{"id":362792,"date":"2021-11-04T14:16:29","date_gmt":"2021-11-04T11:16:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/the-true-story-of-being-the-ricardos\/"},"modified":"2021-11-04T14:16:29","modified_gmt":"2021-11-04T11:16:29","slug":"the-true-story-of-being-the-ricardos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-true-story-of-being-the-ricardos\/","title":{"rendered":"#The True Story of Being the Ricardos"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3f9b27be8f0\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a3f9b27be8f0\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-true-story-of-being-the-ricardos\/#The_Cultural_Taboo_of_I_Love_Lucy\" >The Cultural Taboo of I Love Lucy<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-true-story-of-being-the-ricardos\/#A_Tumultuous_Marriage\" >A Tumultuous Marriage<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-true-story-of-being-the-ricardos\/#A_Political_Smear_Against_Lucille_Ball\" >A Political Smear Against Lucille Ball<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/the-true-story-of-being-the-ricardos\/#How_the_Arnaz_Family_Has_Responded\" >How the Arnaz Family Has Responded<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<p>&#8220;<strong>#The True Story of Being the Ricardos<\/strong>&#8221;<\/p>\n<pre><code>     &lt;span class=\"mx-1\"&gt;Aaron Sorkin\u2019s latest movie tells the story of two TV icons: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.&lt;\/span&gt;\n&lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div id=\"\"&gt;&lt;figure class=\"sf-entry-featured-<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">media<\/a> \"&gt;&lt;img width=\"800\" height=\"343\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Being-the-Ricardos.jpeg\" class=\"articlethumb wp-post-image\" alt=\"Being The Ricardos\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Being-the-Ricardos.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Being-the-Ricardos-768x329.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/&gt;&lt;p&gt;\n                    &lt;span class=\"sf-entry-flag sf-entry-flag-creditline\"&gt;Amazon Studios&lt;\/span&gt;\n\n                        &lt;\/figure&gt;&lt;!-- START BYLINE --&gt;&lt;div class=\"row align-items-center justify-content-center my-4 text-center medium dark-gray\"&gt;\n        By\u00a0Will DiGravio\u00a0\u00b7 Published on November 4th, 2021 \n        &lt;\/div&gt;\n    &lt;!-- END BYLINE --&gt;\n\n    &lt;em&gt;Real Stories is an ongoing column about the true stories behind <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/watch-movies-tv-seriess\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"8\" title=\"Watch Movies &amp; TV Series\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">movies<\/a> and TV shows. It\u2019s that simple. This installment focuses on the true story behind the biopic Being the Ricardos.\u00a0&lt;\/em&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<hr\/>\n<p>No list of the greatest American television shows could be complete without <em>I Love Lucy.\u00a0<\/em>The famed sitcom starred real-life married couple <strong>Lucille Ball<\/strong> and <strong>Desi Arnaz\u00a0<\/strong>as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo and provided a template for countless series that followed in its wake.<\/p>\n<p><em>I Love Lucy\u00a0<\/em>first aired in October 1951 and lasted six seasons. The show featured many of television\u2019s firsts: the first ensemble cast, one of the first holiday specials,\u00a0 the first millionaire TV stars, one of the first shows to film in Los Angeles, the first sitcom to reach #1 in the Nielsen ratings, and more.<\/p>\n<p>The true story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz\u2019s marriage and collaboration on <em>I Love Lucy\u00a0<\/em>is now the subject of <em><strong>Being the Ricardos<\/strong><\/em>, a movie that takes place over one tumultuous week in 1952. As the tagline explains, the duo is \u201cthreatened by shocking personal accusations, a political smear, and cultural taboos.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Written and directed by <strong>Aaron<\/strong> <strong>Sorkin <\/strong>(<em>The Trial of the Chicago 7<\/em>) for Amazon Studios, the biopic stars <strong>Nicole Kidman<\/strong> and <strong>Javier Bardem<\/strong> as the famous couple. And as usual with the genre, the authenticity of events portrayed on screen has been scrutinized.