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A former standout Los Alamitos graduate who recently hosted “Lucie Arnaz at the Bay Theatre” said this week that proceeds from the fundraiser have allowed production to be completed on his short film entitled “Dr. Sam.”
In addition, Raji Ahsan said Arnaz, an Emmy-winning entertainer, has recently returned to Seal Beach to film additional scenes for the movie.
Ahsan, an actor whose major credits include appearances in “New Amsterdam,” “Shameless,” and many others, said he returned back to Los Alamitos from New York to work in television and produce the short film, “Dr. Sam,” which he said could become a pilot for a major studio.
Ahsan said he and Arnaz will stage an additional fundraiser at the Paramount Theatre in Hollywood, as Lucie returns to the studio that made her parents, Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, household names around the world.
On Thursday, June 5 at 7 p.m., Lucie Arnaz will appear at the Paramount Theatre on the Paramount Pictures lot for “Lucie on the Lot: The Dr. Sam Fundraiser.” Proceeds from this event will be used to finish post-production funding for the film.
After a screening of Arnaz’s ‘93 Emmy-winning documentary, Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie, Ahsan will interview Arnaz and husband Larry Luckinbill, who wrote and co-produced the documentary.
Additionally, 10% of the proceeds will be donated to The New Life Beginnings Shelter for Women in Long Beach, where Ahsan’s own mother lived for a short time.
Lucie Arnaz grew up on this historic lot at Melrose and Gower, and in 1967, the Desilu company, responsible for shows like I Love Lucy, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mission: Impossible, and Star Trek, was sold to Gulf+Western, the then parent of Paramount Pictures—Desilu’s next door neighbor.
Her mother became the first female CEO of a major Hollywood studio.
Following the passing of her parents, Broadway star Lucie Arnaz set out to answer deep, personal questions pertaining to her own identity. As she organized the family belongings, she found herself watching home movies of parties, picnics, and lazy days around the house with family and close friends.
Arnaz sat down to interview many of these individuals, and NBC offered $1,000,000.00 to compile this footage into a documentary that would later air on Valentine’s Day, 1993. Lucy & Desi: A Home Movie won first-time documentarians Lucie Arnaz and Larry Luckinbill the Best Informational Special Emmy Award.
Ahsan said he was introduced to Arnaz in 2017.
During his introduction at the Bay Theatre on Jan. 29, Ahsan told the story of his mother, pregnant with him, immigrating from Egypt. They were graciously taken in by the aforementioned Long Beach Shelter and invited into the home of a Los Alamitos woman where he grew up.
Watching television became his daily routine while staying at her home as a kid.
“’I Love Lucy’ kept me company and introduced me to the greater Desilu story, and indeed, my favorite Desilu Production: Lucie Arnaz,” Ahsan says. When Ahsan was 12, he wrote a letter to Paramount Pictures, and they invited him for a private tour.
In 2021, Ahsan began writing “Dr. Sam,” a heartfelt comedy about an out-of-work jazz singer who supports himself as a waiter, who, after being fired from the restaurant—masquerades as a therapist to make ends meet. Ahsan invited Arnaz to play the mother. Arnaz says, “When I first met Raji, I knew he was going places. I’m very happy to be invited into his journey.”
After raising $50,000, principal photography was completed on Saturday, May 3 in Seal Beach. Ahsan is now raising funds for post-production. Tribeca alum Danielle Beckmann makes her directorial debut on the film.
Tickets for the Paramount Pictures event can be purchased at rajiahsan.com, and those unable to attend the June 5 event in Hollywood, who would like to support this local filmmaker, can make a tax deductible donation to Dr. Sam’s remaining $20,000.00 post production costs online at rajiahsan.com
