How Desi Arnaz finally gets his due in ‘The Man Who Invented Television’

How Desi Arnaz finally gets his due in ‘The Man Who Invented Television’

Like just about everyone who grew up at a time when a few networks decided what Americans watched on their television sets, author Todd S. Purdum knew all of the antics of Lucy and Ricky Ricardo, the characters played  by Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, on the ’50s sitcom “I Love Lucy.” “It was unavoidable in syndication,” says Purdum, 65, on a recent video call. Though he’s too young to have seen its original run, “I Love Lucy” always seemed to be…