Desi Arnaz achieved sobriety towards the end of his life with the help of his son, Desi Arnaz Jr.
The late actor’s daughter, Lucie Arnaz, opened up about her famous parents in the upcoming documentary for Amazon Prime Video titled “Lucy and Desi.” The film, directed by Amy Poehler, features archival footage and recordings of the pair’s stories told in their own words. It premieres on March 4.
Arnaz famously starred as Cuban bandleader Ricky Ricardo alongside his wife Lucille Ball in the beloved ‘50s sitcom “I Love Lucy.” According to the documentary, Arnaz’s drinking sometimes got in the way of their marriage. The couple divorced in 1960.
“He resisted going into AA or any program for a long, long time,” Lucie, 70, told People magazine on Thursday. “We don’t air our dirty laundry in front of other people; he hated that part. But he finally did after his [second] wife Edy died. He was just so upset that my brother convinced him… ‘Come on, dad. You can do this.’ And he did it. He stopped drinking.”
“I was right next to him when he stood up and said, ‘My name is Desi and I’m an alcoholic,’” Lucie continued. “It was the proudest moment of my life to sit next to him and hear him do that. It was like, ‘OK, I don’t care what you do after this. That was the best thing you’ve done.’ Because that was hard for him. It’s hard for everybody, but for him especially it was really hard.”
According to the outlet, Arnaz found out he had lung cancer shortly after getting sober. He passed away a year later in 1986 at age 69.
“… I was very proud of him,” said Lucie about her father’s journey to sobriety before his passing. “That takes an incredible amount of courage.”
Lucie insisted that her parents’ love for each other “never went away” even though they moved on to other spouses following the split.
