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Composed in 1936, this would become (along with “Babalu”) a signature number for Desi, who performed it in the 1946 musical film called “Cuban Pete.”CD audio...
Cuban Pete Lyrics: They call me cuban pete, I'm the king of the rhumba beat / When I play my maracas I go / Chick chicky boom, chick chicky boom / Yes sir I'm cuban Pete, I'm the craze of...
Apr 26, 2010 · Cuban Pete - Desi Arnaz. althazarr's good time oldies. 6.76K subscribers. Subscribed. 204. 51K views 14 years ago. Vocals: Desi & Amanda Lane. Released in 1946. ...more. Vocals: Desi &...
- Early Life
- Professional Career
- Personal Life
- Later Life
- Death
- Legacy
- Filmography
- Bibliography
- See Also
- External Links
Arnaz was born in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, to Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Alberni II (March 8, 1894 – May 31, 1973) and Dolores "Lolita" de Acha y de Socias (April 2, 1896 – October 24, 1988). His father was Santiago's youngest mayor and also served in the Cuban House of Representatives. His maternal grandfather was Alberto de Acha, an executive at...
Musician and actor
After finishing high school, Arnaz formed a band, the Siboney Septet, and began making a name for himself in Miami. Xavier Cugat, after seeing Arnaz perform, hired him for his touring orchestra, playing the conga drum and singing. Becoming a star attraction encouraged him to start his own band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra. Arnaz and his orchestra became a hit in New York City's club scene, including a club named La Conga, where he is credited with introducing the concept of conga linedancing to...
Military service
April 27, 1943, Arnaz received his draft notice. However, Arnaz was disqualified from overseas service due to hypertension and knee injuries, which caused him pain with prolonged physical exertion, according to his military physical examination. He had injured his left knee prior to his enlistment and injured his right knee soon after enlisting on May 23, 1943, during a baseball game at Camp Arlington. He completed his recruit training, but was classified for limited service in the United Sta...
Career post-military
On December 1, 1945, Arnaz formed another orchestra, which was successful in live appearances and recordings. He sang for troops in Birmingham Hospital with John Macchia and hired his childhood friend Marco Rizo to play piano and arrange for the orchestra. For the 1946–47 season, Arnaz was the bandleader, conducting his Desi Arnaz Orchestra, on Bob Hope's radio show (The Pepsodent Show) on NBC. In 1951, Arnaz was given a game show on CBS Radio, Your Tropical Trip to entice Arnaz and Ball to s...
Beliefs
Arnaz and Ball decided that I Love Lucy would maintain what Arnaz termed "basic good taste" and were therefore determined to avoid ethnic jokes, as well as humor based on physical handicaps or mental disabilities. Arnaz recalled that the only exception consisted of making fun of Ricky Ricardo's accent; even these jokes worked only when Lucy, as his wife, did the mimicking. Arnaz was also a lifelong Catholic.
Politics
A lifelong Republican, Arnaz was deeply patriotic about the United States. In his memoirs, he wrote that he knew of no other country in the world where "a sixteen-year-old kid, broke and unable to speak the language" could achieve the successes that he had. He was a supporter of Richard Nixon and member of the Spanish-Speaking Committee for the Re-Election of the President in 1972. Nixon appointed Arnaz as the U.S. roving ambassador to Latin America in the early 1970s. He was a supporter of R...
Marriages
Arnaz and Lucille Ball were married on November 30, 1940. Their marriage was always turbulent. Convinced that Arnaz was being unfaithful to her, along with him coming home drunk several times, Ball filed for divorce in September 1944. The interlocutory decree became final in October 1944, but because they had spent the night together the day before, California state law at the time had declared it null and void. Arnaz and Ball subsequently had two children, actors Lucie Arnaz (born 1951) and...
Desi Arnaz spent his retirement doing activities he enjoyed including sailing his yacht (he was a skilled yachtsman since childhood), fishing, and cooking Cuban dishes. He suffered from numerous health issues later in life. He contributed to charitable and nonprofit organizations, including San Diego State University. He was active in politics and ...
Arnaz was a regular smoker for much of his life and often smoked cigarettes on the set of I Love Lucy. He smoked cigars until he was in his sixties. Arnaz was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1986 and underwent treatment. Lucille Ball visited him during this time in the hospital and the two watched VHS tapes of I Love Lucy.His daughter Lucie was by hi...
Desi Arnaz has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame: one at 6301 Hollywood Boulevard for contributions to motion pictures and one at 6250 Hollywood Boulevard for television. Unlike his co-stars, Arnaz was never nominated for an Emmy for his performance in I Love Lucy; however, as executive producer of the series, he was nominated four times in t...
Soundtracks
1. 1940: Too Many Girls(performer: "Spic 'n' Spanish", "You're Nearer", "Conga") ("'Cause We Got Cake") 2. 1941: Father Takes a Wife("Perfidia" (1939), "Mi amor" (1941)) 3. 1942: Four Jacks and a Jill("Boogie Woogie Conga" 1941) 4. 1946: Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra (performer: "Guadalajara", "Babalu (Babalú)", "Tabu (Tabú)", "Pin Marin") ... a.k.a. "Melody Masters: Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra" – USA (series title) 5. 1949: Holiday in Havana(writer: "Holiday In Havana", "The Arnaz Jam") 6. 1...
Arnaz, Desi. A Book. New York: William Morrow, 1976; ISBN 0688003427(autobiography to 1960)Sanders, Coyne Steven, and Thomas W. Gilbert. Desilu: The Story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. New York: Morrow, 1993; ISBN 9780688112172 (revised edition 2011 ISBN 9780062020017) (full dual biogr...Brady, Kathleen. Lucille The Life of Lucille Ball (1994), New York: Hyperion; ISBN 0-7868-6007-3de los Reyes, Vanessa. I Love Ricky: How Desi Arnaz Challenged American Popular Culture (2008). Department of History, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.Desi Arnaz at IMDbDesi Arnaz at the TCM Movie DatabaseDesi Arnaz at the Internet Broadway DatabaseDesi Arnaz at AllMovieSep 24, 2015 · Cuban Pete. Provided to YouTube by RCA Records LabelCuban Pete · Desi Arnaz · Amanda LaneThe Best of Desi Arnaz: The Mambo King℗ Recorded prior to 1972.
May 17, 2024 · The song “Cuban Pete” is a lively and infectious tune performed by the legendary entertainer Desi Arnaz. Released in 1946, it quickly became a hit and remains a beloved piece of music to this day.
The opening lyrics, “They call me Cuban Pete, I’m the king of the rhumba beat,” immediately transport you to the lively streets of Havana, where the music and dance reign supreme. Desi Arnaz beautifully brings the essence of Cuban culture to life with his charismatic vocals.