<\/p>\n<p>While no single article or movie could fully capture the lives of these two TV icons, here is a glimpse into the true stories behind <em>Being the Ricardos<\/em>:<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"The_Cultural_Taboo_of_I_Love_Lucy\"><\/span>The Cultural Taboo of I Love Lucy<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Born Desiderio Alberto Arnaz y de Acha III, Desi Arnaz and his family fled to Miami after the Cuban Revolution of 1933. He met Lucille Ball in 1940 while filming an adaptation of the popular musical <em>Too Many Girls<\/em>. Before eventually eloping that same year, the couple, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/person\/5686%7C37992\/Desi-Arnaz\/#biography\">according to TCM<\/a>, \u201cdated tumultuously on and off for several months, driving their friends crazy with the passionate ups-and-downs of it all.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Throughout the 1930s and 1940s, Ball worked primarily as a model and movie actress. She also resonated with audiences as a radio performer, alongside broadcast icons of the era like Bob Hope. But with little success on the big screen, she opted to \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/person\/8873%7C102009\/Lucille-Ball\/#biography\">reinvent herself<\/a>\u201d for television, then a medium still in its infancy. Executives at CBS asked Ball to essentially adapt her radio persona into a sitcom. Her one condition? That her husband be cast alongside her.<\/p>\n<p>The suits at CBS were hesitant, but not because of Arnaz\u2019s talent. He had also found success as a radio performer and even had a couple of hits as a singer. They resisted because they were unsure how audiences would receive an interracial couple. Or, as TCM puts it, \u201cthe network scoffed at the onscreen believability of a W.A.S.P.Y. redhead being married to a Latin bandleader who could barely speak discernible English.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arnaz faced similar discrimination throughout his career. As Ball told Barbara Walters years later (<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/transcripts\/959609533\">via NPR<\/a>):<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cI knew what he had suffered, really, and how he did not deserve that. And just because he was Cuban and once a bongo player did not warrant calling him any of those names. And he worked very hard and got a lot of respect for what he did, and they forgot about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Tumultuous_Marriage\"><\/span>A Tumultuous Marriage<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>To counter the concerns of the CBS executives, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz embarked on a vaudeville-style road tour under the banner of their new company, Desilu Productions. According to TCM, the tour proved both their <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>eal to the masses, and their ability to work together. They proved the executives wrong and gave birth to a groundbreaking sitcom. But the honeymoon phase of their success did not last long.<\/p>\n<p>As the show grew in popularity, so too did the stresses of their success. At one point, Desilu Productions became the largest independent production company in the United States. Their personal lives and the show increasingly became one. When Ball became pregnant with their second child, Desi Arnaz Jr. in 1952, it became a plotline. Ball became the first woman to appear pregnant on television. The <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/lucy-desi.com\/i-love-lucy-history\/fast-facts\/\">censors mandated<\/a> that she be described as \u201cexpecting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The added stress of the show, plus building and maintaining a business and enduring an intense touring schedule of his own, weighed on Arnaz. Rumors and \u201cdalliances with women and alcohol,\u201d as TCM puts it, began to have an effect on their marriage. The couple divorced in 1960.<\/p>\n<p>Ball eventually purchased Arnaz\u2019s shares in the company, and thus became the first woman to own and head her own television production company. The two remained close for the rest of their lives, however. When Arnaz died in 1986, the headline of an <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/0c87c40063c1e653618e845ba0a1c4f2\">AP report<\/a> from his funeral simply read, \u201cLucille Ball Weeps at Arnaz Funeral.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"A_Political_Smear_Against_Lucille_Ball\"><\/span>A Political Smear Against Lucille Ball<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>While it is not yet clear what the true \u201cpolitical smear\u201d story is that Lucy and Desi endure in <em>Being the Ricardos<\/em>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/movies\/nicole-kidman-javier-bardem-lucille-ball-desi-arnaz-aaron-sorkin\/\"><em>Entertainment Weekly <\/em>speculates<\/a> that phrase from the tagline refers to a famous incident when Ball was accused of being a communist. In 1953, she became one of the celebrities targeted by the US House of Representatives through the House Un-American Activities Committee during the so-called \u201cRed Scare.