Marco Rizo(1915-1998)

Marco Rizo is best remembered as musical director for the popular television show I Love Lucy (1951) during its lengthy run from 1951 to 1957. He famously co-wrote the jaunty theme song. Marco was born in 1920 in Santiago, Cuba. He was immersed in music from early childhood. His father, chief flutist with the Santiago Symphony Orchestra (simultaneously, also the front man for a popular jazz band) took his son under a rigorous training regime in classical music, Latin and jazz. By the age of sixteen, Marco had become Cuba's foremost concert pianist, on occasion performing in tandem with established musicians like Ernesto Lecuona. In 1940, he was awarded a scholarship at Juilliard and moved to the United States.

After two years of wartime service as a member of the 2nd Army Military Band (which effectively dispensed with his piano-playing talents), Marco was offered the chance to join the popular Afro-Cuban dance orchestra of his childhood friend Desi Arnaz. Until 1950, he accompanied the group on its nationwide tour in his capacity as pianist and orchestrator. During his subsequent work on "I Love Lucy" he resumed his musical studies at UCLA under the tutelage of Igor Stravinsky and Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco. This was very much in keeping with his natural preference for classical music. At this time, he also began turning out arrangements for performers ranging from Carmen Miranda and Xavier Cugat to Yma Sumac, as well as scoring feature films for Columbia, MGM and Paramount. From 1960, he held positions as orchestrator for CBS and for the Royal Viking Line of cruise ships, as well as pursuing a successful solo career giving piano recitals and recording some thirty albums of Cuban classical music (18th to 20th century) and featuring his own compositions like "Danzas Cubanas" and "Suite Campesina". In the 80's, he established a foundation -- the SouthAmerican Music Project -- dedicated to educating children in Latin music,