November 19, 2025 • 24 mins
From an Osprey dodging heat-seeking missiles over Fallujah to a tour bus ripped open on an Indiana highway, this episode is all “what if” moments that changed everything. Wilmer Valderrama shares his most intense USO memories, then parallels Desi Arnaz’s own service-era close calls—including the orchestra crash that nearly killed his stand-in and jolted Desi toward a life with Lucy. Their first divorce doesn’t stick, radio becomes the lifeline (hello, Bob Hope writers’ room), and Lucy lands My Favorite Husband—with one condition for TV: “I’ll do it only if Desi plays my husband.” Cue the network skepticism, the accent hand-wringing, and the audacious plan that sets the stage for I Love Lucy.
Featuring: Wilmer Valderrama (That ’70s Show, NCIS, Encanto)
Topics: USO tours, Fallujah Osprey incident, Desi Arnaz orchestra bus crash, Lucy & Desi first divorce, Bob Hope radio show, My Favorite Husband (radio), radio-to-TV adaptation, network bias against accents, pre–I Love Lucy history, representation in media, Hollywood/TV history.
Starring: Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama is produced by WV Sound in partnership with iHeart’s My Cultura Podcast Network.
Starring: Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama is written by Erick Galindo and narrated by Wilmer Valderrama. It is produced by Sophie Spencer-Zavos and Leo Klemm, with special help from Angel Lopez Galindo.
Executive producers are Wilmer Valderrama and Erick Galindo.
This episode was edited and engineered by Sean Tracy and features original music by Halo Boy and Madison Davenport. Cover art illustration by Lindsey Mound.
For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
One of the greatest honors of my life has been
traveling visiting the troops as an ambassador of the USO,
and it's been an incredible experience. It's been one of
the most beautiful things I've been able to do with
my career. I've done over forty five USO events and
tours and accounting. I've spent Christmas with the troops and many
other holidays. Tours do all their share of challenges for
(00:52):
a volunteer. You know, some nights you sleep about two hours.
You know you're lucky if you sleep at all. You
might shower twice in a week, and that's because you're
so tired that you're like, no, I can't do the
cold water. But you know that's hardly a sacrifice. The
real sacrifice is what are men and women in uniform
go through, leaving their families behind, not experiencing sometimes your
(01:16):
children's first holidays, having to read to your children through
a zoom because you can't be there to talk them
in a night. They are serving a larger cost and
I'm serving them. That's the gifts, right, that's the exchange.
And then there was the one time in Felusha. It's
(01:37):
November right around Thanksgiving. We're flying to the base at
Felushah on an offspring in Osprey. By the way, for
some of those who may not, I know, Osprey's those
really incredible planes. They take off like a helicopter in midair,
the wings turned forward and all of a sudden it
turns into a jet. The trip had already been surreal.
(01:57):
We've done shows at bag Run in Afghanistan, Camp Liberty
and Baghday, and even some bases in Turkey and in Greenland.
Everywhere we went we expressed our support and appreciation for
our service members. He was humbling. He was humbling to
also remind them that we think about them, that we
missed them, and that we can't wait for them to
(02:18):
come home. But this leg of the trip was a
little different. I was flying into an active war zone,
and Fellusiah was one of the most dangerous active war
zones in modern history. The mood and the Osprey was
tense but focused. I was trying to keep cool. Looking around,
(02:42):
there were some soldiers, some of them younger than me,
a colonel and Marine Corpus General James Carwright, vice Chairman
of the Joint chiefs of Staff. They all look completely
unfazed by the moment, I could tell that we're used
to this kind of thing. Then I saw it. Flares
(03:05):
shot out of the size of the osprey. I remember thinking,
whoa cool special effects. I guess I don't know why
they shot out of the plane, but it might have
been an accident perhaps. But then it hit me those
wearing for show they were our flares. I said, hey,
those are our flares. A colonel noticed me staring and said, funny, no,
(03:30):
we got locked on. Don't worry. They never hit anything.
The flares were meant to evade any heat, sick and missiles.
Someone on there just tried to shoot our aircraft. I
think about that moment a lot, but it might have
(03:52):
happened if the missiles had actually hit the aircraft. Life
is filled with those what if moments. During his time
in the USO dezier Nas had a close call with
bad weather traveling from his hometown Santigo the Kuba back
to the base and Guantanamo Bay by his what if moment.
