Edith Mack Hirsch spent more than two decades married to one of television’s most famous entertainers, yet she never became a familiar face on screen. Her husband, Desi Arnaz, had already made history with I Love Lucy when they married in 1963. By then, Edith had lived through a marriage of her own, experienced life among successful California business families, and developed an interest in horse racing. She was not someone who needed a Hollywood career to give her life meaning.
Born on April 15, 1917, Edith lived until March 23, 1985. Much of what people know about her comes from her two marriages, but those relationships tell only part of her story. She belonged to a generation that valued family connections and personal privacy. Even after marrying a television legend, she continued living largely outside the entertainment press.
Quick Bio
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Edith Mack Hirsch |
| Birth Name | Edith Mack McSkimming |
| Date of Birth | April 15, 1917 |
| Birthplace | Illinois, United States |
| Nationality | American |
| Known For | Second wife of Desi Arnaz |
| First Husband | Clement L. Hirsch |
| Second Husband | Desi Arnaz |
| Marriage Date | March 2, 1963 |
| Children | No children with Desi Arnaz |
| Stepchildren | Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr. |
| Personal Interests | Thoroughbred horse racing |
| Date of Death | March 23, 1985 |
| Age at Death | 67 years |
Where Edith Mack Hirsch’s Story Began
Edith was born Edith Mack McSkimming in Illinois, long before television became part of everyday American life. Her childhood took place during a period of enormous change in the United States. She was still young when the Great Depression affected families across the country, and she reached adulthood before the Second World War ended.
Few records describing her childhood have appeared in public biographies. The names of her parents, the schools she attended, and details about her early ambitions have not been widely documented. This makes her younger years difficult to describe with certainty. What can be traced more clearly is her adult life in California, where she eventually became connected to business owners and people involved in thoroughbred racing.
Her Life Before Meeting Desi Arnaz
Long before her name appeared alongside Desi Arnaz, Edith was married to Clement L. Hirsch, an American businessman known for his success in the pet food industry. Clement founded the company that became Kal Kan, a familiar brand in American pet food manufacturing. His business career gave him the opportunity to pursue another interest that would become an important part of his life: horse racing.
Edith’s marriage to Clement placed her within a social circle quite different from Hollywood’s film studios. Business gatherings and racing events were part of that world. Their marriage eventually ended, and Clement later remained a prominent figure in the California racing community. Although the details of Edith’s daily life during this period are limited, her connection to the sport continued to be mentioned in accounts of her life.
Why Horse Racing Was Important to Her
Horse racing was more than an occasional social event in the circles Edith knew. Southern California had a well-established racing culture, with owners, trainers, and spectators gathering at tracks throughout the season. The sport also attracted successful businesspeople and recognizable entertainment personalities.
Edith developed an interest in thoroughbred racing through her association with this community. She was familiar with a world where horses were carefully bred, trained, and prepared for competition. However, detailed records of her own racing activities are scarce, so it would be misleading to describe her as a professional trainer or prominent horse owner without stronger evidence.
Her interest in racing helps explain one part of the life she later shared with Arnaz. He also enjoyed horses, and their years in Southern California gave them a connection to the same sporting environment.
How Desi Arnaz Entered Her Life
By the early 1960s, Desi Arnaz had experienced a level of fame few entertainers could match. Working alongside Lucille Ball, he helped turn I Love Lucy into one of America’s most successful television programs. Their production company, Desilu, also played an important role in the development of television entertainment.
But behind that professional success, his first marriage had come to an end. Arnaz and Ball divorced in 1960 after nearly twenty years together. Edith became part of his life during the years that followed.
Accounts of their relationship suggest they knew each other through overlapping social circles. The precise circumstances of their first meeting, however, are not consistently recorded. By 1963, the relationship had become serious enough for them to marry.
A Wedding in Las Vegas
On March 2, 1963, Edith Mack Hirsch married Desi Arnaz in Las Vegas, Nevada. The wedding took place at the Sands Hotel, a well-known entertainment destination during that period. The date also happened to be Arnaz’s 46th birthday.
The marriage drew attention because the public still strongly associated Arnaz with Lucille Ball. Their characters on television had been so popular that many viewers continued thinking of them as a couple, even after the real marriage ended.
Edith was 45 when she married Arnaz. Both had previous marriages behind them, and they were beginning another stage of their adult lives. For Edith, the wedding introduced a level of public recognition that she had not previously experienced on the same scale.
What Their Marriage Was Like
Edith and Desi remained married for approximately 22 years. Their relationship belonged to a later period of Arnaz’s life, when his daily responsibilities were no longer centered on producing new episodes of I Love Lucy.
He had already spent years working under the pressure of television production, performing, managing business operations, and dealing with public attention. During his marriage to Edith, he continued taking part in entertainment projects, but his career followed a different pace from the years when he and Ball were running Desilu together.
Edith was present through this stage of his life. Much of their marriage was conducted privately, so there are fewer firsthand public accounts of their routines than there are of Arnaz’s earlier celebrity relationships.
