Desi Arnaz: The Man Who Invented Television

"Some I Love Lucy fans may have seen Cuban-born Desi Arnaz as little more than husband and co-star to comedy legend Lucille Ball on their groundbreaking 1950s-era sitcom. But Todd S. Purdum digs deep to detail how the son of Cuban aristocracy fled to America and fought racism to help redefine the shape of modern TV. As co-founder of Desilu Productions, he helped pioneer shooting I Love Lucy episodes with three cameras on film – making rebroadcast “reruns” of TV shows possible – building a studio that eventually made series like Mission: Impossible and Star Trek. It’s a detailed and compelling look at an ace performer who became the first Latino star and first Latino executive in American TV."