(04:13):
His brush with destiny came years later, long after the war,
when he was on a theater tour with the desier
Nance Orchestra.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
So it's the middle of the night sometime after one am,
and my band is on the road, driving through the
Midwest on US Highway twenty. They've just finished a split
week in Madison, Wisconsin, and they're heading to Akron, Ohio
for our next show. Everyone's tired, but you know, in
good spirits. The bus is carrying our entire orchestra, my guys,
(04:47):
my friends, Bobby Jones, my first trumpet player, Marco Rizo,
our pianist, Charlie Harris, my concertmaster.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
The whole gang is just packed in there.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
They've got cold beer, sandwiches, you know, usual routine. Then,
just outside Rolling Prairie, Indiana, the bus driver he dozes off.
He is going eighty five miles an hour and crashed
into the back of a truck.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
The crash is devastating. Ten members of the orchestra are
seriously injured, some of them fighting for their lives. Bobby Jones,
Marco Rizzo, and others are rushed to the hospitals in
Indiana and Michigan. Charlie Harris, the concertmaster, suffers the worst,
a broken leg, a broken arm, head injuries, and he
(05:46):
loses an eye. His case with his life, but just barely.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
The bus was nearly torn in two. The only thing that.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Saved the guys was the truck driver they hit. You see,
he managed to up a hole in the tour bus
with a hatchet. That hole was big enough for the
band to escape who and without him, most of the
orchestra would have burned alive. And oh, oh man, poor Charlie,
who knows what happens to him if he's in the
bus even an extra minute.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Now here's the part that sticks with me. Dessie could
have died or been seriously injured, except.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Among the injured concertmaster Charlie Harris, who was said to
be in serious condition with head and limb injuries. Sources
tell us mister Arnez was not on board at the
time of the crash. He is safe. Now.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
That's how close it was. That's how fade works sometimes.
In this case, Bessy and Lucy's up and down marriage
may have saved his life.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Lucy was in Detroit, she was doing Dream Girl, and
you know I hadn't seen her in weeks. It's separations.
They were killing us, I mean literally tearing our marriage apart.
And I told Charlie to take over for me for
this leg of the trip. So I could stay in
Detroit and spend one more night with Lucy. I'd planned
(07:13):
to meet the band in Akron the next day, you know,
and Charlie, being the concert master, he sat in the
sea where I always sat.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
If I had been on that bus, I would have
been in that seat.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Dessie and Lucy had a passion for each other that
burnt bright, but that fire could often turn into a
roaring blaze. The careers pulled them in different directions. Dessy
was traveling constantly with his band, performing in clubs and
theaters across the country. Lucy was tied up to Hollywood,
(07:58):
working long hours on film set. Desi had rushed to
her hotel in Detroit that night to make up after
a fight. Now, if Dessi hadn't been trying to save
his marriage, he would have been in the same position
as Charlie Harris, the guy who almost died and lost
(08:21):
his eye in the accident.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, guess said I. You know.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Desi was haunted by that night by the thought of
how close he came to being in that crash. But
for him it was a wake up call.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Our careers, the constant touring, the separations they were pulling
Lucy and me apart, and after that night, I knew
something had to change.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
You're listening to starring Desier and ess and Wilmer Valderrama,
the real life story of the Latin immigrant who basically
invented a modern day Hollywood system, But first he had
to undo his and Lucy's.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
First This is a friend of her.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
That's how it starts, and then it becomes more than that.
That's how we started.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
By the late nineteen forties, Dessie and Lucy's relationship was
in trouble. Sure, their careers were thriving, but the constant
separations were wearing on them. Dessi was touring with his orchestra,
performing night after night, city after city, and Lucy was
started up in Hollywood, chasing her dream of being a
(09:50):
leading lady.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
How many times do I have to say it, Lucy,
There's nothing going on with the GOPA girls.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
They're just part of the archy.
Speaker 6 (09:59):
Oh sure, and I'm just hanging out with my coach
stars for publicity.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Their phone calls were a mix of accusations, misunderstandings, and
her feelings. Dessie's match of pride didn't help, and Lucy's
fiery temper only added fuel to the fire. But beneath
it all, they loved each other fiercely.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
We'd hung up on each other fuming Matt.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
About five minutes later one of us would call back
to apologize, and somehow we'd always end up laughing.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
I love you, I love you.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
In interviews and in his memoir, Dessie constantly blames the
fighting on the long distance nature of the relationship. He
was desperate to find a way to be closer to Lucy,
but his touring schedule made it nearly impossible.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
I can't keep doing this, Lucy. I miss you too much.
Speaker 6 (10:58):
I miss you too. Something has to change.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
In nineteen forty four, Lucy was fed up with desis
woman I seen ender constant fighting that she filed for
a divorce in a Santa Monica courthouse. They decided to
fly to the coast to see if he could talk
her out of it.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Now I knew it was a long shot, but listen,
I went straight to her hotel. We fought at first,
but then we made up and had an incredible night
of passion.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Well it didn't work, though.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
The next morning, Lucy she went straight to court and
got a divorce granted by the judge. But in those days,
you see, California law was that you had to go
a year without rekindling your marriage for a divorce to
be final. As soon as Lucy got the divorce, she
came right back to the hotel and we, you know,
(11:52):
we rekindled.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So the divorce didn't stick. But the fighting continued to
escalate without end in sight until that night of the
Boss accident. That's when Dessie decided to look for some
light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
I'm not running around to my phone.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Oh now, what, who are you going to bring up?
