Desiderio Alberto Aranz y de Acha III was born on March 2, 1917 in Santiago de Cuba. He was in a very wealthy family but soon Batista took over in 1933 and Desi and his father fled to America. Miami to be exact. They were very poor there and Desi got a job cleaning bird cages until he began to sing and he got a job with Xavier Cugat. He then formed his own rhumba band and became very popular for his Latin music. He was cast in the musical Too Many Girls where he met the very famous Lucille Ball. They fell in love and were married November 30, 1940. Desi was always on the road and Lucy couldn't stand it. They constantly wrote love letters but were miserable without eachother. Then the two came up with a wonderful idea that would solve their problems, a television series that they both would star in. But they struggled to sell the idea, no one would go for it. They claimed that the public wouldn't approve of the couple, Desi being Cuban and all. So Lucy and Desi formed a vaudaville act and toured the country together. They proved that the audience did approve. And then of course they made a pilot and CBS bought it. Phillip Morris sponsored it. It was the most popular show ever and Desi was proud to be a part of it. And then there was Desilu Productions. Desi was the president until the two got divorced and Lucy bought his half of the company. Desi remarried and died in 1986. He was 69 years of age.