Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett & More Comediennes Celebrated In New REELZ Documentary Featuring Exclusive Interview With Tina Fey
The biggest names in comedy celebrate the genius of Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and others in the REELZ special, Lucy to Carol Burnett: TV’s Favorite Comediennes. The event highlights Ball’s breakthrough role on I Love Lucy, which catapulted her into stardom — and helped her become one of television’s most beloved comics.
“I think she was very funny,” says Saturday Night Live alum Tina Fey. “Things like the 'Candy Factory', 'Vitameatavegamin,' those are precise, excellent, just fantastic pieces of comedy.”
The late Joan Rivers also praised Ball — who was known to be a stickler in rehearsals — for being an unapologetic perfectionist. "She said to the cameraman, literally, 'Harry, that looks like it's about 2 1/2 inches off,' and he said, 'Lucy, Lucy, it's just where it was.' And she [was] tough, [and Ball responded] 'measure it, it's 2 1/2 inches off,'" Rivers said. "It was about 2 1/2 inches off — she knew."
Penny Marshall — who died at the age of 75 years old in 2018 — sat down with the program’s producers to point out that Ball’s talent included always knowing when to be the punchline: “Like Lucy said, you’ve got to take the pie in the face at some point.”
“She always played the wacky, crazy thing and she took the pie, literally,” adds Jimmy Walker, who played J.J. in Good Times.
Hollywood insiders and fellow actors also share their experience with TV’s legendary female trailblazers in the special, including Mary Tyler Moore, Betty White, and Marla Gibbs. Interviews also include Rivers, White and Phyllis Diller.
There is much more to learn as Lucy to Carol Burnett: TV’s Favorite Comediennes airs on REELZ, Saturday October 9th at 9ET/PT on REELZ.
Watch REELZ on DIRECTV 238, Dish Network 299, Verizon FiOS 692, AT&T U-verse 1799 and in HD on cable systems and streaming services nationwide. Find REELZ on your local cable or satellite provider at www.reelz.com.