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Bring it up?
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Dessie saw the accident as ay near death one. It
was a turning point. Being on the road was clearly
becoming a problem. The aendless touring, the separations, the grueling schedules,
it was all driving a wedge between him and Lucy,
but he didn't quite know what to do about it.
Luckily for him, Lucy wasn't about to let that happen.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
If you think I'm going to sit here and watch
this marriage go up and smoke while you're out playing
the conga, you've got another thing coming.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
What do you want me to do? Stop working, be
some kind of kept man.
Speaker 6 (12:49):
I don't want you to be a kept man. I
want to keep my man.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
But Lucy had another idea for her husband's career. That's
after the break. Lucy A Ball was a comedic genius
(13:23):
with some of the best instincts in Hollywood, and she
knew that Desi's talent went far beyond the stage. He
had the charisma, timing, and a knack for connecting with people.
She also knew they needed a way to stay together
while well still paying the bills.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
How about a job that doesn't involve touring, something a
little more stationary.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Oh yeah, sure, I just march and walk right into
the Hollywood and say, oh hello, I like a desk job.
Speaker 6 (13:53):
Please not Hollywood Radio.
Speaker 7 (13:58):
From Hollywood, The Jorge's Burns and Gracie Allen Show for
horm Allen spam.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
It's the Mardan Lewis Show.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
The Jack Bunney Program presented by Lucky Strike.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Radio was king in the early nineteen forties. Radio was
like television before television existed. You have to keep the
audience engaged with nothing but your voice and sound effects.
People would sit around the radio and listen together as
a family, and it wasn't just music and news. They
also listened to scripted audio shows like this famous one
(14:40):
starring Orson Welles.
Speaker 7 (14:43):
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a grave announcement to make
incredible as it may seem, both the observations of science
and the evidence of our eyes lead to the inescapable
assumption that those strange beings who landed in the Jersey
farm lands tonight are the van god of an invading
army from the planet Mars. The battle which took place
tonight at Grove of Mills has ended in one of
(15:04):
the most startling defeats ever suffered by an army in
modern times.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
People were so enthralled by this radio adaptation of H. G. Wells'
novel War of the World that some believed it was
a real invasion from the planet Mars. It was a
watershed moment for the audio medium, improved at that time
that radio was the main source of in home entertainment
(15:30):
for millions of Americans, and by the time Dessi and
Lucy were getting their first divorce in nineteen forty four,
one of radio's biggest stars was Bob Hope.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
How do you do, Ladies and gentlemen, This is Bob Hope.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
No, no, not yet, Charlie, but don't leave.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Well.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Desi had worked with Bob Hope in the USO and,
like most Americans, was a big fan.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Bob Hope was a genius. Bob could take a room
full of his scripts, crawl around the floor, piece together
the best lines, and turn all of that into a
half hour of gold.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Thanks to his wife, Dessi landed a job as the
musical director for Bob Hope's radio show. Lucy helped make
that introduction, convincing Bob that Dessie's musical chops and show
his experience would be an asset to the program.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Lucy always had a way of selling me better than
I could sell myself, you know. She told Bob I'd
bring some Latin spies to his show. Bob didn't know
what the hell that meant, but he figured, hey, he
couldn't hurt.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Dessie's role wasn't limited to playing music. He was in
the writer's room, attending meetings and learning from one of
the greatest comedians of that era. Dessie makes a point
to note this in his memoir.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Bob, he could kill a joke just by pausing too long,
you know, or he could save one with a wink.
I had already been to acting school on Broadway and
film school on butten, and I'd learned resilience and survival
from watching my Dad's Fortitude. But working on Bob Hopes
radio show I was like going to college for comedy writing.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Bessie soaked it all in. He learned how to structure
a show, how to build a punchline, and how to
balance humor with heart. But it wasn't just about comedy.
DESSI also learned the ins and outs of production, how
to rehearse, adapt scripts, and work with writers to create
a polished show. It was a whole new world for him.
(17:52):
These were lessons he'd carry with him for the rest
of his career.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
The writer's meetings, how those are my favorite, you say.
Bob had a team of twelve writers, and they'd bring
him ten different versions of every script, and he sit
on the floor and shuffle through them, and somehow he'd
always come up with the perfect combination of jokes.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Working for Bob Hope gave Lucy and Dessie's stability. They
finally had a chance to spend more time together.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
No more nights on the road, you know, no more
wondering where the other one was.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Now.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Now we were in the same city, working toward the
same goal, right, and.
