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Desi Arnaz battled alcohol addiction and it nearly claimed his life. That’s according to the beloved actor’s son, who recounts his dad’s decades-long struggle to achieve sobriety. It was a battle the iconic star of the classic sitcom I Love Lucy ultimately won with the support of his family and appropriate treatment.
In the new biography, Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television, author Todd S. Purdum explores the actor’s meteoric rise to stardom and how he transformed television production.
The Enduring Effects of Early Trauma
Arnaz’s problem drinking made lurid headlines as far back as the 1950s, when Arnaz’s fame was at its height.
Prior to becoming one half of an iconic Hollywood power couple with his first wife, the comedic actress, Lucille Ball, Arnaz endured a troubled past. He was forced to flee his native Cuba when he was just a teenager and arrived in the US penniless, struggling to survive before gaining renown as a musician, actor and entertainer.
Purdum speculates that undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder may have contributed to Arnaz’s destructive behavior, which reportedly was a significant factor in his shocking divorce from Ball in 1960 after 20 years of marriage.
The Pressures of Fame
According to Purdum, Arnaz’s early trauma as a Cuban refugee plagued him the rest of his life. Arnaz also had the stress of his large and growing business and turned to alcohol to self medicate.
Arnaz and Ball were married in 1940, but their separate careers and Arnaz’s drinking and womanizing were problematic. I Love Lucy was an effort to save their marriage and premiered in 1951. The show had them together 24/7, which also caused problems and stress.
Both Ball and Arnaz went on to remarry other people, but the two remained friends.
Desi Anraz Sobriety
According to the new biography, when Desi Arnaz was struggling with alcohol addiction, he resorted to asking his son for advice because his son had also dealt with addiction and was in active recovery.
Purdum wrote that “Desi’s second wife had died. He was alone…He knew he was drinking himself to death. Arnaz’s son, Desi Arnaz, Jr., was sober by then, so Arnaz Sr. asked his son for help.”
His son told him that he couldn’t help, but that he knew where he could get help. According to Purdum, “Desi was smart enough to know that he was throwing his life away. He was in terrible grief and mourning.”
Arnaz began his first addiction treatment program in 1985 using the alias “Bill Sanchez” for privacy reasons. Luci Arnaz remembered that her father called her brother, pleading, “I need help. I don’t want to die.”
Arnaz’s first attempt at treatment resulted in him leaving the hospital after a few days. Purdum remarked that Desi was a private and proud man who didn’t believe in going public with his problems. He also notes that alcoholism was more stigmatized at the time.
However, Arnaz returned to the program and successfully completed it.
A Terminal Diagnosis
Although Arnaz never drank again after leaving rehab, he faced a terminal diagnosis of lung cancer only a year after quitting alcohol. He passed away on November 30, 1986.
Purdum remarked that one of the saddest parts of the story is that Arnaz found recovery too late to save his life. Purdum noted that Desi was a “complicated, but very loving, talented, self taught visionary…he was a remarkable figure, and I think that’s really worth knowing.”
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