Amy Arnaz passed away at the age of 63 due to brain cancer, putting an abrupt end to her and Desi Arnaz Jr.’s marriage of 28 years. The former naughty boy child star was highly encouraging to his wife in her pursuit of a profession in dancing, and the couple purchased an old theater together.

Students had such a profound affection and admiration for Amy Arnaz that some of them would curtsy everytime they saw her, regardless of whether they were at the dance class, the market, or church. Her legacy lives on in folklore as that of a wise and kind lady.

The kids referred to the dancer as Miss Amy, and she was known for her refined demeanor, which was highlighted by her maxi skirts that were trimmed with a tight belt. It was unheard of for Lucille Ball’s daughter-in-law to go out of the home without wearing her trademark lipstick and sporting an emasculate quiff.

Amy Arnaz had a chance encounter with her future husband some years before the two of them began dating.

Amy Laura Bargiel, the dancer, was born on September 12th, 1951 in the city of Chicago, in the state of Illinois. She received her bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University and went on to study as a dancer at the San Diego Ballet Company under the direction of Dame Sonia Arova.

She spent the better part of a decade working with the Nevada Dance Theatre as a lead dancer, performing under the supervision of the choreographer Vassili Sulich. She is the mother of one daughter named Haley, who she had with her first husband, Gary Frederick Charf, whom she married in September 1975. On May 11, 1979, the court issued a divorce decree for the couple.

In the late 1970s or early 1980s, Amy met the man who would later become her husband when she was a student at New Life Foundation. New Life Foundation is a non-profit organization that provides self-development programs that combine the teachings of Vernon Howard. It wasn’t until a few years later that Desi, who was the organization’s spokeswoman, began dating the dancer.

On October 8, 1987, after dating for three years, the couple from the entertainment industry was married. One of the pastors of New Life Foundation, Guy Finley, officiated the ceremony. Lucille Ball, her husband Gary Morton, and Desi Arnaz’s sister Lucie were among the 150 guests that attended the celebration of the marriage. Lucille Ball is Desi’s mother.

Due to their packed schedules, the newlyweds were unable to go on their honeymoon immediately after their wedding. Amy was keeping herself busy with a full schedule of dancing lessons, while Desi traveled across the country giving presentations titled “success without stress” and collaborating with Finley on video projects.

In the same way as Haley did when her new stepfather adopted her, Amy changed her surname to that of her husband. After being married, the pair spent the first few years of their new life together dividing their time between Boulder City, Nevada, and Beverly Hills, California, before deciding to make Nevada their permanent home.

After she was married, Amy Arnaz didn’t give up the dancing that she loved so much.
The Arnaz couple purchased and remodeled the Historic Boulder Theatre, which thereafter became the home of the Boulder City Ballet Company, which she was instrumental in establishing. She had a lot of patience with her pupils and made sure they paid attention to every little detail when they were putting on a performance.

Awarded the “Spirit of Nevada Award” and acknowledged by the 109th Congress for her work with children in the Southern Nevada region, the dancer and novelist was honored for her work with the children in the community. Jayme Server, a former student of Miss Amy’s who went on to become a professional dancer at Disneyland, praised her for the manner in which she always made sure that everyone felt welcome at her classroom.

Together with her close friend Ellen Dickstein, Amy penned the “Little Haley Stories” trilogy, which is a collection of semi-autobiographical children’s novels about a blond ballerina with brown eyes. Every one of the tales was inspired by true incidents that occurred in her daughter Haley’s life.

The shows that were choreographed expressly for her pupils were based on “The Magic Tutu,” “Juliana Cuddles,” and “Clara’s Nutcracker,” which were all published as children’s novels.

Amy Eschner, Brynlee Campbell, and Lauren Cluver are all young students of the dance company, and they were the ones responsible for creating the cover art for the trilogy. The small volumes had photographs taken by Andy Cattoir that showed members of the Arnaz family as well as the corporation.

Haley Arnaz Became a Ballerina like Her Mom, Amy Arnaz

Amy wrote empathetically about her daughter’s experiences as she grew up in the dancing studio and her disappointment in not being cast as the young Clara in “The Nutcracker” in the third volume of her book series, which was released in 2011. The title of this book is “Clara’s Nutcracker.” On December 17, 1976, Haley came into the world.

In the staging of the Christmas classic that took place in December 2008, Haley played both the elder Clara and the Princess in the Land of Sweets. Her age at the time was 31. Romanian craftsmen individually priced each of their beaded garments at $400. In the staging of the performance that took place in 2006, she also danced a duet.

Desi Jr. was only 15 years old when his model girlfriend gave birth to his daughter, Desiree, who unfortunately passed away at an early age as a result of cancer. In March of 1991, Desiree was accompanied by her stepmother, stepsister, and father as they went to the opening of the “Lucy” exhibit, which was an homage to Lucille Ball.

Amy Arnaz lost her battle with brain cancer before to the passing of her husband.

On March 6, 2015, the people of Boulder City and former pupils filled the sky pink with balloons in remembrance of one of its most cherished residents, Amy Arnaz, who had gone away on January 23, 2015 due to brain cancer. Amy Arnaz had been diagnosed with the disease on January 23, 2015.

The author’s niece, who served as the impetus for the creation of her second book, “Juliana Cuddles,” said that the occasion was “jovial” and not in the least bit melancholy. She went on to explain that her aunt was someone who brought a lot of happiness into everyone’s lives, and that is why they were pleased to be there to celebrate her life and remember her.

The memorial service, which was held at Boulder City’s Bicentennial Park, was adorned with a banner measuring six feet in length and bearing the picture of Amy along with the inscription “Keep Dancing and Love.” Haley said: “It’s hard for me to comprehend how many people care about my mother and how many of them traveled to be here for her funeral. They traveled in from far and wide because of how lovely it is.”

Amy’s husband, who is Lucille Ball’s son, showed off a 20-minute video montage that he had worked on for the last two years. It had images of the family as well as recitals that Amy had created, and it was set to a variety of different musical styles.