1953. Desi Arnaz talks about "I love Lucy" for Screenland Magazine

 

IT DOESN'T surprise me at all that so many people seem to love Lucy. After all, Lucy also known as Lucille Ball Arnaz is quite a girl. She's been my wife for over ten years now and I should know. 

Lucy and I have had a strange kind of life together. It's been full of laughs and some disappointments. But we wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We're both glad, however, that a certain TV show called "I Love Lucy" came along and was lucky enough to be a hit, for it was this that finally gave us the chance to be a family. 

For the biggest part of our. married life, Lucy and I had a long distance kind of marriage. I was away most of the time on the road with my band while Lucy was in Hollywood doing all right by herself in pictures. Frankly, I'd have liked to work in Hollywood too, but somehow the opportunities that arrived for me were usually in other cities. 

Neither of us liked the situation, but it couldn't be helped. Looking back on it now, I can appreciate how tolerant and understanding Lucy was about my work. She knew an actor had to act and that a musician had to play music. So she raised no objections about the work that constantly separated us. Yet, I knew it made her as unhappy as it did me. 

Then one day we got an idea. Why not try television? We could at least get together. The kind of show? We both thought of a husband and wife type of format, but everyone said, No one will believe you're husband and wife." Lucy and I had the unique idea that we would be believed simply because we happened to be hus-band and wife. 

Before we made any moves though, Lucy and I decided to take an act out on the road and test the public's acceptance of our Mr. and Mrs. status. We did some of the things we have done on our TV show. The response we got in all the cities was beyond all our expectations. Even the critics liked us. We came back home convinced we could safely try a television production based on our ideas.