A Book (Expanded Edition)

Desi Arnaz was born into a prosperous and powerful family in Cuba in 1917, but a revolution changed the Arnaz family fortunes and took him to America. Talent, determination, and sheer desperation led to a career as a musician and, eventually, a role in the Broadway musical Too Many Girls. The film adaptation of that show introduced him to the one girl with whom he would fall in love and leave an indelible mark on history: Lucille Ball. Together they created what's considered one of the greatest television shows of all time, I Love Lucy. While at it, across a career spanning five decades, Arnaz would alter the course of Hollywood and pioneer a new industry. The father of two children, Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz, Jr., he died at the age of sixty-nine in 1986.

Lucie Arnaz is an award-winning actress and singer who made her television debut costarring on Here's Lucy in the 1970s. Since then, she has had an acclaimed career in film and television as well as on the Broadway stage, with celebrated performances in shows such as The Jazz Singer, They're Playing Our Song, and The Witches of Eastwick. She continues to star in theatrical performances across the United States and Europe. Lucie has been married to actor-author Laurence Luckinbill for forty-five years, and together they have five grandchildren and three grandchildren.

Kate Luckinbill has spent her life surrounded by show business and that guided her initial foray into acting. She graduated from the University of Miami Theatre Conservatory with a BFA and went on to write and perform her own one-woman show, Love, or Lack Thereof. After retiring from the stage at 25, Kate took another path, into the corporate world as a creative recruiter for the Fortune 50 and working with Snapchat, Amazon, Minecraft, and more. She has since found the balance of both worlds, working with her mother, Lucie, to maintain the Arnaz/Ball/Luckinbill legacies and estates, while also creating media such as a live audio production of an episode of The Twilight Zone. She has one beautiful son, Jeffrey Dodge.