A GOLDEN flood has been touched off at the California home of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz by the arrival of little Desiderio Alberto Arnaz, IV.
Although both Lucy and Desi have announced publicly that the new baby will not be exploited-and Hollywood friends say they are absolutely sincere in this wish-the results just can't be helped.
The arrival of little Desi sent the popularity of their "I Love Lucy" show to an all-time high and opened the door to merchandising programs that well may dwarf their income from films and television.
The merchandising furore has New York and Hollywood experts referring to him admiringly as "Lucy's $50,000,000 Baby," because revenue from present commitments is expected to top that mark. And there are indications that the final total may be closer to a $100,000,000 figure.
It's an amazing total for a field in which Hopalong Cassidy promotions were considered a smashing success when they passed the $3,000,000-a-year mark.
Home is Still Quiet
The echoes of this campaign haven't reached the quiet home on a seven-acre estate in suburban Northridge, 30 miles from Hollywood in the fashionable San Fernando Valley, where Lucy and Desi live.
After the first rush of reporters and photographers, their lives and those of their children returned very nearly to normal. The first color photographs of the new baby, one of which was ob- tained by TV Guide and is reproduced in the current issue, made a gala occasion.
According to Ed Sedgwick, the baby's godfather, this air of normality is aided by the fact that little Desi is a model infant. Sedgwick, while an MGM director, discovered Lucille Ball and virtually has been a member of the family ever since.
"His nurse, Mrs. Hart, says Baby Desi is the most perfect infant to come under her care," Sedgwick relates. "He is very healthy and cries only for his bottle, and then usually for seconds." Weighing 8 pounds, 9 ounces at birth on January 19, the baby is growing rapidly. He's the special pet of his baby sister, Desiree Lucie.
Own Wing
Neither Lucy nor Desi want fame to interfere with their children's lives. The two Arnaz youngsters have their own nursery wing with a separate patio adjoining the main house. Their rooms and the rooms and baths of Desi's nurse and Lucie's governess are there.
The nursery is a sea of toys, many of them the gifts of television viewers, who sent 10,000 letters and 500 pack- ages in the first few days after little Desi's birth.
Lucy and Desi spend as much time with the children as possible, including 6:30 A.M. breakfast times. This is in spite of their busy schedule of rehearsing, filming and editing the I Love Lucy program.
"There's no point in having children, if you can't be with them," Lucy says. "They are wonderful to watch. They change so fast."
The show schedule starts with first reading of the script on Tuesday. On Wednesday, lighting is arranged. Camera rehearsals on Thursday lead up to the dress rehearsal Thursday night. Network officials and writers sit in on this trial run.
The actual show is filmed Friday night before a live audience with three cameras rolling up 9000 feet of film. This footage then is edited down to the 2639 feet used in the telecast.
Beyond that, it's an effort to give the children the security of parental care. Both children will be brought up to speak Spanish and English. Desi, Sr., already has dreams of sending his new son to law school, probably to Notre Dame. But both Lucy and Desi are now concerned more with the intervening years.
This is why they want to shield little Desi from the effects of too much publicity. It's the reason Desi, Sr., said the baby would not be exploited "in any way except to help other children less fortunate."
For this reason, baby promotions are centered around the fictional baby, Ricky, Jr., the child of the characters played by Lucy and Desi on the tele- vision show. The newest doll introduced is "Ricky, Jr.," to follow up the Christmas success of the I Love Lucy doll.
Yet the new baby, by spurring interest in the television show, has created a multi-million-dollar market for "I Love Lucy" articles. A "Lucy" bedroom suite was introduced in January and the second million of these sets is now being manufactured. It's being fol- lowed by a "Lucy" living room suite, modeled on the TV furniture.
Everything Under Sun
Other promotions include everything from "Lucy" sweaters, lingerie and dresses to "Desi" dressing gowns. There are nursery sets, baby layettes, toys and games, including a three-dimensional book to be viewed through polaroid glasses.
Little known to the public, the key man in the multi-million-dollar I Love Lucy merchandising is A. E. Hamilton, tall, heavy-set, smartly-tailored head of the New York office of Desilu Productions, Inc.
His comparatively small office, consisting of a conference room and a desk for a receptionist, is in the Fred F. French building at 551 Fifth Ave. From these quarters, Hamilton handles the royalty arrangements on promotions which will reach into every corner of the country.
The I Love Lucy comic strip is appearing in 132 newspapers. Desi's song "Brand New Baby" is climbing in popularity. Film contracts have been signed for a new movie, plus a release made up by combining three of the TV film shows.
Then there's the new $8,000,000 contract signed with Philip Morris & Co., Ltd., Inc., sponsor of the I Love Lucy show and CBS Television, about half of which covers the cost of air time.
It's all a part of a golden flood which follows the birth of little Desi. But both Lucy and Desi have known hard times during their climb to success.
Lucille had disappointments as a Broadway show girl and movie bit player before she clicked in "Roberta." Desi was the son of a wealthy Cuban family whose fortune was swept away in the 1933 Revolution when they fled to Florida.
Money or no money, they want little Desi to grow up able to stand on his own two feet.
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