Desi Arnaz was a Cuban-born American actor, musician, and television producer.

He is best remembered for his role as Ricky Ricardo on the American television series sitcom I Love Lucy. He co-starred on that show with Lucille Ball, to whom he was married at the time.

He and Ball are generally credited as the inventors of the syndicated rerun, which they pioneered with the I Love Lucy series.

Arnaz and Ball cofounded and ran the television production company Desilu Productions, originally to market I Love Lucy to television networks. After I Love Lucy ended, Arnaz went on to produce several other television series, at first with Desilu Productions, and later independently; examples of which included The Ann Sothern Show and The Untouchables.

Desi Arnaz was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1991.