Speaker 6 (18:35):
You didn't even have to dodge any buses.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
You know. For a while, things were good. Dessie and
Lucy were spending more time together, and he was thriving
in his new role. But even with the stability of
Bob Hope's radio show, they weren't entirely free from the
demands of the entertainment business. Dessi often was booked in
LA's hottest nightclubs, and Lucy was always rushing to set.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
We tried to make it work. I'd meet Lucy at
the top of Cold Water Canyon in the mornings for
just a quick kiss, you know, before she headed to MGM.
And sometimes if she had a late call, she'd come
to Zeros and have dinner with me after I finished
my set.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
But you know, it was never enough.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Their jealousies and suspicions were also fueled by the local press.
A gossip colonies would print a rumor about Dessi at
a nightclub, and Lucy would confront him in rage. Dessie,
in turn, would accuse Lucy or spending too much time
with her co stars. Their phone calls often ended in
slammed receivers, only to be followed by tearful reconciliations.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
We fought like hell, but we loved each other like
hell too, and that is what kept us going.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
The radio job gave desy steady paycheck and a more
consistent schedule, which helped their marriage. But soon Bob decided
it was time to take the radio show on tour.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
I really love working for Bob, but even then, you know,
we couldn't escape the separation. The show started a touring,
and not as softened as with the orchestra, back enough
that those old anxieties, you know, they kept gripping back in.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
In the late nineteen forties, Lucy's career was shifting. Hollywood
had pigeonholed her as a character actress, and the roles
she dreamed of of glamorous leading parts were going to
younger starlits. The radio was booming, and Lucy found a
new opportunity on the airways. In nineteen forty eight, she
(20:51):
starred the CBS radio sitcom My Favorite Husband.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
Oh George, how could you?
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Lucy? I didn't the cake?
Speaker 5 (21:00):
Then?
Speaker 6 (21:01):
Why is there frosting on your tie?
Speaker 1 (21:09):
It was a hit, and soon CBS came knocking with
an idea to adapt the show for television. It made sense.
A lot of TV shows that were being created during
that era started as radio shows. Gun Smoke, Perry Mason,
Ossy and Harriet all made the transition from ready to TV.
(21:29):
Lucy was being given a chance to be a star
on a new medium. She saw this as her chance
to reinvent herself, to step into a new era of entertainment.
But she had one condition.
Speaker 6 (21:42):
I'll do it, but only if DESI placed my husband.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
It was a bad move, but Lucy had always believed
in Dessie's talents, and more than that, she believed in
the idea of working together. After years of separation and struggles,
this was her chance to build some thing that would
keep them together. It will seemingly solve the distance problems
that had led to so many arguments. Dessy and her
(22:08):
would work together, be on the same schedule, and even
start a family.
Speaker 6 (22:13):
Oh, George, you also finished all the milk. Now wait
a minute, all your face before you lie to me again.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
But there was one problem. Lucy's husband on her radio
show wasn't all American like her, With perfect English, and
Dessie was all Cuban with a thic accent. Desi Ernez
playing her husband. I don't see it.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Me and Lucy. Nobody thought we will work.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Nobody, no, and network executives, the agencies, they all said
the same thing, right, it doesn't make sense. Nobody's going
to believe that this bad leader is married to a
red headed American girl.
Speaker 6 (23:05):
They should believe it because he's actually my husband.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I told her, maybe they're right, you know, maybe we
don't make sense as a couple on the screen.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
How people said we didn't make sense in real life.
Ere No, that's true. But Lucy here I give her credit.
She wasn't taking no for an answer.
Speaker 6 (23:21):
I wouldn't let anybody tell us anything.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Dessie and Lucy were about to face their biggest challenge yet,
convincing Hollywood that their unlikely love story could work on screen,
and that's on the next episode of starring Dezi r
Nas and Wilmer Valdorama starring Desi RNAs and Wilmer val
Durama is produced by w B Sound in partnership with
(23:45):
Iheartmiael Doda Podcast Network, starring Desire Nass and Wilmaval Durama
is written by Eric Galindo and narrated by me Wilmer Valdorama.
It is produced by Sophie Spencer, Selveles and Leo Klem,
with special help from an Helen Lopez Galindo. Our executive
producers are myself and Eric Galindo. This episode was edited
(24:06):
and engineered by Sean Tracy and features original music by
Halo Boy and Madison Devenport. Our cover illustration is by
Lindsey Mount. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
One of the greatest honors of my life has been
traveling visiting the troops as an ambassador of the USO,
and it's been an incredible experience. It's been one of
the most beautiful things I've been able to do with
my career. I've done over forty five USO events and
tours and accounting. I've spent Christmas with the troops and many
other holidays. Tours do all their share of challenges for
(00:52):
a volunteer. You know, some nights you sleep about two hours.
