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Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball on ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ in 1967NEED TO KNOW<\/p>\n
Lucille Ball had a short and sweet nickname for Carol Burnett<\/p>\n
Burnett affectionately reflected on her friendship with Ball while speaking with Laura Dern for an Interview chat published Jan. 12<\/p>\n
Burnett has previously said that the I Love Lucy star is “the woman who influenced me probably the most”<\/p>\n
Lucille Ball<\/a> had a short and sweet nickname for longtime friend Carol Burnett<\/a>.<\/p>\n While speaking with Laura Dern<\/a> for a recent chat published by Interview<\/a>, the 92-year-old actress recalled the simple moniker that Ball, who she has previously cited as a major influence, assigned her early on in their friendship.<\/p>\n Burnett described the late I Love Lucy<\/a> star, who died in 1989 at age 77, as \u201cadorable and very smart” and one of her “very good friends.\u201d<\/p>\n The Carol Burnett Show host recalled how Ball, who was over two decades her senior, helped her out when she was a burgeoning star.<\/p>\n Screen Archives\/Getty<\/p>\n Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball<\/p>\n \u201cShe came to see me when I was doing an old Broadway show called Once Upon a Mattress,\u201d Burnett said, \u201cand she came backstage to my dressing room and was so supportive. She called me \u2018Kid.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n Dern, 58, then interjected to share her appreciation for Ball\u2019s chosen nickname for Burnett, stating, \u201cThat\u2019s my favorite, that that was her nickname for you.\u201d<\/p>\n Burnett continued, \u201cI think she was 22 years older and she said, \u2018Kid, if you ever need me for anything, give me a call.\u2019 And about three or four years later \u2014 because that was 1959 or \u201960 \u2014 I had a variety hour that I was going to do for ABC or NBC, I can\u2019t remember. And they said, \u2018But you need to get a major guest star if you\u2019re going to do this one-hour show.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n After a producer suggested calling Ball, Burnett \u2014 after mustering the courage \u2014 took the television icon up on her offer.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I got up the nerve and I got her on the phone at her office, and she said, \u2018Hey, Kid, you\u2019re doing great. What\u2019s happening?\u2019 And I was all over the place,\u201d Burnett recalled in the conversation published Jan. 12.<\/p>\n But Ball was unfazed: \u201cShe stopped and she said, ‘When do you want me?\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n CBS via Getty<\/p>\n Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett in 1966<\/p>\n And Ball meant it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I told her what it was and she said, \u2018I\u2019ll be there.\u2019 So it was 1960-something, and the other guest star was Zero Mostel. It was just Lucy, Zero and me. And we had the best time,\u201d Burnett added.<\/p>\n Ball ultimately made multiple guest appearances on The Carol Burnett Show, which ran from 1967 to 1978, and Burnett reciprocated, appearing on The Lucy Show \u201cseveral times,\u201d she told Dern.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a> to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n Ron Galella\/Ron Galella Collection via Getty<\/p>\n Lucille Ball and Carol Burnett<\/p>\n Burnett previously recounted the story of how Ball helped her out by guest-starring on her variety show \u2014 and recalled the comedy legend\u2019s tremendous impact on her \u2014 in The Carol Burnett Show: Mother of All Marathons.<\/p>\n “The woman who influenced me probably the most was Lucille Ball,” Burnett said in the special, which was released in 2025.<\/p>\n Also in the special, Burnett recalled receiving flowers from Ball<\/a> the day that she died of a rupture of the aorta<\/a> on April 26, 1989 \u2014 the very same day Burnett turned 56.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were very close, and she always sent me flowers on my birthday,\u201d Burnett explained. \u201cSo this one morning I got up, turned on the television set \u2014 it was my birthday \u2014 and she had died that morning, on my birthday. And that afternoon, I got the flowers that said, ‘Happy birthday, Kid.’ “<\/p>\n![\"Screen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/c1be63f34c69099f47cd41acf3312408.jpeg\"\/)
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