Autopsy: The Last Hours Of...: Season 8, Episode 5

8 - 5: Lucille Ball

On the morning of April 26th, 1989, Lucille Ball died in a Los Angeles hospital leaving the world heartbroken. America’s first lady of comedy had delighted audiences with a glittering career that spanned over half a century: but it was her television show, ‘I Love Lucy, ’ that had transformed television and turned the actress into the most famous face on the planet. The 77 year old would die of a rupture of the aorta - a life-ending tear of the largest artery in the human body. This is rare, and even more mysterious given the fact that she was in great shape just weeks before her death. So what exactly was going on inside Lucille Ball’s body that led to this catastrophic failure? And could a mystery teenage illness have played a part? World renowned forensic pathologist, Dr. Michael Hunter investigates every aspect of Lucille’s life in forensic detail, using her death certificate, medical documents and first-hand accounts to piece together what was going on in the body of America’s most loved Lucy to find the answers.