Starring: Desi Arnaz & Wilmer Valderrama
Hollywood has always been aspirational, standing in for the general U.S. population’s values and dreams as radio entertainment led the way to television becoming the dominant media source for families by the 1950’s. Beautiful faces, perfect bodies, glamorous lifestyles, and to no surprise, the folx in the spotlight were white. People of color were represented on screen as highly stereotyped, caricatured versions of white people’s ideas about people of color. So what happened when, in 1951, a hit sitcom revolutionized television? In 1951, “I Love Lucy” premiered and featured a Latino actor - Desi Arnaz - as one of the main characters. How did Desi Arnaz land a role on primetime television? What was the political climate during his rise to fame? And how did Desi pave the way for the future generations of Latinx/e actors and influence the perception of Cubans in America? On “Starring: Desi Arnaz & Wilmer Valderrama,” Wilmer guides listeners through the life of Desi Arnaz, his personal and professional career and his impact on television, culture and the legacy Desi left for Wilmer and many others. Wilmer has credited Desi with inspiring him as an actor and has seen parallels between their careers. Wilmer narrates this weekly 10-episode story of Desi Arnaz all the while weaving his own personal journey throughout. Listen as we explore parallels between the two and come to understand how the subject’s influence propelled the narrator and our culture alike.
Episodes
As Wilmer Valderrama’s family hits rock bottom in 1997 Los Angeles, a pilot audition forces him to confront the “accent barrier.” In Desi Arnaz’s parallel story, a $39-a-week rumba gig explodes into a full-blown craze: La Conga. The Miami hustle jumps to Times Square, debutantes line up, and soon Rodgers & Hart (with director George Abbott) tap Desi for their new Broadway musical Too Many Girls. Along th...
Before Hollywood, there was a ratty Miami warehouse, a $15-a-week canary-cage job, and a teenage Cuban exile who refused to quit. In this episode, Wilmer Valderrama tracks how Desi Arnaz hustled from cleaning bird poop to playing rumba at the Roney Plaza, navigated U.S. immigration by leaving and re-entering for his green card, and caught the eye of bandleader Xavier Cugat—opening the door to New York’s Waldorf Astoria....
A lone biplane drops homemade bombs over Havana as the 1933 revolution upends Cuba—and the Arnaz family. Desi’s father is jailed, stripped of wealth, and exiled, forcing teenage Desi to start over in Miami with no English, no money, and no roadmap. Wilmer Valderrama traces Desi’s survival sprint: faking English at dinner, getting pummeled in a surprise “yes-okay” boxing exhibition at Saint Leo’s,...
Before Ricky Ricardo became a household name, Desi Arnaz was just a Cuban immigrant with a dream—and the odds stacked against him. In this premiere episode, Wilmer Valderrama dives into the untold story of how Desi went from cleaning bird cages to revolutionizing American television. From I Love Lucy to Star Trek, Desi built the blueprint for modern Hollywood—and opened the door for generations of Latinos to follow.Thro...
Before Desi Arnaz reengineered television, he learned a family lesson in Cuba: if you make something great, bottle it—then share it again and again. In this episode, Wilmer Valderrama traces Desi’s roots from Santiago high society and the Bacardí legacy to the brilliant idea that turned I Love Lucy into the blueprint for syndication (and today’s streaming). From filming on 35mm to owning the negatives at De...
A childhood stage mishap teaches Wilmer Valderrama the mantra that will define this episode—and Desi Arnaz’s life: just keep going. Wilmer draws a parallel between his family’s flight from Venezuela and the night Havana turned on the Arnaz household in 1933. As President Gerardo Machado falls and mobs ransack the family estate, teenaged Desi loses his home, heirlooms, and innocence—but gains the hard-won res...
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