By Michaela Gordoni
Carol Burnett is sharing a special memory from one of her favorite mentors — Lucille Ball.
“The woman who influenced me probably the most was Lucille Ball,” Burnett said in a clip from her upcoming special, THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW: MOTHER OF ALL MARATHONS. “She came to see me in Once Upon a Mattress, which was my first Broadway break, and she was there the second night, and I was more nervous that she was in the audience than I was the night before, when all the critics were.”
Ball even came backstage and talked with Burnett for half an hour.
“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 recalled.
She said that moment sparked a long-time friendship.
Burnett did call Ball a couple of years later to ask her to guest star on her special.
She said, “‘Hey kid, you’re doing great. What’s happening?'” Burnett recalled. “And I was so nervous and I kind of flustered…and she said, ‘When do you need me?’
Burnett eventually starred on one of Ball’s shows, and Ball starred again on Burnett’s 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.'”
Last year, the 92-year-old performed in PALM ROYAL, an Apple+ series. She said it’s likely that it was her last on-screen performance.
Related: A LITTLE HELP WITH CAROL BURNETT
“Probably,” she told Variety, adding, “Unless there’s a cameo or something fun!”
As a comedy queen, TIME named Burnett one of the most influential women of the 20th century. Among other accolades, she is a Critics Choice Award nominee, an Emmy winner and a Golden Globe winner.
Even though Ball showed everyone how successful a female comedian can be, Burnett had a hard time convincing CBS to give her a variety special.
“They said, ‘Well, comedy variety is a man’s game,’” Burnett recalled.
But five years later, they finally let her have THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW, which ran for 11 seasons and won 25 Emmys, Variety reported.
Her new special, THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW: MOTHER OF ALL MARATHONS, will air on May 10 and 11 on Shout! TV.
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