Lily Tomlin Recalls Lucille Ball’s Insult That Made Her Want to Cry
Lily Tomlin is one of the most beloved and respected comedic actors of all time. However, she recently revealed that fellow comedian Lucille Ball was not exactly a fan. What’s worse, Ball’s harsh words almost had Tomlin in tears.
Lily Tomlin has conquered TV and movies in her lengthy career
Tomlin began acting in college. After graduation, she also started doing stand-up comedy, which led to her television appearances. Tomlin appeared on variety shows like Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In and The Carol Burnett Show, which led to movie roles in Nashville, 9 to 5, and Orange County.
She has continued acting on TV as well, most notably voicing Ms. Frizzle in The Magic School Bus and starring alongside longtime friend Jane Fonda in Netflix’s Grace and Frankie. She also voiced Aunt May in the 2018 blockbuster Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
What Lucille Ball said that made the actor want to cry
Tomlin is one of the most respected comedians in Hollywood today, but she recently shared that there was one star who was less than complimentary about her work. In an interview with AARP, Tomlin said she has always been “completely mad for Lucille Ball.”
Ball was the star of the iconic sitcom I Love Lucy and head of Desilu Studios, which produced hit shows like Star Trek, Mission: Impossible, The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, and Hogan’s Heroes.
“In my 30s, I saw an article where she reviewed newer comics,” Tomlin shared. “When she got to Lily Tomlin, she wrote, ‘I just don’t get her.’ I could have wept.” Their story had a happy ending, though.
Lily Tomlin and Lucille Ball met again and Tomlin ‘will treasure that memory forever’
Tomlin continued, “Some years later, a friend arranged a dinner with Lucy. I was terrified, but it turned out OK. Lucy told this wild story about developing a bad toothache the morning she had to fly to New York. She didn’t want to take meds for pain, so the dentist told her to take a swig of brandy, swish and spit it out. But there was no place to spit it out on the plane, so Lucy swallowed the cognac, and of course by the time she got to New York, she was blotto.”
“Now, imagine sitting at dinner with Lucille Ball acting out a story like that,” Tomlin laughed. “She looked exactly like Lucy! We never met again, but I will treasure that memory forever.”
Lily Tomlin’s role in ‘80 for Brady’
Tomlin’s most recent project is 80 for Brady, a comedy she stars in alongside Fonda, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno. The movie tells the story of a group of women who are massive New England Patriots fans and love Tom Brady.
In 2017, they want to attend the Super Bowl and cheer on Brady and the Patriots in person. The movie follows the group during their various misadventures as they try and fail to get tickets, sneak into the stadium, and run into the Patriots themselves.
