Once a second banana, always a second banana when in the shadow of a brighter star, like Lucille Ball. “Desi Arnaz: The Man ...

In an interview, Purdum talked about why he thinks of Arnaz as “a great businessman in the persona of a wonderful entertainer ...

To make history, he just had to threaten CBS and Philip Morris, and get advice from an archbishop and a rabbi. An exclusive ...

Desi Arnaz played comic foil to his off-screen wife on 'I Love Lucy.' Behind the scenes, he revolutionized the TV business, ...

The success of I Love Lucy is often credited to Lucille Ball's comedic talent, but biographer Todd Purdum says Arnaz was more than just "second banana" to Lucy. He also helped shape the modern sitcom.

Arnaz was a behind-the-scenes innovator in the fledgling medium of television, which at the time was frowned upon. The payoff ...

Lucille Ball’s comic genius made her a television pioneer, while her husband Desi proved an innovator in the producer’s chair ...

For musician and actor Desi Arnaz, that shadow belonged to Lucille Ball, his wife and co-star on the ground-breaking 1950s sitcom “I Love Lucy.” Etched in television history are the images of ...

Mr. Purdum, a former Times correspondent, is the author of a forthcoming biography of Desi Arnaz. Seventy-five years ago, a fading redheaded movie star and her itinerant bandleader husband were ...