Top 35 Desi Arnaz Quotes (2024 Update)

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

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

4. “If you don’t know what to do, don’t do anything.”

— Desi Arnaz

5. “I was an only child, but I did have a hell of a lot of cousins.”

— Desi Arnaz

6. “It’s really amazing that two people from such different backgrounds and geographical origins ever got together. That was perhaps part of the attraction.”

— Desi Arnaz

7. “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.”

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

10. “No one could ever argue with me about people in show business being kind of nice.”

— Desi Arnaz

11. “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.”

— Desi Arnaz

12. “In 1934 there were very few Cubans in Miami.”

— Desi Arnaz

13. “I don’t think anyone can tell you what it is that makes you a star.”

— Desi Arnaz

14. “When I get in the sun I get very tanned. You can’t tell me from the native fishermen in Hawaii or Mexico.”

— Desi Arnaz

15. “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.”

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

17. “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.”

— Desi Arnaz

18. “Mother came to New York to keep house for me.”

— Desi Arnaz

19. “It was easy for viewers to identify with our show. The characters were believable.”

— Desi Arnaz

20. “Real intellectuals like to escape once in a while from their world of intellect.”

— Desi Arnaz

21. “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.”

— Desi Arnaz

22. “The Spanish and Cuban people have the same kind of wakes the Irish do. They go on for two or three days and drink a lot of booze and eat a lot of food.”

— Desi Arnaz

23. “I learned a lot from Xavier Cugat.”

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

25. “I went to high school with Al Capone.”

— Desi Arnaz

26. “I was the only male of the Arnaz family in my generation.”

— Desi Arnaz

27. “I could have stayed home and been kept by my wife.”

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

30. “Drinking intensifies all your pressures and your needs.”

— Desi Arnaz

31. “I received my Greetings from Uncle Sam in May 1943. I applied for the Air Force.”

— Desi Arnaz

32. “The straw hat is the typical hat Cubans use. It’s cool and keeps the sun away from your face.”

— Desi Arnaz

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

— Desi Arnaz

34. “I didn’t know anything about acting, much less about acting in a comedy.”

— Desi Arnaz

35. “The custom of my grandfather’s day is still going strong in Latin America. American girls do not seem to understand it.”

— Desi Arnaz

Featured in: Strong Quotes