'They Considered Each Other Family': A Dive Into Betty White & Lucille Ball's Long Friendship

Betty White and Lucille Ball were both trailblazers of early television comedy. While women were trying to find their footing in the male-dominated Golden Age of Hollywood, White and Ball were paving the way through their respective television sitcoms: Ball's "I Love Lucy" and White's "Date with the Angels."

Amid the chaos, they found comfort in each other's friendship, first as professional allies and soon after as each other's rock through loss, shared grief, and general life hardships. Their friendship began rather quickly in 1957 on set at Desilu Productions in Hollywood. Though Ball was almost 11 years older than White, they found commonality in being two of the few women running their own production companies at the time. Little did they know that life would take them down similar roads, leading to such a close bond that the two would eventually refer to each other as chosen family. Their decades-long friendship lasted until Ball's death in 1989, with neither ever needing to navigate a one-sided friendship.

Betty White's path was all but destined to cross Lucille Ball's thanks to their respective shows, "Date with the Angels" and "I Love Lucy," both being taped at Desilu Productions in 1957. While White was still trying to find her footing, Ball was already a household name with multiple Emmy Awards. She was also a co-founder of the studio alongside her husband, Desi Arnaz, with its name being an amalgamation of theirs.

"Lucy took Betty under her wing," a friend of the two women acknowledged in an interview with Closer Weekly. "She was already the biggest female star on TV, and in many ways, she paved the way for Betty's achievements." This act of kindness led to their relationship transforming from quiet acknowledgment to established peers and allies. 

Two years after Ball co-founded Desilu Productions, White co-founded Brandy Productions in 1952 with writer George Tibbles and producer Don Fedderson. In many ways, White followed in Ball's footsteps. Ball observed this and acknowledged that "she and Betty were cut from the same cloth," as a friend recalled to Closer Weekly. Throughout time, as both women became owners of their respective production companies and gained fame, their bond grew with the mutual understanding and respect for navigating the difficult, male-dominated TV business of the 1950s.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Betty White and Lucille Ball found each other at the same crossroads in life again as they navigated highly publicized divorces. White had already been through two divorces, with her last one — from film actor Lane Allen — ending in 1949. During a 2012 episode of "Piers Morgan Tonight," she joked that "the first two were... rehearsals," according to HuffPost.

Meanwhile, Ball's 20-year marriage to Arnaz came to a crumbling end due to Arnaz's alleged affairs. Today, photos of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz still show so much love despite the divorce,  but it didn't make it easier for her then. Luckily, White stepped in to help her friend navigate this tragedy. Years later, Ball returned her dear friend's favor by remaining by her side when tragedy struck again and White's third husband, game show host Allen Ludden, died of stomach cancer.  

During these life events, the two women relied not only on each other but also each other's family, who all came together to support them. "Betty adored not only Lucy's sense of humor, but her mother and Lucy's children," a friend told Closer Weekly.

Betty White and Lucille Ball navigated loss and a male-dominated industry, and made a name for themselves as television legends. Ball even served as a mentor for female comedians like White in the industry, paving the way with her six hit seasons of "I Love Lucy." This was reflected in White's later career triumph starring in the NBC hit "Golden Girls." 

After all, laughter sat at the core of their bond. "We had such fun," White reminisced to The Atlantic in 2011. She recalled how they found fun in small things like Ball teaching her how to play backgammon. "She was determined she was going to teach me. So we'd get together and she'd have it all set up. But her idea of teaching was, 'Alright here, I'll take my turn. Now you throw the dice,' which I would," she said, adding, "And then she'd move my pieces here and there, and I'd say, 'Lucy, how am I going to learn the game if you're playing the game with yourself?' But we did, and it was a lot of fun."

The two comedians' lifelong friendship and support was a testament to them choosing each other as family. In fact, the two remained close until Ball's death in 1989 from an aortic rupture. White later passed in 2021 from natural causes. Five years later, a close friend recounted to Closer Weekly, "Betty has a scrapbook of photos with Lucy and people who are close to her heart." That may just be one of many signs that their friendship was healthy and always built to last.