The Genesis of “Cuban Pete” (of “The Mask” Fame)

In an email with a young TMV reader, we discussed my favorite musical comedy bit in a movie: Jim Carey doing “Cuban Pete” in The Mask. This readers was unaware of the fascinating gensis of this number.

It was first made famous in the early 1950s by Desi Arnaz singing it on “I Love Lucy.” Here’s the segment:

In the mid-70s, Arnaz, now elderly and largely retired, appeared on Saturday Live and did it again — and got big applause from a young audience. He had not lost his pizazz (turn up sound):

I worked as a staff reporter on the San Diego Union from January 1982 through January 1990. Arnaz lived in Del Mar and was one of the most beloved people in the San Diego area. There were always stories about this “real” person who used to call up the paper’s TV critic and say that someone needed to do a column on the role of his band in “I Love Lucy.” (He was very protective of his band).

Carey later did this screamingly hilarious version of “Cuban Pete” in the classic comedy “The Mask” doing a parody of Arnaz’s number:

But MY FAVORITE rendition of Cuban Pete is by this young lip syncher on You Tube:

But never forget the guy who did the original. And here he is singing the show’s theme in a segment (the show was of my parent’s generation).