Their Home in Del Mar, California
The couple spent much of their married life around Del Mar, a coastal community in San Diego County. The area was known for its beaches, residential neighborhoods, and popular racetrack. It offered a setting quite different from the Hollywood studios where Arnaz had spent many of his busiest years.
Arnaz had a strong interest in horses and enjoyed the Southern California lifestyle. Living near Del Mar allowed him to remain close to the racing culture that mattered to him.
Edith’s earlier connection to thoroughbred racing made this setting a familiar one. Although little has been published about her daily schedule, Del Mar remained closely associated with the couple during their years together.
Becoming Part of the Arnaz Family
Marriage to Desi also brought Edith into a family that American television viewers knew remarkably well. Arnaz had two children with Lucille Ball: Lucie Arnaz, born in 1951, and Desi Arnaz Jr., born in 1953.
Edith became their stepmother after marrying Desi. The children were still young when the wedding took place, and both were growing up with the attention that came from having famous parents.
Not much has been publicly documented about Edith’s individual relationships with Lucie and Desi Jr. It is therefore difficult to describe the private family dynamics in detail. What is known is that she remained married to their father throughout much of their adolescence and adult lives.
Edith Mack Hirsch and Lucille Ball
Lucille Ball was already a television icon when Edith married Arnaz. Her career remained active after their divorce, and she continued building her own place in the entertainment industry.
Ball and Arnaz had shared considerable professional achievements, as well as the responsibility of raising their children. Those connections did not disappear when they remarried other people.
Edith’s position in this family was different from Ball’s. She was not a television performer and did not have the same public responsibilities. While fans naturally became curious about the woman Arnaz married after Ball, Edith did not turn that curiosity into an entertainment career.
It is important not to invent rivalries or friendships between the two women. The available public information does not provide a complete picture of their private relationship.
Why Edith Rarely Appeared in the Spotlight
One reason Edith Mack Hirsch remains difficult to research is the limited amount of information she left in the public record. She did not become known for starring in films, presenting television programs, or giving frequent interviews.
Most references to her appear in connection with Arnaz, Clement Hirsch, or the horse racing community. There are few extended interviews in which she explains her own views or tells her life story.
That absence sometimes leads to exaggerated claims about her personality. Rather than assuming what she thought or felt, it is more accurate to recognize that many parts of her life were never publicly recorded. She was connected to famous people without developing a public identity comparable to theirs.
Her Final Years and Death
Edith Mack Hirsch died on March 23, 1985, shortly before her 68th birthday. She was 67 years old. Her death has generally been attributed to cancer, although detailed medical information has not been widely published.
Her marriage to Desi had lasted from March 1963 until her death, making it a relationship of just over twenty-two years. It was considerably longer than many people realize when they first read about Arnaz’s life after I Love Lucy.
Desi Arnaz died the following year, on December 2, 1986, at the age of 69. His death from lung cancer came less than two years after Edith’s passing.
Their final years remain part of the broader story of Arnaz’s life outside the television series that made him famous.
What Edith Mack Hirsch Is Remembered For
Edith’s name continues to appear in biographies of Desi Arnaz and accounts of the people connected to classic American television. Readers often discover her while researching Arnaz’s second marriage or looking into what happened after his divorce from Lucille Ball.
There was more to her background than a famous husband. Her first marriage connected her to a successful American business family, and her interest in horse racing placed her within a recognizable part of California social life.
At the same time, the limited public record means that her story should be told carefully. Her personal choices, family experiences, and life away from public events deserve more than unsupported guesses.
Conclusion
Edith Mack Hirsch lived through two very different marriages and became connected to both the business and entertainment worlds of California. Her first husband, Clement L. Hirsch, was successful in business and horse racing. Her second husband, Desi Arnaz, helped change American television forever.
Yet Edith herself remained a comparatively private figure. Her marriage to Arnaz lasted more than two decades, ending with her death in March 1985. Although many personal details remain unknown, the documented parts of her life show a woman whose history began long before she became associated with a Hollywood legend.
(FAQs)
Who was Edith Mack Hirsch?
Edith Mack Hirsch was an American woman born on April 15, 1917. She is best known as the second wife of Desi Arnaz, the actor and television producer famous for I Love Lucy.
Who was Edith Mack Hirsch married to before Desi Arnaz?
Her first husband was Clement L. Hirsch, a businessman associated with Kal Kan pet food and thoroughbred horse racing. Their marriage ended before Edith married Arnaz.
When did Edith Mack Hirsch and Desi Arnaz get married?
The couple married on March 2, 1963, at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas. Their wedding date was also Desi Arnaz’s 46th birthday.
Did Edith Mack Hirsch have children with Desi Arnaz?
Edith and Desi did not have children together. Through their marriage, she became the stepmother of Lucie Arnaz and Desi Arnaz Jr., his children with Lucille Ball.
How old was Edith Mack Hirsch when she died?
Edith was 67 years old when she died on March 23, 1985. Her death was reportedly caused by cancer, and she had been married to Desi Arnaz for approximately 22 years.
