Last year, Carol Burnett was still appearing on television— appeared in episodes of Better Call Saul. To get her “into” the flow of the show, she was introduced in a grocery store. Of course, just about anyone who has ever watched “comedy television” should have recogweek, nized her! She is a six-time EMMY AWARD winner and a legend in her own time!
Her character, Marion, was in conjunction with Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul, who were also brought in to reprise their Breaking Bad roles as Walter White and Jessie Pinkman. Better Call Saul is a “spin-off” of Breaking Bad.
Besides her six Em-mys, this multi-talented actress has also earned six GOLDEN GLOBES and one GRAMMY. In 1959, when she was 26 years old, she sang in a musical fairytale, Once Upon a Mattress, which was a “spoof,” not to be taken seriously. And….. this gave her a real start in a career that spanned many decades.
From 1967 through 1978, she hosted a “Variety Show,” which brought many more Emmys to those folks she brought in to co-star. Carol Burnett says she greatly misses the CLASSICS and would like to see the “real era of classics” come back. However, she feels that can never happen, because the cost would be prohibitive— hers had a 28-piece orchestra, 70+ new costumes per and at least a dozen dancers! She calls part of what they did during her shows as “mini-musical Broadway comedies” to provide entertainment and especially laughs.
But, she says that if this all came back, she would not want to be the ‘host” or “hostess!” When Burnett got her start, the “hosting” was a “man’s show,” with the likes of Dean Martin and Jackie Gleason. And she remembers so fondly her close relationship with Lucille Ball, not only a mentor of sorts but also a friend and supporter. She recalls fondly that Lucille Ball was twenty-two years older than she and often called her “KID.”
Folks, stars in their own rights, who helped Carol Burnett make her show one of the greatest hits ever, come to my mind easily, even though it has been several, several years since I sat in front of a “black-andwhite” and finally a “living color” set as laughs abounded— Tim Conway (the little, shuffling old man), Harvey Korman (who could not help laughing at his own jokes), Vicki Lawrence (I thought they were sisters, really!), and Lyle Waggoner (recalled as funny, kind, and multi-talented).
Wouldn’t we all like to be remembered as KIND!
Carol Burnett was in many films and productions besides her variety show….. to name a few—Pete ‘n’ Tillie, Annie, Law & Order, Moon Over Broadway, Post Grad, and many “voice parts.”
And, before I close, I must relate that a high school student (Olivia Freeman), who was/is a giant fan of Carol Burnett, left the iconic star a message and was amazed and so delighted when her phone rang in a “virtual class” at school, and the voice was that of her longtime “idol.” And not only that, but CAROL BURNETT granted her an interview, answered questions, and even related that some of the people she had admired as she began her career were Jimmy Stewart, Judy Garland, Mickey Rooney, and her GRANDMOTHER!
I hope that CAROL BURNETT makes it to a “healthy 100” and that she continues to be a model for us to follow!
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