Lucille Ball (ENTJ) / Carol Burnett (ENFJ)

Lucy and Carol Burnett were lifelong friends. In her book, This Time Together, Carol described the difference between the two comic greats.

“Lucille Ball had a reputation for being tough. There were times on the set when she’d say things to someone on the crew or to the writers that could’ve been considered blunt, to say the least, but she was always right. She never censored her opinions or couched them euphemistically. She called it the way she saw it. If she didn’t like something, she’d let you know. And if she did like something, she was as complimentary as could be. That’s why the crew and staff loved her. She was honest—and none of the criticism was ever personal.”

Lucy explained it to Carol this way, recalling the first time she got a bad script on The Lucy Show: “I got back to the writers’ room after lunch and sat in the big black leather chair at the head of the conference table. Everyone was quiet. You coulda heard a pin drop. I opened up and told them what I thought about the script in no uncertain terms, no pussyfooting around. They got the picture and went back to work in a hurry. And that, kid, is when they added the ‘s’ to the end of my last name.”

Carol stated, “It wasn’t in my nature to be the boss. I was a first-class chicken. When I didn’t care for a comedy sketch, I couldn’t come right out and say it wasn’t working. No, I would say to the writers, ‘Gosh guys, it’s not your fault. I’m just not doing this right. Can you help me? Maybe come up with a different line or two? I’m really sorry.’ Joe would simply say, ‘This isn’t working. It’s not funny. Fix it.’ I could never do that. Those words would stick in my throat.”