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The committee learned that Ball, in 1936, registered as a member of the Communist Party. She simply told the committee that she had registered at the insistence of her grandfather, a self-described socialist. The committee, and the public, accepted her reason. As TCM notes, Ball became \u201cone of the few accused to emerge unscathed.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After the accusations, Arnaz <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/buffalonews.com\/news\/lucille-ball-a-life-in-public-and-a-life-apart\/article_15ecafe6-d98f-5800-99b2-d0008ae8a61b.html\">told an audience<\/a> before a live taping of their show, \u201cThe only thing red about this lady is her hair, and we\u2019re not even sure about that!\u201d<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_the_Arnaz_Family_Has_Responded\"><\/span>How the Arnaz Family Has Responded<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Both of Lucy and Desi\u2019s children, <strong>Lucie Arnaz<\/strong> and <strong>Desi Arnaz Jr.<\/strong>, have executive producer credits on Sorkin\u2019s movie. In <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.palmspringslife.com\/lucille-ball\/\">an interview with <em>Palm Springs Life<\/em><\/a>, Lucie lightly criticizes the truthfulness of <em>Being the Ricardos<\/em>. She says:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cThere are certain scenes that I wished hadn\u2019t been in the feature film. I couldn\u2019t get my way and have them taken out, but they weren\u2019t accurate. And I thought, \u2018That shouldn\u2019t be in there, because that never happened. That\u2019s not true.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But in the same interview, Lucie also praises Sorkin\u2019s work:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cHe\u2019s taking some theatrical license and sort of cramming a couple of true events that did happen, they just didn\u2019t happen at the same time. But you do learn a lot about what it was like back then. His dialogue is always incredible. And I think he treated my mother and my father really well.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><em>Being the Ricardos hits theaters on December 10, 2021, and will be available to stream on Prime Video from December 21, 2021.<\/em><\/p>\n<pre><code>    &lt;!-- AUTHOR BOX --&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<div class=\"gray-bg p-4 border small mb-5\">\n<div class=\"row align-items-center text-md-center\">\n<div class=\"col-md-2\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/will.jpg\" class=\"circle img-fluid\" width=\"100px\" height=\"100px\"\/><\/div>\n<p>            Will DiGravio began writing for Film School Rejects in 2018. He also hosts The Video Essay Podcast and owns a TV.\n    <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<pre><code>    &lt;!-- START RECOMMENDED READING 1 --&gt;\n                            &lt;!-- END RECOMMENDED READING --&gt;\n\n\n\n\n&lt;\/div&gt;\n<\/code><\/pre>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/social-media\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Social Media category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/being-the-ricardos-true-story\/#utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=being-the-ricardos-true-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;#The True Story of Being the Ricardos&#8221; &lt;span class=&#8221;mx-1&#8243;&gt;Aaron Sorkin\u2019s latest movie tells the story of two TV icons: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz.&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/p&gt;&lt;div id=&#8221;&#8221;&gt;&lt;figure class=&#8221;sf-entry-featured-media &#8220;&gt;&lt;img width=&#8221;800&#8243; height=&#8221;343&#8243; src=&#8221;https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Being-the-Ricardos.jpeg&#8221; class=&#8221;articlethumb wp-post-image&#8221; alt=&#8221;Being The Ricardos&#8221; loading=&#8221;lazy&#8221; srcset=&#8221;https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Being-the-Ricardos.jpeg 800w, https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Being-the-Ricardos-768&#215;329.jpeg 768w&#8221; sizes=&#8221;(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px&#8221;\/&gt;&lt;p&gt; &lt;span class=&#8221;sf-entry-flag sf-entry-flag-creditline&#8221;&gt;Amazon Studios&lt;\/span&gt; &lt;\/figure&gt;&lt;!&#8211; START BYLINE &#8211;&gt;&lt;div class=&#8221;row align-items-center&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":362793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/filmschoolrejects.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/Being-the-Ricardos.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-362792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social-mediaa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/362793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}