Jeri VogelsangSpecial to The Desert Sun
Arnaz Family at their Thunderbird home circa 1956, courtesy of Lucie Arnaz (All rights reserved).
“We all love Lucy!”
Lucie Arnaz will appear at a reception at the McCallum Adobe Museum on Sunday, October 15 from 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm, the anniversary of the airing of the first episode of “I Love Lucy.” This will be a chance to meet Lucie, the daughter of film and TV superstars Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz and a star in her own right. The reception is part of the Palm Springs Historical Society’s special exhibit, “Palm Springs Loves Lucy & Desi.”
Lucie Arnaz has made this one-of-a-kind exhibition possible by providing the clips from her family home movies, clothing, posters, memorabilia and ephemera on display. NostalgiaPS has created a seven-minute video incorporating never-before-seen family photos and the home movies that were filmed in the 1940s and ‘50s in various locales around Palm Springs and at the Thunderbird Country Club home, where the famous family relaxed with friends away from the pressures of their hectic television production schedule. Many of the items presented are on loan from the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York, Lucille’s birthplace.
Lucy poses in a window seat at El Mirador Hotel circa 1930s.
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz first met in the RKO Studio commissary while filming “Too Many Girls.” Lucille visited Palm Springs as a Hollywood starlet and was photographed at El Mirador Hotel in the late 1930s. Lucille and Desi eloped in 1940 and during the early years of their marriage they frequented Palm Springs, usually staying at the Racquet Club where some of the home movies in the exhibit were shot. In 1951, Desi was the headliner for the grand opening of the Starlite Room at the Chi Chi.
In 1954, they commissioned architect Paul R. Williams, who designed their ranch home in Chatsworth, to create a home for their family, including their two children, Lucie and Desi Jr., in the newly established Thunderbird Country Club. Many happy hours were spent there away from the prying eyes of the public.
“In the peak period of their life together, Palm Springs was their safe haven, their Shangri-La, their escape from the ever increasing stresses of their unexpected success, a green grass, majestic mountain happy place they could take refuge in and remember why they gambled so much just to be able to stay together and remind themselves they wanted more than anything to have a family,” Lucie described it recently.
In 1954, Lucille and Desi made their second feature film together, “The Long, Long Trailer.” The hilarious scenes of Desi driving the bright yellow mobile home up a steep, winding mountain road were filmed on Highway 74 above Palm Desert. Fans of “I Love Lucy” will remember the episode with Rock Hudson as guest star while Lucille and Vivian Vance’s Ethel were staying in Palm Springs to take a break from their husbands back in Hollywood. The episode was actually filmed on a sound stage in front of a live audience in Hollywood, as were all episodes of the popular TV show, utilizing the three-camera technique of filming for the first time in TV history.
Lucie, Lucille, Desi, and their studio, Desilu, were recognized with several Emmy Awards. One of the Emmy Awards to Desilu for Outstanding Achievement in Engineering Development is on display at the exhibit, courtesy of Lucie Arnaz.
Desi at El Mirador Hotel circa 1940s.
Lucille and Desi were active in community events, including the Desert Circus, which Lucille reigned over as queen in 1964, and the Bob Hope Classic Golf Tournament. Desi headlined the grand opening of the Chi Chi’s Starlite Room in 1951, performed at El Mirador Hotel with his Cuban band and entertained at the Palm Springs Police Shows. In later years, Lucille could be found at the Ingleside Inn playing backgammon.
Admission to the reception with Lucie Arnaz is free but space is limited. For more information, visit pshistoricalsociety.org or call 760-323-8297. The McCallum Adobe Museum is located at 221 S. Palm Canyon Drive in Palm Springs.