You know you're lucky if you sleep at all. You
might shower twice in a week, and that's because you're
so tired that you're like, no, I can't do the
cold water. But you know that's hardly a sacrifice. The
real sacrifice is what are men and women in uniform
go through, leaving their families behind, not experiencing sometimes your
(01:16):
children's first holidays, having to read to your children through
a zoom because you can't be there to talk them
in a night. They are serving a larger cost and
I'm serving them. That's the gifts, right, that's the exchange.
And then there was the one time in Felusha. It's
(01:37):
November right around Thanksgiving. We're flying to the base at
Felushah on an offspring in Osprey. By the way, for
some of those who may not, I know, Osprey's those
really incredible planes. They take off like a helicopter in midair,
the wings turned forward and all of a sudden it
turns into a jet. The trip had already been surreal.
(01:57):
We've done shows at bag Run in Afghanistan, Camp Liberty
and Baghday, and even some bases in Turkey and in Greenland.
Everywhere we went we expressed our support and appreciation for
our service members. He was humbling. He was humbling to
also remind them that we think about them, that we
missed them, and that we can't wait for them to
(02:18):
come home. But this leg of the trip was a
little different. I was flying into an active war zone,
and Fellusiah was one of the most dangerous active war
zones in modern history. The mood and the Osprey was
tense but focused. I was trying to keep cool. Looking around,
(02:42):
there were some soldiers, some of them younger than me,
a colonel and Marine Corpus General James Carwright, vice Chairman
of the Joint chiefs of Staff. They all look completely
unfazed by the moment, I could tell that we're used
to this kind of thing. Then I saw it. Flares
(03:05):
shot out of the size of the osprey. I remember thinking,
whoa cool special effects. I guess I don't know why
they shot out of the plane, but it might have
been an accident perhaps. But then it hit me those
wearing for show they were our flares. I said, hey,
those are our flares. A colonel noticed me staring and said, funny, no,
(03:30):
we got locked on. Don't worry. They never hit anything.
The flares were meant to evade any heat, sick and missiles.
Someone on there just tried to shoot our aircraft. I
think about that moment a lot, but it might have
(03:52):
happened if the missiles had actually hit the aircraft. Life
is filled with those what if moments. During his time
in the USO dezier Nas had a close call with
bad weather traveling from his hometown Santigo the Kuba back
to the base and Guantanamo Bay by his what if moment.
(04:13):
His brush with destiny came years later, long after the war,
when he was on a theater tour with the desier
Nance Orchestra.
Speaker 2 (04:22):
So it's the middle of the night sometime after one am,
and my band is on the road, driving through the
Midwest on US Highway twenty. They've just finished a split
week in Madison, Wisconsin, and they're heading to Akron, Ohio
for our next show. Everyone's tired, but you know, in
good spirits. The bus is carrying our entire orchestra, my guys,
(04:47):
my friends, Bobby Jones, my first trumpet player, Marco Rizo,
our pianist, Charlie Harris, my concertmaster.
Speaker 3 (04:55):
The whole gang is just packed in there.
Speaker 2 (04:57):
They've got cold beer, sandwiches, you know, usual routine. Then,
just outside Rolling Prairie, Indiana, the bus driver he dozes off.
He is going eighty five miles an hour and crashed
into the back of a truck.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
The crash is devastating. Ten members of the orchestra are
seriously injured, some of them fighting for their lives. Bobby Jones,
Marco Rizzo, and others are rushed to the hospitals in
Indiana and Michigan. Charlie Harris, the concertmaster, suffers the worst,
a broken leg, a broken arm, head injuries, and he
(05:46):
loses an eye. His case with his life, but just barely.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
The bus was nearly torn in two. The only thing that.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
Saved the guys was the truck driver they hit. You see,
he managed to up a hole in the tour bus
with a hatchet. That hole was big enough for the
band to escape who and without him, most of the
orchestra would have burned alive. And oh, oh man, poor Charlie,
who knows what happens to him if he's in the
bus even an extra minute.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Now here's the part that sticks with me. Dessie could
have died or been seriously injured, except.
Speaker 4 (06:27):
Among the injured concertmaster Charlie Harris, who was said to
be in serious condition with head and limb injuries. Sources
tell us mister Arnez was not on board at the
time of the crash. He is safe. Now.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
That's how close it was. That's how fade works sometimes.
In this case, Bessy and Lucy's up and down marriage
may have saved his life.
