Lucile Ball was a source of encouragement for Arnold Schwarzenegger in his acting career.
In a resurfaced clip of the former professional bodybuilder, 78, from a June episode of Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM radio show, he recalled that the comedy legend wanted him to have a role in the 1974 television film Happy Anniversary and Goodbye, admitting he was “shocked” when she called Gold’s Gym to speak with him after he was on Merv Griffin’s talk show.
The 38th governor of California said he remembered the I Love Lucy star telling him on the phone, “I saw you on The Merv Griffin Show, Arnold. You were so funny. I want you to be part of my special. There is a character that is a masseur, and he’s going to massage me, and my husband is getting really jealous about it. Come on in and read.”
After the call, Schwarzenegger came in to read for the role, but didn’t understand how to work with the script. Luckily, the Emmy Award winner helped him out, opting to improvise in front of the producers.
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“What she was really doing was kind of like, she wanted me so badly on the show that even though I didn’t know how to read the lines, because she wanted me to act out what I read, but I did not know that’s what you do, right?” he admitted. “I was not experienced. So, anyway, she got me in there. She said, ‘You’re so good improvising. You’re hired. We start it next week on Monday with the rehearsals.’”
In rehearsals, Schwarzenegger said Ball warned him the film would be shot in front of a live studio audience, telling him to “project” his voice. However, Schwarzenegger said he “had no idea” what live actually meant.
“I’d been in America just a few years,” he explained. “So I didn’t know what a live audience means and shooting means. That’s filming, but they were saying ‘shooting in front of a live audience.’ It went right over my head.”
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On the day of filming, Schwarzenegger said he was “totally in shock that there were people around,” but Ball “saw right away that I got stuck” and helped him. From there, the pair developed a sweet bond.
“She was like a mother,” Schwarzenegger remarked. “I remember the following year, I did a movie called Stay Hungry with Jeff Bridges and Sally Field. I won the Golden Globe for Best Acting Debut. She wrote me a long, two-page letter, handwritten, saying, ‘Arnold, I’m so proud of you. You are a sweet enough guy, you deserve it. You’re a great performer. You’re going to have a great career,’ all this kind of stuff.”
“And then, every single time, until Conan, and then she passed away…she wrote me letters and always congratulated me and told me, always, how proud she was of me,” Schwarzenegger shared.
Ball died after suffering a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm in 1989. She was 77.
This story Arnold Schwarzenegger Recalls Working With Lucille Ball, Says She Was ‘Like a Mother’ to Him first appeared on Closer Weekly. Add Closer Weekly as a Preferred Source by clicking here.