Cocktails on the Page 2026

Join the Palm Springs Public Library Foundation for their annual “Cocktails on the Page” fundraising event celebrating books and the Library with beloved entertainment icons and spouses Lucie Arnaz and Laurence (Larry) Luckinbill as our featured guests.

Enjoy a Sunday afternoon poolside in celebration of books and enjoy cocktails and light appetizers as you take in the views and experience this Movie Colony estate. Together, Lucie and Larry will be in conversation with our very own Foundation Board Member, Corey Roskin, as he talks with them about their books, their storied careers, and their love of libraries!

“Lucy & Desi: The Love Letters” is a stunning book that shares the untold love story of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, revealed through a treasure trove of handwritten letters. Now, for the first time, their daughter Lucie Arnaz has compiled the complete collection into a remarkable volume that reveals the romance of one of the most famous couples in history more intimately than anything that has ever been written about them. The book features reproductions complete with envelopes, stamps, postmarks, and Lucy and Desi’s own custom stationery, as well as other rare photos from the Arnaz family scrapbooks, This revelatory book looks at their complicated and captivating love story.

“Affective Memories: How Chance and the Theater Saved My Life” tells Larry’s own personal story, rising from family alcoholism and dysfunction, Through the book he takes us on an unforgettable journey from poverty, rejection, and sexual abuse to success on Broadway and in Hollywood. He writes candidly of his part in the social justice revolution of the original hit play and film The Boys in the Band, his roles in Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, Cocktail, and his TV series The Delphi Bureau. The book also shares more about his four-decade marriage to actress/singer Lucie Arnaz, his journalism, and his Great Americans plays. Through it all, he gains acceptance and forgiveness of his past, and peace and happiness for his future. This book is an inspiration!

Both books will be discussed at the event, with each attendee taking home a signed copy of each book.

Tickets are $175 and include a catered cocktail event, appearance of Lucie Arnaz and Laurence Luckinbill, and a copy of each of their books, with an estimated value of $75, therefore, $100 of each ticket is eligible for an income tax deduction.

About Lucie Arnaz

Lucie Arnaz is an award-winning actress and singer who made her television debut costarring on Here’s Lucy in the 1970s. Since then, she has had an acclaimed career in film and television as well as on the Broadway stage, with celebrated performances in shows such as The Jazz Singer, They’re Playing Our Song, and The Witches of Eastwick. In 1993 she produced the Emmy Award-winning documentary Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie. She continues to star in theatrical performances across the United States and Europe. Lucie has been married to actor-author Laurence Luckinbill for forty-five years, and together they have parented Lucy and Desi’s five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. www.LucieArnaz.com

About Laurence Luckinbill

Laurence Luckinbill has achieved extraordinary success as a stage, film and television actor, as a writer, a teacher, and as the founder & producer of a non-profit NY theatre company. He served as a cultural affairs director for the U.S. Department of State during the Kennedy Administration, as a producer for network television, and for his own multi-media production company which produced two CD-ROM products: Lucy & Desi: The Scrapbooks, Volume I; and How to Save Your Family History: A 10-Step Guide by Lucie Arnaz. Luckinbill has written a series of interactive multimedia stories for digital CD-ROM entitled Adventures in Hyperhistory, with the aim of engaging audiences in history’s human stories through the use of original dramatic video scenarios with continuing characters, combined with a unique hypertext research engine. He earned a B.A. in science and humanities from the University of Arkansas and an M.F.A. in playwriting from The Catholic University of America. As a journalist, he has contributed articles to Esquire, Cosmopolitan, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Burlington Record, and American Theatre Magazine, among others. Currently, Luckinbill appears around the world in his one person portrayals of Lyndon Johnson, Clarence Darrow, Teddy Roosevelt and Ernest Hemingway. He has had rave reviews nationwide for his powerful interpretations of these passionate Americans. He performed his plays at the 1997 inauguration Celebration in Washington, D.C., at the invitation of President Clinton.

Luckinbill, a native of Arkansas, is married to actress/singer Lucie Arnaz and is the father of five - Nick, Ben, Simon, Joe and Kate. www.laurenceluckinbill.com

About the Palm Springs Public Library Foundation

The Palm Springs Public Library Foundation aims to support the Palm Springs Public Library and to increase and broaden its use as a cultural and educational institution through financial support securing its place as an essential community resource. Ensuring local access to high-quality library services for generations requires more than just public funding. Although public funds make libraries possible, it is private gifts that make them flourish. As we embarked on a major library renovation initiative in 2025, the Foundation has played a pivotal role as a key funding partner. Learn more about the Foundation at pslibraryfoundation.org.

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