Speaker 2 (06:51):
Lucy was in Detroit, she was doing Dream Girl, and
you know I hadn't seen her in weeks. It's separations.
They were killing us, I mean literally tearing our marriage apart.
And I told Charlie to take over for me for
this leg of the trip. So I could stay in
Detroit and spend one more night with Lucy. I'd planned
(07:13):
to meet the band in Akron the next day, you know,
and Charlie, being the concert master, he sat in the
sea where I always sat.
Speaker 3 (07:20):
If I had been on that bus, I would have
been in that seat.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Dessie and Lucy had a passion for each other that
burnt bright, but that fire could often turn into a
roaring blaze. The careers pulled them in different directions. Dessy
was traveling constantly with his band, performing in clubs and
theaters across the country. Lucy was tied up to Hollywood,
(07:58):
working long hours on film set. Desi had rushed to
her hotel in Detroit that night to make up after
a fight. Now, if Dessi hadn't been trying to save
his marriage, he would have been in the same position
as Charlie Harris, the guy who almost died and lost
(08:21):
his eye in the accident.
Speaker 3 (08:23):
Yeah, guess said I. You know.
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Desi was haunted by that night by the thought of
how close he came to being in that crash. But
for him it was a wake up call.
Speaker 2 (08:36):
Our careers, the constant touring, the separations they were pulling
Lucy and me apart, and after that night, I knew
something had to change.
Speaker 1 (08:47):
You're listening to starring Desier and ess and Wilmer Valderrama,
the real life story of the Latin immigrant who basically
invented a modern day Hollywood system, But first he had
to undo his and Lucy's.
Speaker 5 (08:59):
First This is a friend of her.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
That's how it starts, and then it becomes more than that.
That's how we started.
Speaker 1 (09:29):
By the late nineteen forties, Dessie and Lucy's relationship was
in trouble. Sure, their careers were thriving, but the constant
separations were wearing on them. Dessi was touring with his orchestra,
performing night after night, city after city, and Lucy was
started up in Hollywood, chasing her dream of being a
(09:50):
leading lady.
Speaker 2 (09:51):
How many times do I have to say it, Lucy,
There's nothing going on with the GOPA girls.
Speaker 3 (09:57):
They're just part of the archy.
Speaker 6 (09:59):
Oh sure, and I'm just hanging out with my coach
stars for publicity.
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Their phone calls were a mix of accusations, misunderstandings, and
her feelings. Dessie's match of pride didn't help, and Lucy's
fiery temper only added fuel to the fire. But beneath
it all, they loved each other fiercely.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
We'd hung up on each other fuming Matt.
Speaker 2 (10:24):
About five minutes later one of us would call back
to apologize, and somehow we'd always end up laughing.
Speaker 5 (10:33):
I love you, I love you.
Speaker 1 (10:37):
In interviews and in his memoir, Dessie constantly blames the
fighting on the long distance nature of the relationship. He
was desperate to find a way to be closer to Lucy,
but his touring schedule made it nearly impossible.
Speaker 3 (10:55):
I can't keep doing this, Lucy. I miss you too much.
Speaker 6 (10:58):
I miss you too. Something has to change.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
In nineteen forty four, Lucy was fed up with desis
woman I seen ender constant fighting that she filed for
a divorce in a Santa Monica courthouse. They decided to
fly to the coast to see if he could talk
her out of it.
Speaker 2 (11:18):
Now I knew it was a long shot, but listen,
I went straight to her hotel. We fought at first,
but then we made up and had an incredible night
of passion.
Speaker 3 (11:30):
Well it didn't work, though.
Speaker 2 (11:31):
The next morning, Lucy she went straight to court and
got a divorce granted by the judge. But in those days,
you see, California law was that you had to go
a year without rekindling your marriage for a divorce to
be final. As soon as Lucy got the divorce, she
came right back to the hotel and we, you know,
(11:52):
we rekindled.
Speaker 1 (11:54):
So the divorce didn't stick. But the fighting continued to
escalate without end in sight until that night of the
Boss accident. That's when Dessie decided to look for some
light at the end of the tunnel.
Speaker 5 (12:07):
I'm not running around to my phone.
Speaker 3 (12:09):
Oh now, what, who are you going to bring up?
Speaker 5 (12:13):
Bring it up?
Speaker 1 (12:14):
Dessie saw the accident as ay near death one. It
was a turning point. Being on the road was clearly
becoming a problem. The aendless touring, the separations, the grueling schedules,
it was all driving a wedge between him and Lucy,
but he didn't quite know what to do about it.
Luckily for him, Lucy wasn't about to let that happen.
Speaker 6 (12:37):
If you think I'm going to sit here and watch
this marriage go up and smoke while you're out playing
the conga, you've got another thing coming.
