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Here's how these stars remembered Lucille Ball after her death in 1989
It wasn't just for the cameras. These stars loved Lucy.
The Everett Collection
Losing someone is one of the hardest things life can throw at us. For many, there is a deep sadness and a tightness in the chest. While losing someone you personally know is difficult, so is losing someone you may have never met at all. This is the case for many celebrities.
While most of us will never meet them in person, the impact they have on our lives can remain the same, especially for someone like Lucille Ball, who gave us decades of projects, TV shows, laughs and memorable moments right in our living rooms.
Lucille Ball passed away in 1989 at age 77. Her death shook the world and the people who grew up watching her on TV. According to a 1989 interview with the St. John’s Times Globe, flowers were placed on Ball’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by friends and strangers alike.
Today, we're taking a look at how some of Ball's closest friends in Hollywood remembered the beloved star after her death. Take a look.
1. Gale Gordon
Gale Gordon, who worked with Ball on three television series: The Lucy Show, Here's Lucy and Life With Lucy, reflected on her death and the grief shared by her many mourners.
"I think my grief, although it is deep, is nothing compared to the grief her family must feel, and in her case, the entire world," Gordon said.
2. Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke, who worked with his fellow comedian on several occasions, including guest appearances on The Lucy Show and Here's Lucy, didn't just lose a friend. He believed the world had lost one of the greatest female comedians of their time.
"Oh, what a blow! What a shame!" Van Dyke said. "She didn't deal in jokes. She dealt in human behavior. She was a great physical mime with all the instincts of a Charlie Chaplin!"
3. Betty White
Betty White, best known for The Golden Girls, had a close personal friendship with Lucille Ball that lasted for more than 30 years.
Both White and Ball were comedy icons in Hollywood. They met in the 1950s while working at Desilu Studios. In our eyes, they were both Golden Girls.
"No matter how many tears we shed today, the laughs outnumber them," White said.
4. Saturday Night Live's Victoria Jackson
Victoria Jackson was best known for her tenure on Saturday Night Live from 1986 to 1992, where her physical comedy and impressions became her signature.
She may have come of age after the Lucille Ball era, but Ball was one of the key influences on Jackson's comedic style.
"To baby boomers, a happy chunk of my childhood is missing," Jackson said. "She didn't make me laugh out loud, I remember. She just made me happy about life."
5. Joan Rivers
Joan Rivers was another comedy legend who got to learn from the best: Lucille Ball.
The two first crossed paths in Hollywood before Rivers guest-starred on Here's Lucy in 1973. Years later, Rivers compared working with Ball to a crash course in comedy.
"Working with Lucy was like receiving an M.A. or Ph.D. in comedy," Rivers said.
"What she forgot about comedic timing and delivery is more than most of us will ever learn in a lifetime."
6. Danny Thomas
Danny Thomas, whose Make Room for Daddy series was shot at Ball's Desilu Studios, had guest appearances with Ball for decades.
Thomas was another familiar face in Ball's Hollywood circle. After her death, he remembered the impact she had both on television and on the people who knew her.
"She was the best female clown that ever lived, no question," Thomas said. "Lucy did everything — jumping in a barrel of cement, lighting her nose, eating candy off the conveyor belt."
7. Bob Hope
Comedian and actor Bob Hope, best known for The Bob Hope Show, wasn't just one of Lucille Ball's biggest fans, but a best friend too.
He kept his response to her passing simple but powerful.
"God has her now, and thanks to television, we'll have her forever," Hope said
8. Ronald Reagan
Lucille Ball and former President Ronald Reagan had a longstanding friendship dating back to their years in the entertainment industry.
While Reagan was serving as president of the United States, he still took a moment to remember his friend and reflect on her passing.
“Lucy will always have a special place in our heart, and she will live on forever,” Reagan said.
It seems Lucy was a friend to everyone, making her death all the more difficult for those who knew and loved her.
