Desi Arnaz Quotes

Nobody bats 500. We all make mistakes.

The success of I Love Lucy is something that happens only once in a lifetime, if you are fortunate enough to have it happen at all.

Since I was very young I have always worked hard at whatever I have had to do.

I had started calling her Lucy shortly after we met; I didn`t like the name Lucille. That`s how our television show was called I Love Lucy, not Lucille.

The thing I remember about New York was how little I felt. I arrived with one small bag and $15.

An audience is so important. I would never have had the guts to dub in that big a laugh.

At times we were criticized for doing too much slapstick. I don`t believe in mild comedy, and neither does Lucy.

I Love Lucy (1951) was never just a title!

Making a television show is not like making Coca-Cola or Bacardi rum. The human element in our business prevents us from finding a successful formula every time.

The way the Army does things is sometimes a little strange.

I learned a lot in those first years in Miami, while struggling just for survival, by observing my father`s fortitude.

When we got married, nobody gave it more than two weeks. There were bets all over the country, with astronomical odds against us.

One of my biggest problems with comedy was that I did not understand some of the jokes.

Drinking intensifies all your pressures and your needs.

Lucy and I would love furiously and fight furiously.

Joe McCarthy and his Senate hearings were like witch-hunts.

Motion-picture studio floors used to be all wooden and not smooth at all. This was difficult when moving a camera around on a dolly.

I don`t think anyone can tell you what it is that makes you a star.

If you don`t know what to do, don`t do anything.

Failure is the most terrible thing in our business. When we fail, the whole world knows about it.

A single prop that does not look real to an audience can louse you up. The same is true of the smallest flaw in setting up the motivation in a story line.

I learned a lot from Xavier Cugat.

I went to high school with Al Capone.

Al Jolson was one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived.

Everyone seemed to be doing well except me and my career. And my accent was no helping me any.

American people have the ability to laugh at themselves. It is one of the things that makes this country the great country that it is.

Good things do not come easy. The road is lined with pitfalls.

My Latin temper blows up pretty fast, but it goes down just as fast. Maybe that`s why you seldom hear of ulcers in Latin America.

(after wife Lucille Ball was accused of being a Communist) The only thing red about her is her hair, and that isn`t even real.

An actor who is good at comedy can also be very good at drama, but not necessarily vice versa.

Lucy is such a perfectionist.