Speaker 3 (12:45):
What do you want me to do? Stop working, be
some kind of kept man.
Speaker 6 (12:49):
I don't want you to be a kept man. I
want to keep my man.
Speaker 1 (12:56):
But Lucy had another idea for her husband's career. That's
after the break. Lucy A Ball was a comedic genius
(13:23):
with some of the best instincts in Hollywood, and she
knew that Desi's talent went far beyond the stage. He
had the charisma, timing, and a knack for connecting with people.
She also knew they needed a way to stay together
while well still paying the bills.
Speaker 6 (13:41):
How about a job that doesn't involve touring, something a
little more stationary.
Speaker 2 (13:47):
Oh yeah, sure, I just march and walk right into
the Hollywood and say, oh hello, I like a desk job.
Speaker 6 (13:53):
Please not Hollywood Radio.
Speaker 7 (13:58):
From Hollywood, The Jorge's Burns and Gracie Allen Show for
horm Allen spam.
Speaker 2 (14:06):
It's the Mardan Lewis Show.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
The Jack Bunney Program presented by Lucky Strike.
Speaker 1 (14:20):
Radio was king in the early nineteen forties. Radio was
like television before television existed. You have to keep the
audience engaged with nothing but your voice and sound effects.
People would sit around the radio and listen together as
a family, and it wasn't just music and news. They
also listened to scripted audio shows like this famous one
(14:40):
starring Orson Welles.
Speaker 7 (14:43):
Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a grave announcement to make
incredible as it may seem, both the observations of science
and the evidence of our eyes lead to the inescapable
assumption that those strange beings who landed in the Jersey
farm lands tonight are the van god of an invading
army from the planet Mars. The battle which took place
tonight at Grove of Mills has ended in one of
(15:04):
the most startling defeats ever suffered by an army in
modern times.
Speaker 1 (15:09):
People were so enthralled by this radio adaptation of H. G. Wells'
novel War of the World that some believed it was
a real invasion from the planet Mars. It was a
watershed moment for the audio medium, improved at that time
that radio was the main source of in home entertainment
(15:30):
for millions of Americans, and by the time Dessi and
Lucy were getting their first divorce in nineteen forty four,
one of radio's biggest stars was Bob Hope.
Speaker 6 (15:42):
How do you do, Ladies and gentlemen, This is Bob Hope.
Speaker 5 (15:46):
No, no, not yet, Charlie, but don't leave.
Speaker 4 (15:54):
Well.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
Desi had worked with Bob Hope in the USO and,
like most Americans, was a big fan.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Bob Hope was a genius. Bob could take a room
full of his scripts, crawl around the floor, piece together
the best lines, and turn all of that into a
half hour of gold.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
Thanks to his wife, Dessi landed a job as the
musical director for Bob Hope's radio show. Lucy helped make
that introduction, convincing Bob that Dessie's musical chops and show
his experience would be an asset to the program.
Speaker 2 (16:26):
Lucy always had a way of selling me better than
I could sell myself, you know. She told Bob I'd
bring some Latin spies to his show. Bob didn't know
what the hell that meant, but he figured, hey, he
couldn't hurt.
Speaker 1 (16:57):
Dessie's role wasn't limited to playing music. He was in
the writer's room, attending meetings and learning from one of
the greatest comedians of that era. Dessie makes a point
to note this in his memoir.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Bob, he could kill a joke just by pausing too long,
you know, or he could save one with a wink.
I had already been to acting school on Broadway and
film school on butten, and I'd learned resilience and survival
from watching my Dad's Fortitude. But working on Bob Hopes
radio show I was like going to college for comedy writing.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Bessie soaked it all in. He learned how to structure
a show, how to build a punchline, and how to
balance humor with heart. But it wasn't just about comedy.
DESSI also learned the ins and outs of production, how
to rehearse, adapt scripts, and work with writers to create
a polished show. It was a whole new world for him.
(17:52):
These were lessons he'd carry with him for the rest
of his career.
Speaker 2 (18:03):
The writer's meetings, how those are my favorite, you say.
Bob had a team of twelve writers, and they'd bring
him ten different versions of every script, and he sit
on the floor and shuffle through them, and somehow he'd
always come up with the perfect combination of jokes.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Working for Bob Hope gave Lucy and Dessie's stability. They
finally had a chance to spend more time together.
Speaker 2 (18:26):
No more nights on the road, you know, no more
wondering where the other one was.
Speaker 3 (18:30):
Now.
Speaker 2 (18:30):
Now we were in the same city, working toward the
same goal, right, and.
Speaker 6 (18:35):
You didn't even have to dodge any buses.
