Constant Interest
Despite being off the air since the ‘70s, anytime a TV network broadcasts a Carol Burnett special, millions tune in. The 50th Anniversary Special in 2017 still brought in 15.2 million viewers.
Constant Interest
Accessible To Younger Audiences
Rumors were flying that the cast were getting back together to begin filming in recent years. What actually happened was CTS acquired the rights to broadcast and fully intended on bringing the show to younger viewers. They did this by making all 11 seasons available to its viewers through their online services.
Accessible To Younger Audiences
How Mrs. Wiggins Got Her Walk
Those who watched the show should remember Mrs. Wiggins and her unusual walk. The character got that walk because the skirt Burnett had to wear was far too large, and she had to stick her rear end out to keep it from falling. Her walk was a hit when the character debuted, so it stayed.
How Mrs. Wiggins Got Her Walk
Keeping A Straight Face Was Hard
The problem with filling a TV set with hilarious people is that when it’s time to get serious nobody can. There were several instances where the cast members just couldn’t keep it together. Burnett absolutely lost it during the game ‘Sorry’ as Lawrence went completely off script and had the host in fits of laughter.
Keeping A Straight Face Was Hard
A Secret Signal
Fans of the show might have noticed Burnett tugging on her ear. While it just looked like a habit, it was actually a message to her grandmother. The pair would tug their earlobes to say they loved each other, and this was the message Burnett was giving her grandmother who was watching at home.
A Secret Signal
Losing Her Daughter
One of the hardest things that could happen to a mother happened to Burnett, she outlived her daughter. Carrie Burnett was diagnosed with lung cancer from a very young age and despite giving up smoking was unable to overcome it. Carol shared with the world how devastating losing Carol was to their family.
Losing Her Daughter
Insightful Diary Entry
An extract was taken from Burnett’s diary during the time of her daughter’s health problems. She begged God to not take her baby from her, but Carrie’s condition only got worse from then on. Carol told CBS that she never got over losing her, but has learned to cope with the tragedy.
Insightful Diary Entry
We Need To See Some ID
Burnett was buying some stocking in New York but forgot her credit card and driver’s license, so had to write a check. The store’s manager said he would only accept the check if she would do her Tarzan yell. Without hesitation, Burnett did her best Tarzan yell and left the store with her stockings.
We Need To See Some ID
Going Ditzy
Burnett played several elderly characters so when Mrs. Wiggins was initially proposed she too was going to be old. Bob Mackie suggested she mix things up and so Burnett decided to play Mrs. Wiggins as a ditzy blonde. She had plenty of reference material as Burnett confessed she was based on several CBS secretaries.
Going Ditzy
Going Against The Writers
When ‘The Family’ sketch was first cooked up, the writers wanted the characters to speak with a midwestern accent. Burnett could only hear her own family’s Texan accent so did the voice like that, which Vicki Lawrence copied. The writers were unsure, but the sketch became one of the show’s best-known.
Going Against The Writers
Spawning A Dark Spin-Off
The show inspired the spin-off sketch show called “Mama’s Family,” but it was meant to be much darker than it was. Originally the characters were intended to be bad-tempered and moody than the cartoon caricatures they became. The characters that became known as “The Family” were toned down to keep audiences tuning in.
Spawning A Dark Spinoff
Network TV Not For Carol
Burnett admits that nowadays she doesn’t find network television appealing. Instead, she is just like the rest of us and loves to binge watch her favorite drama on Netflix, including House of Cards and Orange Is the New Black. She also admits that she struggles to identify with the humor of current comedy shows.
Network TV Not For Carol
Not Faking The Pain
Sometimes in comedy there is nothing funnier than the truth. Tim Conway was pinned under a periscope as part of a gag, but it was real pain etched on his face in the scene. He had a vasectomy the day before, and the periscope had swung down and hit him in his tender region.
Not Faking The Pain
Crude Jokes Have No Place
Burnett has admitted in recent years that she doesn’t get crude jokes. Her belief is that many people use them to get cheap laughs and she’ll only get behind vulgar language if there is a point to it. Burnett doesn’t believe she is a prude but expects comedians to work harder for laughs.
Crude Jokes Have No Place
Putting Carol On Notice
Sometimes in life, it’s all about making an impression, and that’s how Vicki Lawrence found herself on the show. She was told she looked like Burnett, so sent a fan letter telling the star she would be appearing at a pageant. To Lawrence’s surprise, Burnett turned up to cheer her on at her show.
Putting Carol On Notice
Believing In Principles
Many thought there was no boundary too far for Carol Burnett, but she proved to everyone she had her limits. When Harvey Korman was continuously rude to guests, she took the tough stance to fire him. Burnett admitted she could take him being rude to her, but being rude to her guests was unacceptable.
Believing In Principles
Her Lucky Charm
Burnett had a superstition about her show that she had to repeat every season. In the first episode to air ever she had Jim Nabors make an appearance. As it proved to be a success she then had to have Nabors appear in every single season opener until the show was canceled, 11 seasons later.
Her Lucky Charm
Screaming For Success
Burnett and Lawrence had an unusual approach to character building and after what seemed like a fully fledged argument the pair high fived. They had been yelling at each other and realized that they had just created two new characters, the protagonists of ‘The Family.’ Their methods might have been unorthodox, but they got results.
