March 4th, 1960 - Lucille Ball files divorce from Desi Arnaz

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March 4th, 1960 was a very sad day indeed. Not only did it mark the end of the Arnaz's marriage it also marked the beginning of the end of Televisions greatest creative and business partnership.

...that Lucy and Desi filmed their final "WESTINGHOUSE LUCILLE BALL-DESI ARNAZ SHOW" ("THE LUCY-DESI COMEDY HOUR" in network and syndicated repeats), "The Redhead Meets the Mustache", featuring guest stars Ernie Kovacs and Edie Adams. Lucy wanted to file divorce papers against Desi before the episode was filmed, but her attorney advised her to fulfill the Westinghouse contract she and Desi had signed together, otherwise they could have sued her {and Desilu} for "breach of contract". Edie recalled the atmosphere around the set was very tense, esepcially between Lucy and Desi: they barely spoke to each other, except in character during the actual filming of the episode {"Would you please tell Lucy to....?"/"Would you tell Mr. Arnaz...?"}. The only time there was a sense of genuine affection between each other was the prolonged kiss they shared to end the episode. Desi later recalled that kiss also meant the summing up of everything they'd shared during the past 20 years, and that it also signified the end of an era. After that scene was filmed and production had ended, Vivian Vance was crying, and Bill Frawley felt a similiar twinge of sadness (even though he barely showed it), because they knew it was the end of an era, and that the four of them would never work together again. Two days later, Lucy filed her divorce papers against Desi...

:tv:

March 4th, 1960 was a very sad day indeed. Not only did it mark the end of the Arnaz's marriage it also marked the beginning of the end of Televisions greatest creative and business partnership.
:(

Desi did still love Lucy, but it wasn't enough. His cheating caused their marriage to fall apart.

Did Lucy and Desi reunite after their 1960 Divorce? (As friends, not as a couple...)

Desi did still love Lucy, but it wasn't enough.

I was about to say the same thing. Anybody who knows anything about Lucy and Desi knows they never stopped loving one another. I don't like the provocative subject line on this thread because it's a false statement.

Did Lucy and Desi reunite after their 1960 Divorce? (As friends, not as a couple...)

Yes. They were never out of touch. They spoke on the phone almost every week from the time they divorced until Desi died in 1986. When Lucy got ill in 1961 during the run of Wildcat, Desi was quickly by her side. Desi frequently showed up on the set of The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy to say hi. Every year on their anniversary, right up until his death, he sent Lucy flowers, even though they were divorced. When Desi's second wife, Edie, died in 1985, and he was in mourning, Lucy invited Desi to come live in her guest house (though I don't know whether he took her up on that offer). The last time they spoke was when Lucy called him on November 30, 1986, three days before he died (which happened to be the 46th anniversary of their marriage). Desi was too ill to speak, but daughter Lucie Arnaz held the phone up to his ear so he could hear what Lucy was saying to him, which was simply "I love you" over and over again. Those were Lucy's last words to Desi. Check out the following clip and you can hear Desi's last words to Lucy, which were read to her posthumously (just five days after his death) by Robert Stack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkZUUTbzDVI

I was about to say the same thing. Anybody who knows anything about Lucy and Desi knows they never stopped loving one another. I don't like the provocative subject line on this thread because it's a false statement.



Yes. They were never out of touch. They spoke on the phone almost every week from the time they divorced until Desi died in 1986. When Lucy got ill in 1961 during the run of Wildcat, Desi was quickly by her side. Desi frequently showed up on the set of The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy to say hi. Every year on their anniversary, right up until his death, he sent Lucy flowers, even though they were divorced. When Desi's second wife, Edie, died in 1985, and he was in mourning, Lucy invited Desi to come live in her guest house (though I don't know whether he took her up on that offer). The last time they spoke was when Lucy called him on November 30, 1986, three days before he died (which happened to be the 46th anniversary of their marriage). Desi was too ill to speak, but daughter Lucie Arnaz held the phone up to his ear so he could hear what Lucy was saying to him, which was simply "I love you" over and over again. Those were Lucy's last words to Desi. Check out the following clip and you can hear Desi's last words to Lucy, which were read to her posthumously (just five days after his death) by Robert Stack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkZUUTbzDVI
Thanks for sharing that link. That note which Mr. Stack was just overflowing with love. It was obvious that Desi never stopped loving Lucy. And I have to admit hearing those loving words brought a tear to my eye.

Thanks for sharing that link. That note which Mr. Stack was just overflowing with love. It was obvious that Desi never stopped loving Lucy. And I have to admit hearing those loving words brought a tear to my eye.

Same here. :) Seeing Lucy's reaction as those words are being read, and knowing it's only been days since Desi's death, really tugs at the heart.

...'LittleRickyII's comment about Lucy and Desi never being out of touch after their divorce- this was especially true when production of "THE LUCY SHOW" began in the fall of 1962. Desi was still in charge of Desilu at the time, and was her executive producer during the initial episodes. So he was around the set whenever necessary. However, that November, she suddenly bought out Desi's share of the studio, and he left [producer Elliott Lewis, an old friend of theirs, replaced him as executive producer]. But they continued to stay in touch with each other, and he returned in 1966 to set up "Desi Arnaz Productions" on the lot {Lucy leased him whatever space he needed}, producing a Carol Channing pilot, "THE MOTHERS-IN-LAW" (again involving Lewis), and a dramatic pilot, "LAND'S END". It would have impossible for them NOT to cross each other's paths during that period!

:tv:

Desi did still love Lucy, but it wasn't enough. His cheating caused their marriage to fall apart.

I believe they still got together in the biblical sense even after the divorce from what some of their close friends have hinted at in interviews. They never stopped loving each other. They just couldn't live together.