Desilu : The story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz [Paperback]

Coyne S. Sanders (Author), Tom Gilbert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 31, 1994

The true, behind-the-scenes story of television's happiest couple, andHollywood's most tumultuous marriage.

Fifty years ago the magical union of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz enthralled American audiences who couldn't got enough of the fiery redhead or her sexy Cuban husband. But off camera the situation couldn't have been less comic, with backstage battles, oversized egos, drinking, philandering, and the demands of phenomenal success undermining what was once a storybook romance.

With exclusive access to family members (including daughter Lucie Arnaz) and rare photographs, Desilu is the first candid, inside account of a celebrated, complex, passionate, but ultimately tragic relationship -- as well as a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at Desilu Studios, the Golden Age of Television's most powerful production empire.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Forty-two years after I Love Lucy premiered on TV, this first dual biography of Lucille Ball (1911-1989) and Desi Arnaz (1917-1986) painstakingly details their business and personal dealings. The famed redhead and her Cuban husband, who met as young Hollywood contract players, pioneered TV situation comedy by starring in their own series and founding Desilu Productions, which was responsible for such other hit shows as Star Trek and Mission Impossible . Colleagues, friends and relatives--particularly daughter Lucie Arnaz--contribute to this telling of the team's successes and failures. Lucille's obsessive involvements with her co-stars and children and Desi's alcoholism and womanizing come to stand out in sharp contrast to the zany TV antics of Lucy and Desi, who remain beloved by the viewing public worldwide. The book will disappoint fans, however, due to excessive attention paid to the finances of Desilu Productions. Sanders is the author of Rainbow's End: The Judy Garland Show ; Gilbert is an editor for Daily Variety. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Claiming to be the first dual biography "supported by family members and close friends," Desilu is actually something more. Here are the familiar stories of the stormy Ball-Arnaz marriage, their phenomenal success with I Love Lucy , and their inevitable parting. The real value of this book lies in its detailed charting of the fortunes of the couple's TV studio, which launched The Untouchables , Mission Impossible , and Star Trek , as well as a host of forgettable programs. The authors' something-for-everyone approach--interweaving dishy tales of Lucy's insecurity-fed tantrums and Desi's drinking with yearly accounting of the studio's profits--doesn't always work, but this is still a valuable book about the inner workings of television. Recommended for most public libraries. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 10/1/92.
- Thomas Wiener, formerly with "American Film"
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: William Morrow; Reprint edition (May 31, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688135145
• ISBN-13: 978-0688135140
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #315,343 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #18 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( B ) > Ball, Lucille
  • #92 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Arts & Literature > Television Performers

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncensored: A True Account of Life with Lucy, August 16, 2000

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Desilu : The story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz (Paperback)

All I have to say is: Run, don't walk, to the nearest bookstore and buy it! Personally, I bought it as a "vacation book" - you know what I mean-- one of those books you take on a trip with you for those times when there's nothing to do. Well, I could not put it down! It was insightful, hilarious, and unexpectedly touching and sensitive, even as it dealt with serious issues,such as Desi's well known womanizing and alcoholism, the marital disputes and subsequent divorce. Lucy turns out to be nothing like "Lucy", and it debunks the common perception that Desi was a no-talent riding to fame on his wife's coattails. Mr. Arnaz was never given the recognition he so richly deserved for revolutionizing television in its infancy to television as we know it today. For fans of the show- yes, it chronicles the most famous sitcom in history with utmost precision, but the show becomes almost secondary when one realizes what these wonderful people gave up in order to GIVE us this show. Lucy and Desi started this whole thing because they wanted to be together, and it's ironic that the same show threw them together so much that faults and misdeeds were magnified to the point that it tore them apart. This is the best book about this phenomenon I have ever read, and I have read them ALL- no kidding. It even gives follows Desi and Lucy after the divorce, and through their second marraiges to other people. Did you know that Desi and Lucy continued to speak by telephone every single night until his death? That Desi married another redhead who looked just like Lucy? That, even after the divorce, for the rest of his life, Desi still sent Lucy flowers on November 19, their wedding anniversary? Thanks to interviews with daughter Lucie Arnaz, Luc's brother, former co-stars, and, the most famous baby in history (whose name need not be mentioned), we have the most intimate facts about the lives of these two beautiful people. Also, there are alot of stories about Lucy's other shows, which, if they are to be believed, paint Lucy as a bitter woman who exercised the utmost control over everyone and everything in her employ. She was known as a tyrant on the set, and once, after working with her for a week, Jack Benny called her director saying, "Get her to a psychiatrist- she's going nuts!" She even made Joan Crawford CRY! But, I think the basic premise of the book is love. Lucy loved her audience, Desi loved to drink and gamble- they were two very self destructive people. But they also loved their children and each other, in a way that I couldn't understand before I read this book. Most illustrative of this point is a conversation that Lucie Arnaz recounted, which took place 2 days before Desi died. Lucie said she was holding the phone to her father's ear (he was bedridden) and that Lucy asked to speak to him. Lucie Arnaz said that Lucy kept saying "I love you, Desi. Desi, I LOVE you. I Love you..." while she cried into the phone. Lucie Arnaz said that Lucy was the last person Desi talked to, for he slipped into a coma hours later and died ther following day. As she was writing about it in her diary, after the funeral, Lucie Arnaz said that she never realized the importance of that conversation until she wrote the date it happened. "Nov. 19"- the day that would have been their forty sixth wedding anniversary. I cried when I read that because it proves that, to the end, "I Love Lucy" was more than just a show. It was true.

41 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intensely moving!, March 16, 2000

By 

Lucy's #1 fan! (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Desilu : The story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz (Paperback)

This ine of the best Lucy-Desi books ever written. The only book I enjoyed as much as I enjoyed this one was Lucy's own autobiography, although I have to admit this gives a lot more detail. This one of the few books written about the team that is actually accurate and correct. The only people who know what happened better are Lucy and Desi themselves. At the end of this book, I cried for hours. I cried my eyes out. It's so obvious that Lucy and Desi loved eachother to their dying days. This book will make you laugh and cry. Words cannot describe how wonderful this book is. It is so incredibly moving. It's a facinating book. I never wanted it to end. I just couldn't put it down. If you love Lucy and Desi, this is THE book to read. Desilu lets you take a peek into the minds of TV's favorite couple, the making of the world's most loved and successful TV show, and Lucy and Desi's life before and after the show and eachother. You may think you know Lucy and Desi, but you don't really know them until you read this book. Only Lucy herself gave a more accurate account of what happened, but this book gives more detail. All in all, this book is GREAT. You have to read it if you are a true Lucy and/or Desi fan.

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Desi Arnaz & Lucille Ball....The Best Story Yet !, February 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Desilu : The story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz (Paperback)

Candid account of televisions best known duo during TV's begining. A must read for any Lucy and Desi fan. Television's most beloved red head and the love her and Desi had for each other to the very end. A lot of input from those that knew them best and how Lucy a dedicated perfectionist in whatever she did to her ski accident in which she never fully recoverd to Desi's bout with alchole & cancer that would claim his life. Her marriage to producer Gary Morton and Desi Jr's bout with drugs. This book is by far the best that's been written on this great team from accounts of Studio people at Desilu Productions to people that were closet to them. Loaded with never before seen photo's including tremendous input from daughter Lucie Arnaz. Thanks for memories, Lucy and Desi! Larry Dodson