Famous Families

Who Is Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz’s Son? Meet Desi Arnaz Jr.

Bryan Brunati

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Desi Arnaz Jr.
Mandatory Credit: Photo by Alan Berliner/BEI/Shutterstock (5126834k) Desi Arnaz Jr SHARE western Party 1978 Desi Arnaz Jr SHARE western Party Photo by Alan Berliner ® Berliner Studio / BEImages

If there is one person that knows a ton about Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, it is their only son, Desi Arnaz Jr. — but now it’s time we get to know a bit about him.

Lucille and Desi welcomed their son, now 66, in 1953‚ two years after their had their first child, daughter Lucie. From the get-go, the young boy was thrown into the spotlight, landing on the cover of the first ever TV Guide. Little Desi quickly followed his famous parent’s footsteps, appearing on Here’s Lucy alongside his mother and his big sister. However, while it was all glitz and glamour on the surface, things were rough between Desi’s parents.

Lucille Ball Kids

“They were fighting all the time when we were growing up. There was a lot of anger and screaming,” Lucie once exclusively told Closer Weekly of her and her brother’s folks. “Their divorce was horrible. And then there was the alcoholism. I had preferred those things had never been there. We didn’t have any abuse, but we did go through some pretty hard stuff and that’s why my parents didn’t stay together.” But Lucille and Desi were still fantastic to their little ones. Now let’s meet their youngest child!

Who is he?

Desi Jr. was born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz IV on January 19, 1953, in Los Angeles, California.

Desi Arnaz Jr

What does he do?

Desi Jr. is an actor and a singer. He formed his own band called Dino, Desi, & Billy at the age of 12, and he continued to log in a ton of screen credits along the way. Desi Jr. was also the vice-president of the board of Directors of the Lucille Ball–Desi Arnaz Center in New York for 2002-2007.

Just like dad

Desi Jr. played his father in 1992’s The Mambo Kings

Is he married?

The I Love Lucy star’s son has been married twice in his life. The first to actress Linda Purl in 1980, in a marriage that only lasted one year. In 1987, Desi Jr. tied the knot again, this time to Amy Laura Bargiel. Tragically, Amy passed away in 2015 after a battle with cancer.

Desi Arnaz Jr

Does he have children?

Desi Jr. is a father-of-two. His first child — daughter Julia — came from a relationship with a model when he was just 15 years old. He also has another daughter, Haley, that he shares with his late wife Amy.

We know that Lucille and Desi are proud of their son!

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