As well as starring together in “I Love Lucy,” Ball and Arnaz also formed a production company called Desilu. Parlaying the success of “I Love Lucy” into another series called “The Lucy Show,” and despite the fact Ball and Arnaz were no longer married, Arnaz served as executive producer on the program, as Showbiz CheatSheet reports. Ball had even remarried. In this period, the on-set behavior of Desi Arnaz reflects how difficult it must have been to work with — not to mention remain married to — the actor and musician.
Via Showbiz CheatSheet, Arnaz was highly distracted and checked out during the production of “The Lucy Show.” According to Ball’s co-star in the series, Arnaz seemed to be constantly seething and ready to explode, although in truth, his on-set responsibilities were kept minimal, possibly because of this behavior. Often hungover and struggling with alcoholism, Arnaz would even sometimes fall asleep on the set. Nevertheless, Ball — remaining friends with her ex — acted as apologist for Arnaz. By 1962, though, she bought out Arnaz’s share of Desilu, where the couple had also produced such shows as “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour,” and even “Star Trek,” per History. Desi Arnaz died in 1986 from lung cancer, via Showbiz CheatSheet, and Lucille Ball died in 1989 from a ruptured abdominal aorta, per StyleCaster.
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