Mentorship

Arnold Schwarzenegger opens up about special bond with Lucille Ball: 'She was like a mother'

Ball played a key part in Schwarzenegger's Hollywood career

MARCH 26, 2026 1:53 PM EDTMAR 26, 2026, 1:53 PM EDT

Arnold Schwarzenegger has had a wonderful career. The actor remains one of Hollywood's biggest figures in the world of action and comedy, with Lucille Ball playing a key role in his getting a head start in the industry.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lucille Ball were friends for years

Schwarzenegger discussed his special bond with Ball in a recirculated interview with Andy Cohen, where he revealed that Ball tracked him down at his gym and asked him to audition for her 1974 TV movie "Happy Anniversary and Goodbye."

"I was shocked that she would call the gym, Gold's Gym," Schwarzenegger shared. "She said, 'I saw you on The Merv Griffin Show, Arnold. I saw you last night... you were so funny. I want you to be part of my special. There is a character that is a masseur, and he's going to massage me, and my husband is getting really jealous about it. Come on in and read.'"

Schwarzenegger at Lucille Ball's TV Special: "Happy Anniversary and Goodbye."

Aside from helping him acquire one of his biggest roles at that point in his career, Schwarzenegger revealed that she "was like a mother" to him. "I did a movie called 'Stay Hungry' with Jeff Bridges and Sally Field. I won the Golden Globe for Best Acting Debut. Ball wrote me a long, two-page letter, handwritten, saying, 'Arnold, I'm so proud of you. You are a sweet enough guy, you deserve it. You're a great performer. You're going to have a great career,' all this kind of stuff."

Schwarzenegger revealed that Ball continued to send him letters all through his major performances, all the way through her death in 1989. "She wrote me letters and always congratulated me and told me, always, how proud she was of me," he said.

Schwarzenegger discusses his scary experience with a live audience

Lucille Ball — Ball played a key role in Schwarzenegger's career, and celebrated his every achievement by sending him sweet letters

In the past, Schwarzenegger has discussed the stressful experience of shooting Ball's TV movie, mainly due to the fact that it was filmed in front of a live audience. “My English was not yet that good,” he said in an interview with Graham Bensinger. “So I remember that she kept saying the whole week when we rehearsed, ‘You have to project more! You have to project more!’”

Schwarzenegger revealed that he didn't understand her advice, but he still did his best with the performance, with his physical performance prompting laughs from the audience.