Speaker 1 (18:41):
You know. For a while, things were good. Dessie and
Lucy were spending more time together, and he was thriving
in his new role. But even with the stability of
Bob Hope's radio show, they weren't entirely free from the
demands of the entertainment business. Dessi often was booked in
LA's hottest nightclubs, and Lucy was always rushing to set.
Speaker 2 (19:03):
We tried to make it work. I'd meet Lucy at
the top of Cold Water Canyon in the mornings for
just a quick kiss, you know, before she headed to MGM.
And sometimes if she had a late call, she'd come
to Zeros and have dinner with me after I finished
my set.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
But you know, it was never enough.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
Their jealousies and suspicions were also fueled by the local press.
A gossip colonies would print a rumor about Dessi at
a nightclub, and Lucy would confront him in rage. Dessie,
in turn, would accuse Lucy or spending too much time
with her co stars. Their phone calls often ended in
slammed receivers, only to be followed by tearful reconciliations.
Speaker 2 (19:46):
We fought like hell, but we loved each other like
hell too, and that is what kept us going.
Speaker 1 (20:01):
The radio job gave desy steady paycheck and a more
consistent schedule, which helped their marriage. But soon Bob decided
it was time to take the radio show on tour.
Speaker 2 (20:13):
I really love working for Bob, but even then, you know,
we couldn't escape the separation. The show started a touring,
and not as softened as with the orchestra, back enough
that those old anxieties, you know, they kept gripping back in.
Speaker 1 (20:28):
In the late nineteen forties, Lucy's career was shifting. Hollywood
had pigeonholed her as a character actress, and the roles
she dreamed of of glamorous leading parts were going to
younger starlits. The radio was booming, and Lucy found a
new opportunity on the airways. In nineteen forty eight, she
(20:51):
starred the CBS radio sitcom My Favorite Husband.
Speaker 6 (20:55):
Oh George, how could you?
Speaker 3 (20:58):
Lucy? I didn't the cake?
Speaker 5 (21:00):
Then?
Speaker 6 (21:01):
Why is there frosting on your tie?
Speaker 1 (21:09):
It was a hit, and soon CBS came knocking with
an idea to adapt the show for television. It made sense.
A lot of TV shows that were being created during
that era started as radio shows. Gun Smoke, Perry Mason,
Ossy and Harriet all made the transition from ready to TV.
(21:29):
Lucy was being given a chance to be a star
on a new medium. She saw this as her chance
to reinvent herself, to step into a new era of entertainment.
But she had one condition.
Speaker 6 (21:42):
I'll do it, but only if DESI placed my husband.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
It was a bad move, but Lucy had always believed
in Dessie's talents, and more than that, she believed in
the idea of working together. After years of separation and struggles,
this was her chance to build some thing that would
keep them together. It will seemingly solve the distance problems
that had led to so many arguments. Dessy and her
(22:08):
would work together, be on the same schedule, and even
start a family.
Speaker 6 (22:13):
Oh, George, you also finished all the milk. Now wait
a minute, all your face before you lie to me again.
Speaker 1 (22:24):
But there was one problem. Lucy's husband on her radio
show wasn't all American like her, With perfect English, and
Dessie was all Cuban with a thic accent. Desi Ernez
playing her husband. I don't see it.
Speaker 3 (22:49):
Me and Lucy. Nobody thought we will work.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
Nobody, no, and network executives, the agencies, they all said
the same thing, right, it doesn't make sense. Nobody's going
to believe that this bad leader is married to a
red headed American girl.
Speaker 6 (23:05):
They should believe it because he's actually my husband.
Speaker 2 (23:08):
I told her, maybe they're right, you know, maybe we
don't make sense as a couple on the screen.
Speaker 3 (23:12):
How people said we didn't make sense in real life.
Ere No, that's true. But Lucy here I give her credit.
She wasn't taking no for an answer.
Speaker 6 (23:21):
I wouldn't let anybody tell us anything.
Speaker 1 (23:24):
Dessie and Lucy were about to face their biggest challenge yet,
convincing Hollywood that their unlikely love story could work on screen,
and that's on the next episode of starring Dezi r
Nas and Wilmer Valdorama starring Desi RNAs and Wilmer val
Durama is produced by w B Sound in partnership with
(23:45):
Iheartmiael Doda Podcast Network, starring Desire Nass and Wilmaval Durama
is written by Eric Galindo and narrated by me Wilmer Valdorama.
It is produced by Sophie Spencer, Selveles and Leo Klem,
with special help from an Helen Lopez Galindo. Our executive
producers are myself and Eric Galindo. This episode was edited
(24:06):
and engineered by Sean Tracy and features original music by
Halo Boy and Madison Devenport. Our cover illustration is by
Lindsey Mount. For more podcasts from iHeart, visit the iHeartRadio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.
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