Cast & creator
Desi Arnaz
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Mike Douglas Show, Saturday Night Live
Desi Arnaz (March 2, 1917 – December 2, 1986) was a Cuban-born American musician, actor and television producer. While he gained international renown for leading a Latin music band, the Desi Arnaz Orchestra, he is best known for his role as Ricky Ricardo on I Love Lucy, starring with then-wife Lucille Ball.
49
film credits
50
television credits
63
1940–2025 · acting roles
7.1
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (99)
Showing 99 of 99 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
The Mike Douglas Show
Self
1961
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host & Musical Guest
1975
What's My Line?
Self
1950
Tony Awards
Self - Performer
1956
Ironside
Dr. Juan Domingo
1967
The Red Skelton Show
Self
1951
The Virginian
El Jefe
1962
Alice
Ruth
1976
I Love Lucy
Ricky Ricardo
1951I Love Lucy
Producer
1951
The Lucy Show
Producer
1962The Lucy Show
Director
1962
The Bob Hope Show
Self
1950
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self
1948
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self (uncredited)
1968Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Self
1968
The Texan
Producer
1958
December Bride
Self
1954
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
1958Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Executive In Charge Of Production
1958Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse
Creator
1958
MGM Parade
Self
1955
Donny & Marie
Self
1976
Cavalcade of America
Executive Producer
1952
The Mothers-in-Law
Raphael Delgado
1967The Mothers-in-Law
Director
1967The Mothers-in-Law
Executive Producer
1967
The Walter Winchell File
Producer
1957
Guestward, Ho!
Director
1960
The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Ricky Ricardo
1957The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Director
1957The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Producer
1957The Lucy–Desi Comedy Hour
Executive Producer
1957
The Ann Sothern Show
Producer
1958
U.S. Marshall
Producer's Assistant
1958U.S. Marshall
Executive Producer
1958
The Emmy Awards
Self
1949The Ed Wynn Show
Self
1949NBC Sunday Showcase
Ricky Ricardo
1959NBC Sunday Showcase
Director
1959
E! True Hollywood Story
1996
Lucy and Desi
Self (archive footage)
2022
Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music
Self (archive footage)
2025
The Long, Long Trailer
Nicholas Collini
1954Television: The First Fifty Years
Ricky Ricardo (archive footage)
1999
The Escape Artist
Mayor Leon Quiñones
1982
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983A Grammy Celebration of Latin Music
Self/Ricky Ricardo (archive footage)
2025Lucille Ball: Finding Lucy
Self (archive footage)
2000
Dragon by the Tail
Executive Producer
1961Alcatraz Express
Executive Producer
1961The Carol Channing Show
Producer
1966The Carol Channing Show
Director
1966
The Navy Comes Through
Pat Tarriba
1942Texaco Presents: A Quarter Century of Bob Hope on Television
(archive footage)
1975
TV in Black: The First Fifty Years
(archive footage)
2004
My Darling Vivian
Self (archive footage)
2020
Classic TV Bloopers Uncensored
Ricky Ricardo (archive footage)
2011
Judy Garland: By Myself
Self (archive footage)
2004
Star Trek: The Cage
Executive Producer
1965
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
Self
1993
Hedda Hopper's Hollywood No. 2
1941
Broadway's Lost Treasures III: The Best of The Tony Awards
Manuelito (segment "Too Many Girls") (archive footage)
2005
Bataan
Felix Ramirez
1943
The Fountain of Youth
Executive Producer
1958Land's End
Guest Waiting to Cash Check
1968Land's End
Director
1968Land's End
Producer
1968Land's End
Writer
1968Land's End
Creator
1968
CBS Salutes Lucy: The First 25 Years
Self
1976
Colgate Theatre
Executive Producer
1958
Joys
Self
1976
The Bob Hope Chevy Show
Fred Mertz
1956
Four Jacks and a Jill
Steve Sarto / King Stephan VIII of Aregal
1942
Salsa
Self (archive footage)
1976The Gun of Zangara
Executive Producer
1960
Father Takes a Wife
Carlos Bardez
1941
A Star Is Born World Premiere
Self
1954
Lucy's Really Lost Moments
Ricky Ricardo
1956Lucy's Really Lost Moments
Director
1956Lucy's Really Lost Moments
Writer
1956Lucy's Really Lost Moments
Producer
1956
Too Many Girls
Manuelito
1940
I Love Lucy: The Movie
Ricky Ricardo / Self
1953
Forever, Darling
Lorenzo Xavier Vega
1956The Man in the Funny Suit
Self - Host
1960The Man in the Funny Suit
Producer
1960
I Love Lucy Christmas Special
Ricky
2016
The Time Element
Host
The Funny World of Lucy, Volume 1
1997
Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse Bernadette Episode
Host (himself)
The Lucy-Desi Milton Berle Special
Surf Scene
Executive Producer
1963
Desi Arnaz and His Orchestra
Self
1946
Strange Witness
Producer
1958
Holiday in Havana
Carlos Estrada
1949
Cuban Pete
Desi Arnaz
1946