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Carol Burnett is reflecting on her friendship with Lucille Ball
In a new interview, Burnett recounted how the legendary comedian once confided how her divorce from Desi Arnaz had impacted her career
While the two were filming one of Ball's appearances on Burnett's show, they took a break for dinner, when Ball began speaking about Arnaz
Carol Burnettis reflecting on her friendship withLucille Ball— and how the legendary comedian once confided in her how her divorce fromDesi Arnazhad impacted her career.
On the Tuesday, Feb. 3 episode of Amy Poehler'sGood Hang With Amy Poehlerpodcast, 92-year-old Burnett spoke about theI Love Lucystars, who divorced in 1960, after 20 years of marriage.
While the two were filming one of Ball's appearances on Burnett's show, they took a break for dinner, when Ball began speaking about Arnaz.
"We had a dinner break," Burnett said. "So we went across the way to the farmer's market, you know, and she's knocking back a couple of whiskey sours, and she says, 'You know, kid' — because my husband at the time, Joe, was producing our show — and she said, 'You're very fortunate you got Joe to do it for you.' "
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Ball would go on to detail how she struggled with the production side of television following her divorce from Arnaz in 1960.
"She said, 'Because when I was married to the Cuban... Desi did everything. He invented the three-camera system. He took care of the scripts, he took care of the costumes. He took care of the lighting. All I had to do was come in and be silly Lucy on Monday and do the show. Then we got a divorce,' " Burnett recounted.
She continued: "So they had a script reading of the new Lucy show. And she said, 'It was terrible, and I thought, Desi wasn't here to fix it. I called lunch. And I went back, and I figured I have to be strong, I have to be not afraid, you know.' "
"So she went back, and she said, 'I told them in no uncertain terms what they had to do, how to fix it, I was just really tough,' " Burnett shared. "And then she took another little drink, and she said, 'And kid, that's when they put the 'S' on the end of my last name.' "
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Elsewhere in the podcast, Burnett said that she first met Ball when the legendary comedian came to watch her appear in the Broadway musical,Once Upon a Mattress.
"I remember we opened in May of 1959 and got great reviews. And so it was like, wow, you know, I was thrilled," Burnett shared about her time in the musical. "And the second night, there was a buzz backstage and everything, and I said, 'What is it?' 'Lucy's in the audience.' "
"So I remember, I was stupid. I peeked through, and I saw this orange hair in the second row and [thought] oh my God," Burnett added. "Anyway, I got through the show, and she wanted to come backstage. And it was in an off-Broadway theater, and it was really funky, you know, I had a couch where the coil was sticking up... Lucille Ball, she comes in, and she headed for the couch, and I said, 'Oh, look,' and she said, 'No, I see it.' "
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Burnett continued: "She sat on the right end of the couch and well, God, 20, 25 minutes. And she called me 'Kid.' She was 22 years older. And as she was leaving, she said, 'Kid, if you ever need me for anything, you give me a call.' "
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