For those few of you who are not familiar with I Love Lucy, it centred on Lucy Ricardo (Lucille Ball) and her husband, Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo (Lucy's real life husband Desi Arnaz). They lived in an apartment in New York City that they rented from Ethel and Fred Mertz (Vivian Vance and William Frawley). Many of the show's plots centred on Lucy trying to break into show business or various other schemes.
Of course, in Lucy being married to Ricky, I Love Lucy was the first ever show to feature a multiethnic marriage. While Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz were married in real life and no states expressly forbade individuals of Northern European descent from marrying Cubans, this was still revolutionary for the time. Indeed, many states did forbid white and various other ethnicities from marrying. For instance, Texas anti-miscegenation laws were so strict that whites could not marry anyone who wasn't white.
Given the times, it should come as no surprise that when I Love Lucy was in development, CBS initially objected to Desi Arnaz, playing Lucy's husband on the show, despite the fact that they were married in real life. They were convinced that television audiences would not accept an "all-American" woman being married to a Cuban man. To prove to CBS this was not the case, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz developed their own stage act, written by Madelyn Pugh and Bob Carroll Jr., who had written Lucille Ball's radio show My Favorite Husband. They took this act on the road and proved to be very successful. It was the success of this act that convinced CBS executive Harry Ackerman that a show starring both Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz could be a hit. OF course, it also helped that Lucille Balll's proposed new show was drawing interest from CBS's rival NBC. With the prospect of losing Miss Ball to NBC, Harry Ackerman eventually gave into Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's wishes.
No secret was every made of Ricky Ricardo's Cuban ancestry and, in fact, the character was largely based on Desi Arnaz himself. Ricky was an immigrant from Cuba to the United States, just as Des Arnaz had been. Both were bandleaders who played Cuban music. Of course, to a degree Ricky Ricardo was something of a stereotype. e was highly excitable and he had a bit of a temper. When upset it was not unusual for Ricky to erupt with a stream of rapidly spoken Spanish.
While there were aspects of Ricky Ricardo that were stereotypical, there was much else about Ricky that ran counter to common assumptions about Latinos in the United States at the time. Ricky Ricardo was college educated, having attended Havana University. Starting out as the bandleader at the Tropicana, he eventually bought the club and renamed it the Club Babalu. This was a sharp contrast to other Latino characters on American sitcoms in the Fifties. Frank the gardener on Father Knows Best was so naive that it seems likely he couldn't function in American society without the Anderson family. Pepino on The Real McCoys always deferred to the McCoys and was often the target of Amos McCoy's tirades. Regardless, I Love Lucy was not only historic in featuring the first multiethnic marriage, but in featuring the first Latino lead character on an American sitcom.
Beyond the fact that I Love Lucy was the first American show to feature a mixed marriage and the first sitcom to have a Latino as one of its leads, it also exposed American audiences to a good deal of Cuban music. Many episodes feature performances by Ricky Ricardo and his band. Among the songs included on the show were Desi Arnaz's signature song "Babalú," "El Cumbanchero," and "The Straw Hat song." The musical numbers on I Love Lucy drew heavily upon Desi Arnaz's act in real life and his orchestra.
While Ricky Ricardo was the only Latino to appear regularly on I Love Lucy, the show featured several Latin guest stars. In "Ricky's Old Girlfriend," Mexican American actress Rosa Turich played Cuban singer Carlota Romero, after Ricky had just fabricated a story about an old girlfriend by that name.Guatemalan actress Lillian Molieri was also in the same episode, appearing as Carlotta in a nightmare that Lucy has. Cuban born actress Rita Conde appeared in the episode "Cuban Pals." "The Ricardos Visit Cuba" featured some of Ricky's relatives played by Mexican American actor Rodolfo Hoyos Jr., Mexican American actor Jorge Treviño, and Nicaraguan actress Lillian Molieri: At the time of I Love Lucy, Latinos appeared infrequently on American TV shows outside of Westerns (where they were often stereotypical Mexican bandidos).
Ultimately, I Love Lucy broke a good deal of new ground with regards to Latinos on American television. It was the first show ever to feature a multiethnic marriage. It was also the first American sitcom to feature a Latino as a lead character. It exposed American audiences to Cuban and Latin music on a somewhat regular basis. And it occasionally featured Latino guest stars in prominent roles.
1 comment:
I think "revolutionary for the time" is a bit strong. I think the correct phrase would be ahead of its time. You could write a book about ethnic stereotypes in the Hollywood of yesteryear. I Love Lucy, as you mention, did reinforce some stereotypical ethnic eccentricities that were and still are comical. I live in Miami and the first people to laugh at and agree with these quirks are Cubans themselves. As time went by, Hispanic roles leaned toward the humorous slant. Chico And The Man comes to mind. I also remember in later years, All In The Family featured a Puerto Rican woman who moved in with Archie. The contrast was funny as you had two stereotypes of a caricature going toe to toe. And let's not forget advertising. We can all remember The Frito Bandito. I am getting off topic. Great post.
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