Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz for the March of Dimes 

....Desi Arnaz never reallyngets the credit he deserves as a trailblazer & innovator and lucille Ball was so honest-to-god beautiful....

How precious that Desi Jr. was shy when Lucy encouraged him to speak, but when his Papa talked to him, he became a little chatterbox! I've read in several different sources that the Arnaz children adored their father, while their mother was a little bit distant when they were very young.

Our organization has a huge archival library from the "polio era". This was one of the Public Service Announcements created during that time.

Ive never heard Lucy talk so proper and professional. Im so used to her being upbeat.

This was a great clip. I have always liked seeing celebrities plug worthy causes as this one was (polio). I have read Lucille Ball was only comedic in her roles, but a very serious businesswoman in real life, and Desi was certainly an innovator and businessman as he proved with his ideas/input for the I Love Lucy shows. The kids are adorable. Also read Lucy was crazy about her kids. I also felt though the marriage was ended, they still loved each other. Very nice clip-thanks for sharing it.

I was one of the first American kids to get the Salk polio vaccine.

aw i luv seeing them together like this! sucha beautiful family! and you can see the love they had for eachother, even until the day they died!

Thank you Desi & Lucy for so many beautiful laughter and joy you brought to everyone...

aw thats so sweet! and what a beautiful family!

Probably the greatest TV couple because they really were one.

Good material about to the Polio Era in the 50's. Greetings from Chile

Lucy and Desi had genuinely high regard for each other, so it is likely the love they show here is quite real. It is worth noting that this mutual respect lasted well past the break up of the marriage and into later life.

In several biographies and documentaries and things her own family and friends have said that she was a serious woman in real life and that Desi was the more charismatic and outwardly funnier one off screen. The writers of the show have said that she didn't know what was funny in context but after she would rehearse it a lot she would be completely hilarious. In interviews she always seemed very serious too. Either way they were both brilliant people. There will never be another Lucy and Desi :)

In 1952 and 1953, the US experienced an outbreak of 58,000 and 35,000 polio cases respectively. The first effective vaccine was developed by Jonas Salk in 1952. The 1954 study mentioned in the video eventually involved 1.8 million children in 44 states. The results were announced on April 12, 1955. The Salk vaccine was over 90% effective against poliovirus type 2 and type 3. By 1957 the number of polio cases fell to 5,600 and by 1961 only 161 cases were recorded in the United States.

I love this. Such a gem... And so lovely to see them all together like this for a worthy cause.

It just shows again how far medical science has advanced. We tend to forget that just a hundred years ago, people lived in fear of so many infectious diseases. I never knew my uncles on my mother's side. Because they both died of diphtheria when they were very young children.

I glady took my polio vaccine as a little boy. Thanks for this commercial.

isn't it strange hearing Lucy call him Desi instead of Ricky?

They had such beautiful kids !!! and they were always so proud of them !

Wow! It's funny to see such an old commercial, especially with Lucille Ball. Funny how the first time the kids were asked to say "Hi". it didn't go so well (it was edited down).

What a lovely family s cene. Johnny Wisemuller, Who played Tarzan, in the 30s and 40s. Apparantly had, polio as a child. It is claimed, they put his legs in a barrel, and taught him how to swim. he later, became. 6 times olympic swimming champion. Thanks for posting. I love Lucy. LOL .

Love this

I remember the march of dimes collection boxes next to the cash register on every sales counter in my town in the 50's. I also remember my whole school lining up in the cafeteria to get the shots in 1956. I was in 3rd grade then. this happened annually for several years.

They had such beautiful kids !!!

so sweet :) their children were so adorable!!

I personall don't give a damn about the divorce because they still loved each other for the rest of their lives. And I really really hate it when people put all the blame of the divorce on Desi.

Trivia: Was the first woman to own her own film studio. She entered a dramatic school in New York, but while her classmate Bette Davis received all the raves, she was sent home. Married Desi Arnaz twice. Lucy was obsessed with the game of backgammon. She had a backgammon table in nearly every room of her home and several around the swimming pool in the backyard. Her favorite flowers were red and white carnations.

