Desi Arnaz became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943. He was born in Cuba & immigrated to the United States with his family after the Cuban Revolution. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943 & officially became a citizen that same year.
Listen to how grateful he is to America. That gratefulness seems to be missing these days.
Lucy: “You get so emotional up here. Now then, there’s another character in our show, his name escapes me at the moment. But this guy, who seems to be in all places at once, making like an actor, a banker, a politician—in short, a producer—gets my vote as the greatest producer of all time. And I have two little Arnazes at home to prove it. Desi, I love you. Signed, Lucy.”
Desi: “Thank you, sweetheart. Thank you, Ed, and thank you very, very much, ladies and gentlemen. You know, I think if it wouldn’t have been for Lucy, I would have stopped trying a long time ago because I was always the guy that didn’t fit. When she did my favorite husband on the radio, they said that I wasn’t the type to play the part. Then finally, she wanted to do the television show, and she says, ‘Well, I want to do it with Desi.’ So everybody again said, ‘Well, he’s not right to play your husband.’ Finally, one executive at CBS says, ‘Well, maybe the audience would buy him because, after all, they have been married for thirteen years.’ And you know something, though, that I really want to tell you, tonight, what Tess O’Rourke said about my first job in this country was cleaning bird cages is very true. We came to this country and didn’t have a cent in our pockets. From cleaning canary cages to this night here in New York, it’s a long ways. And I don’t think there’s any other country in the world that could give you that opportunity. I want to say thank you, thank you, America. Thank you.”