Carol Burnett Reveals How Mentor Lucille Ball Supported Her — Even After She Passed Away
In the upcoming new special, The Carol Burnett Show: Mother of All Marathons, Carol Burnett revealed a number of career secrets — including her biggest influence. She shared that fellow actress Lucille Ball influenced her the most during her long and successful career, and shared a sweet story of how the comedy legend helped her.
Burnett said that Ball came to visit her during the start of her career when she starred in the Broadway show Once Upon a Mattress. “We sat and we talked for about a half-hour and she was so supportive and she said, ‘Kid…’ — she called me kid, she was 22 years older than I was — and she said, ‘Kid, whenever you need me, give me a call,’ ” Burnett said of their encounter.
Burnett ended up calling her eventually, to ask a special favor. She explained in a clip from the special, “Just a few short years later, I was lucky enough to be given a special if I could get a major guest star. And I got up the nerve and called her, and she said, ‘Hey kid, you’re doing great. What’s happening?’ And I was so nervous and I kind of flustered … and she said, ‘When do you need me?’ ”
Everett Collection
Burnett continued, “She came on the show and then later on, years later, I did her show after I Love Lucy, and she was a guest on my show when I got my variety show. We were very close, and she always sent me flowers on my birthday. So this one morning I got up, turned on the television set — it was my birthday — and she had died that morning, on my birthday. And that afternoon, I got the flowers that said, ‘Happy birthday, kid.’ ”
Ball passed away on April 26, 1989, coincidentally the same day Burnett turned 56. Burnett will be discussing her relationship with Ball as well as her impressive career, starring in The Carol Burnett Show and most recently Palm Royale, in the special which airs May 10 and 11 on Shout! TV. Will you be watching?
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Classic Comedy Duos
March 2021
Chuckle at television & films funniest comic duos.
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