Ricky Ricardo
ICONIC EPISODES: LUCY & RICKY RICARDO WERE TV’S FIRST INTER-RACIAL COUPLE
Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz, Sr.) royal-blue polka-dot smoking jacket (top left) from seasons 1 & 2 of I Love Lucy; and a 1953 corresponding letter from Mr. Arnaz (not pictured) stating the jacket was a prize in a contest; a Desi Arnaz, Sr. acoustic guitar (bottom left) similar in style to a 1940s Gibson LG-1 flat-top with tobacco sunburst finish with no visible manufacture marks likely custom made for the artist. Smoking jacket acquired from the James R. Puckett estate, the guitar from Desi Arnaz, Sr.
Desi Arnaz , Sr .
CURATOR’S NOTE: “The Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz, Sr.) smoking jacket was worn during seasons 1 & 2 in five episodes of I Love Lucy. Program sponsor Phillip Morris Cigarettes would later o ff er it as a prize to the salesman who sold the most cigarettes during their 1952 Christmas Sales Contest. I acquired it from the daughter of contest winner James R. Puckett and was floored that the original Desi Arnaz congratulations letter was still kept with the jacket. The straw boater hat was first worn by real-life bandleader and singer Desi Arnaz, Sr., who the Ricky Ricardo character was based upon. Having had a hit with The Straw Hat Song, it quickly became his signature piece of wardrobe during live performances, and it was also famously worn in the I Love Lucy season 1 episode “The Diet”, when Lucy (Lucille Ball) and Ricky sing the ‘Cuban Pete-Sally Sweet’ number. - James Comisar
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