MovieChat Forums > I Love Lucy (1951) Discussion > Desi's Aging

Desi's Aging

posted 7 years ago by [email protected] (1732)
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Has anyone else here ever noticed the subtle changes in Desi's face between seasons three
and four? It isn't the result of natural "aging" (Arnaz was still a relatively young man), but
rather a difficult-to-define hardness that took shape of his face. Not easy to explain.

For instance, there's a notable difference, say, in season three's "Fan Magazine Interview"
and, say, "Harpo Marx." Both eps are mid-to-late season offerings, and were basically
filmed one year apart. Yet Arnaz looks, well, more boyish, less stressed, and fresher in
"Fan", and harder and edgier in "Harpo." Certainly this is the result of increased pressure
on Arnaz, as well as his general drinking. He's handsome, but he's no longer "darling." Silly,
but that's the only way I can explain it! He doesn't change much for the rest of series (at
least not until mid-season six).

Anyone else know what I mean??? Again, hard to explain.

One more note: It isn't "gradual." In other words, there's a big difference between "Lucy
is Matchmaker" (filmed for season four in spring of '54) and "Ricky's Movie Offer" (filmed
around October '54). He must've had one tough summer. Ball said "the last five years
were sheer, unadulterated hell" (referring to her marriage).

[–] [email protected] (5551) 7 years ago

I never thought about pinpointing it exactly, but yes there's a change in his looks. I'll have to watch "Fan Magazine Interview" and then the Harpo Marx episode. Any excuse to watch Fan Magazine again!

There is a big difference if you watch a first season episode and then one from season five or six. Like in the Buffo the Clown episode in season one when Ricky plays the conga drum. He looks so youthful and very hot in that episode. In the Connecticut episodes his weight gain is noticeable.

Desi went gray very young and in the season six episodes they were coloring his hair a lot. In one of the books I have, it says he was producing a lot of shows for Desilu. His screen time was reduced on ILL. Sometimes he'd run onto the set with the dye still in his hair to rehearse his few lines and rush right out.

The stress of work and all his drinking and fast living sure took a toll. He was burning the candle at both ends all the time.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

Wow. I never knew Arnaz went gray BEFORE the demise of the Lucy/Desi thing. Usually I can tell when an actor
dyes his hair, but maybe in black-and-white it wasn't as noticeable.

As for his weight gain, Desi was always "a bit chubby" (the words Ricky uses to describe himself in the season
one ep "The Diet.") He was very top-heavy, with skinny knock-knees. He also had no neck. Very strange body.
But his handsome face, and general attire (he looked great in a tux) save the day (and the accent and charm!)
Great smile, too. But, yes, there's a REASON he's always wearing a terrycloth bathrobe when going out to/
coming in from the pool!

[–] ShogunofYonkers (73607) 7 years ago

Very well put gbennett5 !
I guess he was a pretty average guy after all was said and done...but still, my granma wouldve dumped my granpa to date him lol
The ladies liked his hot-tempered Cuban schtick at the time ... I wont pretend to understand women:/

[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

Well, listen, I'm a gay dude, and I thought Arnaz was incredibly sexy. My observations aren't put-downs...I
think people's flaws are part of what makes them unique and even attractive. I also thought Arnaz was
terrific with comedy. Very underrated. And without him, I sincerely believe ILL wouldn't be as great. If
great at all. He knew Lucy, and he understood her talent. And let's be frank: Her work took a nosedive after
he stopped producing "The Lucy Show" in '63. He NEVER would've tolerated such lousy scripts. But Lucy
was soulless by the mid-'60's. It was all about money.

[–] [email protected] (5551) 7 years ago

A lot of truth in what you say. Desi Arnaz looked out for Lucy's career. Her comedy work was at its best with ILL.

The early Lucy Show (when Vivian Vance was still on it) had some good episodes. But nothing compared to I Love Lucy.

I don't think it's a putdown to observe or comment on physical flaws. It's hard to pinpoint why we find someone attractive. There are some actors whom women find appealing whom I've never been attracted to.

For instance, when Taxi was popular, all the girls thought of Bobby(Jeff Conaway) and Tony(Tony Danza) as the two heartthrobs on the show. I, on the other hand, always had a MAJOR thing for Alex, played by Judd Hirsch.

[–] [email protected] (1732) 7 years ago

I've never been overtly attracted to PERFECT people. I like flaws, they make people interesting. For
instance, Cary Grant never did it for me. EVER. Nor does George Clooney. At all. But I always thought
Van Heflin was sexy, even though he wasn't technically handsome. In my '20's, I thought young Mickey
Rooney was hot (this used to make my friends HOWL with laughter). And he was far from perfect.

This is personal, but what the hell. Desi Arnanz was the very first dude that jangled my change. I was
very young, and KNEW what I was by how I reacted to him entering the room on ILL. And while I still
find him very attractive, I appreciate his genius, his sense of comedy and his great contribution to my
all-time favorite TV series.

[–] [email protected] (5551) 7 years ago

...jangled my change...that's a good one, I'll have to remember it! I used to watch the old Andy Hardy films on TV and Mickey Rooney was kinda cute, so...

As long as we're sharing celebrity crushes, one of my first as a child was Sean Connery. My cousin and I used to go see Saturday matinees and a few times we went to see James Bond movies. I have NO idea why! I had NO idea what was going on in those films , but I was mesmerized by Sean Connery.

I didn't know what it was since I hadn't even entered puberty yet. But when I did, I knew what "it" was. lol Always had a thing for Mr. Connery. In fact years later I thought he was the sexier of the father/son duo in the Indiana Jones movie. And he was older and he wasn't even wearing his toupee anymore. Still had that same accent though, and that never got old!

I saw Desi Arnaz in an old MGM film. I think that's when he met Lucille Ball. He was one hot Latin number. Physically he aged badly, but he did contribute a lot to television production. He had a certain genius for knowing what would work. I also thought that he grew into a very fine comedic actor in his own right.