| Appeared with band in 61-minute film, "Cuban Pete" |
| Bought five-acre ranch in Chatsworth CA with Lucille Ball, christened Desilu |
| Formed own rival rhumba band, Desi Arnaz and his Xavier Cugat Orchestra; first introduced the conga line |
| Hosted Desilu's "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" |
| Served as musical director of Bob Hope's radio program |
| Starred, produced and directed TV sitcom, "I Love Lucy" |
| Was executive producer of "The Mothers-in-Law" |
| While in high school worked as singing guitarist, relieving the Buddy Rogers Orchestra at the Roney Plaza Hotel in Miami |
1933 | Family's property was confiscated, father was held as political prisoner for six months and Desi Arnaz and mother fled to Miami during the Batista revolution in Cuba |
1937 | Apprenticed under Xavier Cugat on tour for six months |
1939 | Featured on Broadway in the Rodgers and Hart musical, "Too Many Girls" |
1940 | First film as actor, "Too Many Girls" |
1940 | Signed two-year contract with RKO |
1942 | First dramatic film role in "Bataan" |
1942 | Performed onstage in singing, dancing vaudeville act |
1942 | Signed by MGM |
1943 | Served in US Army Special Services at Birmingham General Hospital in Southern CA organizing entertainment for returning wounded servicemen |
1946 | Formed 22-piece orchestra; introduced signature song, "Babalu" |
1951 | Formed Desilu Productions, with himself as president and Lucille Ball as vice president, to produce the TV series, "I Love Lucy" |
1957 | "I Love Lucy" expanded into the hour-long format, "The Lucille Ball-Desi Arnaz Show" |
1957 | Desilu purchased RKO Gower and RKO Culver City Studio facilities from General Tire, giving Desilu 35 sound stages |
1957 | Sold syndication rights and "I Love Lucy" series back to CBS for $4 1/2 million to finance expansion of Desilu studio |
1958 | Desilu went public |
1962 | Served as executive producer on Lucille Ball's first solo series, "The Lucy Show" |
1962 | Sold his shares of Desilu to Ball (she later sold Desilu to Gulf + Western in 1967) |
1982 | Billed as Desiderio Arnaz in small role in "The Escape Artist" |