Whoa Desi thanked God.

I LOVE THEM.

A great way for people to contribute - the dime-in-the-slot card. I remember them well. Thanks for the clip of the the REAL "Ricardo" kids!

Two cousins of mine had polio. They both overcame it; one became a real estate agent; the other, a manager of a radio station. The radio station manager passed on about two years ago due to lymphoma.

Its funny how on the show you see them do commercial and it seems like a joke but it looks like thats just the way things were done.

I agree. They had beautiful children, but then again, Lucy was so pretty and Desi was a rather handsome man. It's not surprising that their children were good looking. They inherited good genes.

I had changed to a different department in the computer company I used to work for over 40 years ago. I'd always use Ricky's I dun't know when you asked me something I could not answer. It was heard on Saturday Night Live at one time, a coworker of mine was watching it and she thought of me

Be kind. Love one another

Lucie and Desi IV were so cute

Trivia: Gary Morton, Lucy's second husband, was often referred to as "Mr. Balls" or "the man who lights Lucy's cigarettes." When the Rolling Stones used an unflattering portrait of her in the gallery of women on the cover of their Some Girls album, Lucille Ball threatened to sue. Lucy often said that her deceased friend Carole Lombard kept turning up in her dreams to offer marvelous advice. Her mother wanted her to be a concert pianist.

omg their kids are adorable

This is great! Shared!

This is great. Is this the first (or at least one of the first) public service announcement?

happy memories, x

Are you tired, runned down and listless, do you poop out at parties? Then all need is a great BIG NEEDLE in our arm to stamp out your problem. Yes, with the polio vaccine, you can walk you way to health! LOL, I love this campy spot!

Desi Arnez Jr. grew up to VERY cute in his teenage wears (he was 16 in 1970 for THE LUCY SHOW, he played her son and she played her daughter)

love tht family so cute and loving(:

Totally agree with you :)

@DesiArnazDevotee i agree completely!

i read somewhere that lucy had polio.

yup but they had 20 years together married and about 20+ as friends

ROFL that was tooo funny, and yet tacky at the same time :)

No. she was married just two times. First to Desi and then to Gary Morton.

Smile. I am coming.

Aw this makes me sad. Desi ended up cheating on Lucille and they got a divorce and then they all eventually died. It was real sad, but The show is always going to be one of my favorites.

Desi Jr was such a bright kid from the very beginning, and Lucy was certainly not a very experienced mom ,for all her competence as an actress, she put her son down in such a clumsy way that one of his legs was stuck under him while mom ,not seeing this discomfort kept urging him to say "Hi" ,that the little fellow managed to get his leg out and remembered to say hi is a credit to him

LOL that was too funny yet tacky at the same time :)

I thought their t.v. son on I love Lucy was their real son Desi Arnaz Jr.??

well now we have a worse problem which is swine flu but the elderly are immune to swine flu unlike the youth o3o &&we have MORE DISEASES mostly cancer :( !

@BernardProfitendieu no i don't i think that swine flu is the worse i think cancer is actually :o but that's just MY opinion :P

i wonder y their daughter wasnt on da show

Because I love Desi more.

ok?

Desi the 4th... I thought he was jr

polio is gone thanks to jonas salk

Health and happiness #SalvationArmy ! ! not false tears for Washington money 😭😭 when the children are nutritional deprived. #Disney free sea salt #Brit #ny #Cc #toysfortots #Biker #Pta

Antivaxxers in 2022: "Deadly pandemics dont need advertisements"

Interesting to see immunization propaganda in the 50's. My children are in their early twenties, no vaccines. Immunizations are dangerous. By the way, I love Lucy and Desi.

Dingo ate your baby lopsided one sided affair

Imagine if anti-vaxxers existed in the 1950s

Lucy and Desiri used by the New World Order. With all due respect, they had no idea they were being used...

Lies💯😠