Farewell to a FUNNY LADY
THE BELOVED ENTERTAINER COULD DO IT ALL — AND FANS COULDN’T GET ENOUGH OF HER
Only weeks before her death at 93 on Jan. 21, Kaye Ballard attended a sold-out screening of a documentary about her life, Kaye Ballard: The Show Goes On, at the Palm Springs International Film Festival. She reveled in the adoration from her fans, who appreciated her myriad talents as a singer, actress, comedian, impressionist and musician. “The thing I’m proudest of,” Kaye said, “was that I never made a penny in any other business for 80 years.”
She never quite achieved the success she deserved: Her hit sitcom, The Mothers-inLaw, was canceled in 1969 after only two seasons amid a salary dispute (Kaye earned only $2,000 per episode). “You’re gonna have plenty of disappointments,” she said. “But the highs outweigh them. Just stick with it.”
Kaye had triumphs onstage, landing on the cover of Life magazine while in Broadway’s Golden Apple in 1954, and she guested often on Love, American Style and The Love Boat.
Yet love eluded her in real life. “I was engaged four times but couldn’t give my all to a marriage,” she confessed. Still, Kaye had many famous friends and boosted the careers of Woody Allen, Joy Behar, and Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, among many others.
“Kaye was my favorite leading lady and my favorite friend,” gushes Gavin MacLeod, who co-starred with her in a stage production of Gypsy. “There’s a vacancy in our lives because of her leaving.”
“I’m lucky. I always knew what I wanted to do.” — Kaye