Desi Arnaz Jr. followed in the footsteps of his famous parents Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz by appearing in the realm of sitcoms. Desi Jr. made a guest spot as himself on the hit show “The Brady Bunch” during its run.
A bit of his parents’ fame followed him throughout his life. The actor was thrust into the limelight even before he was born. During the 1970s, Desi Jr. became a bit of a teen idol, especially among girls. Several fans had a crush on him including eldest daughter Marcia Brady from “The Brady Bunch.“
Marcia’s infatuation became a bit of a gag on the show. Desi Jr. had made several guest spots on other shows and also became a singer with the group Dino, Desi & Billy. They were very much a boy band back before boy bands were even really a thing. Much like One Direction or Backstreet Boys later drove young girls wild, Arnaz knew how to capture his fanbase’s attention. In the show, Marcia enjoyed the band and had the biggest crush.
But during the 1970 episode “The Possible Dream,” Desi Jr. made an appearance on the show to turn that crush into a reality. He guest-starred as himself, and he and Marcia even ended up smooching. So probably not the worst guest spot in the world.
Desi Arnaz Jr. Was Famous From Birth
Of course, the actor/singer became famous before he was even born due to his parents. Desi’s first brush with the sitcom world was when he was still in the womb. Lucille Ball discovered she was pregnant with her second child, and she fought to have the pregnancy wrote into the show.
Of course, Ball couldn’t say she was pregnant on the show due to censors at the time. But ever the creative, she worked it into the episode using euphemisms and typical hijinks. It was one of the first times that a real-life actor’s pregnancy affected the fictional character that she played. The character stayed pregnant for five episodes as did Ball.
In real life, the actor gave birth to Desi Jr. Meanwhile on the show, they introduced audiences for the first time to Little Ricky. Who can say their birth forever altered a popular sitcom?
