).
**Film.** When he turned to film acting in 1970, his performance in *Red Sky at Morning* earned him a Golden Globe Award as "Most Promising Newcomer". Further films followed, including [Norman Jewison](https://www.edgepedia.org/norman-jewison)'s *Billy Two Hats* with [Gregory Peck](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregory-peck)[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html). His last film credit is *The Mambo Kings* (1992), in which he portrayed his own father[10](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/desi-arnaz-jr--45986.php). He initially declined the role after his mother's death, then agreed after rehearsing his father's voice at the family house in Mexico; the film's sound stage was re-created at the old Desilu studios on Cahuenga where *I Love Lucy* had been filmed[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html).
His Television Academy record lists one prime-time Emmy nomination, as executive producer of the *I Love Lucy 50th Anniversary Special* on CBS, nominated for Outstanding Special Class Program in 2002[11](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/desi-arnaz-jr).
## Recovery and later life
By his own account, at 29 Arnaz was "dangerously close to the terminal stage of drug abuse". He voluntarily entered a medical detoxification program and recovered, and he has attributed the turnaround in part to his father's advice in the 16th-birthday letter[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html). He graduated from the Scripps substance abuse program about a decade before 1991, and his father went through the same program four years after him[12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-29-vw-1687-story.html). In the early 1990s he served as national spokesperson for the New Life Foundation, a non-profit spiritual development program, and appeared at recovery-related benefit events[4](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html) • [12](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-29-vw-1687-story.html).
Since 1986 he has lived in [Boulder City, Nevada](https://www.edgepedia.org/boulder-city-nevada), where he owns the Historic Boulder Theatre. The theater was built in 1932 during the construction of [Hoover Dam](https://www.edgepedia.org/hoover-dam) and operated as a movie house until it closed in the face of newer Las Vegas cinemas; Arnaz bought it and converted it into a live theater. There he helps direct the non-profit Boulder City Ballet Company (BCBC) with his wife, Amy Arnaz, and has produced shows including a revived version of his old band under the name "Ricci, Desi & Billy", ballet productions such as *The Nutcracker*, *Sleeping Beauty*, and *Swan Lake*, and the Dam Short Film Festival[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0036107/bio/).
## References
1. [Desi Arnaz Jr. – Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0036107/bio/)
2. [Desi Arnaz – Children, Death & Show, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/desi-arnaz)
3. [Today in History: January 19, Lucille Ball gives birth, on TV and in real life, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/a3c255021d67e2a003d47245119f6db5)
4. [Desi Arnaz Jr. Touches Heyday of His Father in 'Mambo Kings', Los Angeles Times (1991)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-12-05-ti-1071-story.html)
5. [Here's 50 Years of Here's Lucy – Part 1, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/online-originals/heres-50-years-heres-lucy-part-1)
6. [Desi Arnaz Jr. – TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/desi-arnaz-jr/3000320782/)
7. [Q&A: Lucie Arnaz reflects on 'I Love Lucy', WTOP News](https://wtop.com/entertainment/2019/08/qa-lucie-arnaz-reflects-on-i-love-lucy-as-tv-sitcom-hits-big-screen/)
8. [Desi Arnaz: Singer, husband, dad, and the man who "invented" TV, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/desi-arnaz-singer-husband-dad-and-the-man-who-invented-tv/)
9. [Dean Martin Jr. on Missing F-4, Los Angeles Times (1987)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-03-23-mn-8995-story.html)
10. [Desi Arnaz Jr. Biography, The Famous People](https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/desi-arnaz-jr--45986.php)
11. [Desi Arnaz Jr. | Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/desi-arnaz-jr)
12. ['Off the Wall' Street Dance Is a Hit Again, Los Angeles Times (1991)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-08-29-vw-1687-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames A*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license