On the second night of her off-Broadway performance as Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress, Carol Burnett couldn’t help but peek through the curtain at the audience. Right there in the second row sat a familiar face with flaming red hair. "I thought, 'Oh my gosh, it's Lucille Ball!'" Carol recalls with a laugh. "I honestly wondered if I could make it through the evening."
A Memorable Encounter That Sparked a Lasting Friendship
After the show, Lucille paid a visit to Carol's dressing room. It wasn't just a casual drop-in; it was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. "She was so supportive," Carol reminisces, her voice glowing with admiration. "She called me 'Kid.' She told me, 'Kid, if you ever need anything or want me to help, just give me a call.' It was such a kind gesture."
That moment backstage in 1959 blossomed into a warm friendship that lasted three decades. Carol and Lucille not only appeared in TV specials together but also guest-starred on each other’s shows, sharing countless laughs both in front of and away from the cameras. Lucille even threw Carol a memorable baby shower when she was expecting her second daughter, Jody. "It was a black-tie affair with men attending," Carol recalls with a chuckle. "Lucille's then-husband, comedian Gary Morton, opened the baby gifts and turned it into a hilarious stand-up routine. It was absolutely unforgettable!"
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Two Women, One Shared Journey
Despite the 22-year age gap, Carol and Lucille connected on a deep level. Both were raised by strong women — Carol by her grandmother and Lucille by her widowed mother. Neither had much growing up. "On my mother's side, they had nothing," Lucie Arnaz fondly remembers about her mom. Meanwhile, Carol spent her early years in a tiny apartment, using the bathroom shower curtain rod to hang her clothes. "It wasn't exactly a happy childhood," Carol admits. Like Lucille, she found solace in the movies.
Lucille spent two decades as a B-movie starlet before skyrocketing to fame with I Love Lucy in 1951. Yet, she always insisted she wasn't naturally funny. "She’d say, 'I’m an actress who specializes in comedy. I can make it funny, but I need material to work with,'" shares Tom Watson, a staffer on 1986's Life With Lucy.
A Mutual Admiration Society
When Lucille watched Carol perform, she instantly recognized her natural comedic talent. "She had something that you couldn't ignore — you just knew this girl had it," Lucille said. "She does things that are wild, but you believe them." Carol, on the other hand, had long admired the redhead. "I always looked up to her," she says, emphasizing what a fantastic actress Lucille was. "When I first saw her on screen, I didn't like her at all. I was nine, and the movie was The Big Street, where Lucy played this cruel, heartless showgirl. But now, it's one of my favorite Lucy films because it showcases her incredible acting range. She was truly gifted."
Carol never intended to take Lucille up on her offer of career assistance, but in 1966, she did. "I was doing well, and CBS offered me an hour-long special if I could secure a major guest star," Carol recalls. "Lucille answered right away, saying, 'Hey, Kid, you're doing great! What's happening?' I was so nervous, stammering all over the place. But she didn't let me finish. She simply asked, 'When do you want me?'"
The special, Carol + 2, marked their first collaboration but far from their last. They guest-starred on each other’s shows multiple times, cementing their bond both on and off-screen.
Lessons from a Trailblazer
At Desilu Studios in the 1960s, Lucille broke barriers as the first woman to run a major Hollywood production company. She shared her hard-earned wisdom with her young protégée. "Lucy told me that after her divorce, she had to take over all the responsibilities Desi [Arnaz] handled," Carol recounts. "She said, 'Kid, that’s when they added the S to my last name.'"
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When Carol joined Lucille on set, she was in awe of the respect Lucille commanded. "She had to get tough because no one listened to 'Crazy Little Lucy,'" Carol explains. "She was outspoken yet fair. People would do anything for her." Carol admits she couldn’t be as assertive as Lucille on The Carol Burnett Show but found her own style to achieve her goals. "I’d say, 'I’m not doing this right. Can you help me out?'"
A Friendship That Transcended Time
Lucille loved sending flowers to Carol on her birthday. "Every year, she’d say, 'Happy birthday, Kid,'" Carol fondly remembers. Her heart ached when Lucille passed away from a heart rupture on April 26, 1989. "She died on my birthday. I woke up and saw it on the morning shows. It was completely unexpected. She’d been sick, but everyone thought she’d come home from the hospital. That afternoon, the doorbell rang. There were flowers with a note saying, 'Happy birthday, Kid.'"
In an industry where performers often see each other as rivals, Lucille and Carol forged a unique friendship as timeless as their work. "I always looked up to her. I thought of her as my big sister," Carol says with heartfelt gratitude. "She was truly a one-of-a-kind, special friend."
— By Louise A. Barile
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