Book excerpt: "Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television"

Book excerpt: "Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television"

Todd S. Purdum's biography explores the impact on American culture by the Cuban-born entertainer who (as husband and business partner of Lucille Ball) changed the rules of TV.

Why Lucille Ball Got Into Television

We think of Lucille Ball as the queen of television -after all, she had four TV series with her name in the title. But before I Love Lucy, she was a model, a dancer, and a movie actress. In the 1940s, she had a hit radio show called My Favorite Husband. Television was in its infancy, no one knew for sure whether it would take off. CBS wanted Lucy to try a television series, which she considered to be a step down. However, Lucy's husband Desi Arn…