I Love Lucy star Lucille Ball was beloved around the world when she died unexpectedly.
Named one of TIME’s most influential women of the 20th century, the actress’ impact on the entertainment industry is still felt today. During its six-year run, I Love Lucy made history with its live audience and storylines. A trailblazer in comedy, Ball redefined the role of a television housewife as one who could be relatable and imperfect while still being the funniest person in the room.
Off-screen, she championed her husband, fellow actor Desi Arnaz, refusing to accept I Love Lucy without him as her costar. Ball eventually took over Desilu Studios — her production company with Arnaz — after their divorce. She became the first woman to lead a Hollywood studio, producing the original Star Trek and Mission: Impossible television shows.
Speaking to PEOPLE in February 1980, Ball pondered her legacy. “I don’t think you should write a book until you tell the absolute truth,” she said. “You can’t do that until you’re 85, and I don’t want to live that long. I’ve always prided myself on knowing when to get off and I hope it works out that way.”
Sadly, the actress died at age 77 on April 26, 1989, due to a ruptured abdominal aorta.
To mark the 36th anniversary of her passing, here’s everything to know about Lucille Ball’s death.
Lucille Ball died after two cardiac events.
On April 18, 1989, she had a heart attack in her Beverly Hills home, suffering a ruptured aorta. The actress’ second husband, Gary Morton, rushed her to the hospital after she started experiencing “terrible pain,” according to the Los Angeles Times. When admitted, Ball was conscious and spoke to doctors, but appeared “very uncomfortable.”
Shortly after, she underwent a seven-hour open-heart surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and received heart tissue from a donor, per The New York Times.
”Lucille Ball spent an uneventful night, which is a very good sign,” a hospital spokesman told the publication. ”The two surgeons who worked on her continue to be optimistic that she is moving toward a recovery.”
Although the hospital described her condition as “serious but stable,” she showed signs of improvement. The L.A. Times reported that Ball was eating and walking.
Unfortunately, a week after her open-heart surgery, Ball experienced another rupture of the aorta in the abdomen, and it was fatal.
“There was nothing to indicate this would happen,” a hospital spokesman explained to the outlet. “The heart itself apparently was not involved in Miss Ball’s sudden death.”
Lucille Ball died on April 26, 1989.
Ball experienced her heart attack that led to the first aortic rupture at home in Beverly Hills, and she later died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in L.A. after being hospitalized for about a week.
Lucille Ball was 77 years old when she died.
Even before Ball died, the public outpouring of support was overwhelming.
“Since last week’s surgery, fans had flooded the hospital with thousands of get-well cards, sent via telegram and even facsimile machine,” the Los Angeles Times wrote in her obituary. “Hospital officials said it was the largest outpouring they had ever seen.”
Despite her immense popularity, Ball had told her family that she didn’t want a large memorial service. Her daughter Lucie Arnaz, though, disagreed. “She didn’t want a big funeral or memorial service or any of that,” she told the Los Angeles Times. “These services are my idea. I felt that the public needed some closure.”
There were three services, in Chicago, New York and L.A. Though the latter didn’t start until 8 p.m., 450 people lined up at 3 p.m. The church had a 1,000-person capacity, and there were about 300 people who remained outside during the service listening to loudspeakers.
One of those people standing outside, Helen Vella, told the Los Angeles Times she was there to express her gratitude to the performer.
“I’m here for Lucy,” she said. “It was worth standing and waiting all this time. I was sick once, and if it wasn’t for her on Monday nights, I never would have made it through. She made me forget a lot of pain.”
I Love Lucy is still airing in reruns around the world, nearly 75 years after its debut in 1951.
“I don’t feel sad because she left something to make people happy forever,” fan Elisa Maria de Llanos told the Los Angeles Times at Ball’s funeral.
Even the actress felt her worldwide impact. Because of the show’s syndication, she joked that she was “the world’s babysitter” for how many kids she kept entertained with I Love Lucy and her subsequent shows.
Later in 1989, Ball was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“Her face was seen by more people more often than the face of any human being who ever lived,” the citation read. “Who can forget Lucy? She was like everyone’s next-door neighbor, only funnier. Lucille Ball was a national treasure who brought laughter to us all. Love Lucy? Sure. This nation is grateful to her, and we will miss her dearly.”
Ball and Arnaz were the subject of a 2021 biopic, Being the Ricardos, starring Nicole Kidman and Javier Bardem. The following year, Amy Poehler directed the documentary Lucy and Desi about the couple.
Ball’s legacy has carried forward in the decades after her death. In naming her one of the most influential people of the 20th century, TIME wrote: “Three decades after her death, Hollywood’s most powerful women—from Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Reese Witherspoon—walk a path she cleared.”