Screaming For Success
Love for Ellen
Carol doesn’t appreciate the vulgar use of language and cites stars like Ellen Degeneres for clean storytelling. She appreciated the one-woman show Degeneres did recently, admiring the fact that there wasn’t one vulgar moment in it. It looks like the current group of comedians have a lot to do to impress the iconic funny lady.
Love for Ellen
Take Two!
There were always two episodes of the Carol Burnett show taped all because of Tim Conway’s need to improvise. In the first take they would let Conway improvise as much as he wanted, and in the second they forced him to follow the script. That way there was always a professional take if needed.
Take Two
Staying Active
Despite getting on in years, Burnett isn’t showing signs of slowing down just yet. She might not be on our screens as often, but the acting legend says life is all about staying busy. Her fun spirit and youthful exuberance definitely make her seem much younger than she really is.
Staying Active
Busier Than Most
Burnett isn’t acting so much, but she has still been very busy active. She recently released her own book, and she keeps fit by attending pilates classes. Her secret to a healthy life is eating well and keeping her mind active by doing the New York Times crossword each day.
Busier Than Most
It Barely Made It To Air
Carol Burnett always stood out from the crowd, and it was clear she was destined to be a star. Despite her obvious talent, producers were unsure they should give her show the green light. They feared it was not suitable for TV audiences, and the host was too big and loud for Americans.
It Barely Made It To Air
Struggling To Compete
Although the show brought in millions of viewers, and was considered one of the best things on television, it never ranked well. The Carol Burnett Show never featured in the top ten most-viewed shows during any of its 11 seasons. It never held the show back, but Burnett must have wished it ranked higher.
Struggling To Compete
Not So Supportive Mother
Not everyone is lucky enough to have their parents’ full support in life, and Burnett’s other didn’t approve of her daughter’s career path. She wanted Carol to become a writer as it was a safer choice. Burnett said in an interview that anytime she brought up acting her mother would always discourage her.
Not So Supportive Mother
Not Conforming To Expectations
Burnett admitted that she is not your typical girl next door, but that suits her fine. She isn’t willing to compromise on what she feels comfortable doing and doesn’t take her dieting too seriously. The actress said that while she doesn’t always eat a lot, she makes sure the food she does eat is indulgent.
Not Conforming To Expectations
Appealing to Jim
Jim Carrey was a young comedian as the Carol Burnett Show was in full flow. He was just ten years old when he sent his resume into the show asking for an audition. It could have been Jim Carrey’s big break, but luckily his career didn’t suffer too much, and he became a megastar anyway.
Appealing to Jim
Putting People In Their Place
Burnett was asked by actress Kristin Chenoweth where her dress was from. Not one to care too much about fashion, she told the actress she had no idea, and maybe the outfit was like 40 years old. Few people have been brave enough to ask her what outfit she’s wearing since.
Putting People In Their Place
Not Fitting In
Harvey Korman was given his own solo project by the network after season 10. His replacement was Dick Van Dyke, but Burnett admitted he didn’t fit the role so well. She said when Korman wore women’s clothing he became female when his replacement did the same it was just Dick Van Dyke in a dress.
Not Fitting In
Her Drawing Passion
Carol Burnett did not dream of becoming an actress or a stand-up comedian, instead, she wanted to be an illustrator. When she was younger, she designed and created her very own comic strip. That dream was put to the side after her entertaining career kicked off, but Burnett still draws for pleasure today.
Her Drawing Passion
A Mystery Donor
They say you shouldn’t accept gifts from strangers, but that’s what Burnett did to get her career kickstarted. A mysterious man gave her $1,000 at a party on three conditions. She had to pay it back after five years, never reveal his identity, and pay the favor forward to someone else in the future.
A Mystery Donor
Always Move Forward
Now well into her 80s, Burnett doesn’t believe it is possible to remake her show. She is happy that she was at the right place at the right time and thinks the same show format just wouldn’t work any longer. Burnett doesn’t miss it but always looks back in her show with fond memories.
Always Move Forward
Fighting Back
Conway loved to improvise his lines, which was something Lawrence wasn’t always happy with. She learned Conway was planning on ad-libbing during one of ‘The Family’ sketches. Lawrence delivered a hilarious line before Conway could get his in and everyone on the stage and in the audience was in fits of laughter.
Fighting Back
The Right Man For The Job
Burnett and her husband had a “Harvey Korman-type” entertainer in mind for the show but didn’t think they could get him. Amazingly Burnett spotted Korman in the parking lot at CBS and threw him over the hood of his car in enthusiasm. Through fear or admiration, Korman agreed to do the show.
The Right Man For The Job
Not Taking Rejection Personally
Burnett was wise enough at an early stage to know rejection is a part of the industry. She believed entertainers needed a fire in their belly to handle someone saying no to them. Burnett was overlooked for another actress at an audition in New York, but she always felt that her time would come.
Not Taking Rejection Personally
Chosen For Looks
Having talent is important, but on TV that’s not always enough. Carol’s producer husband was looking for an attractive male to cast in the show, and he knew he’d found his man in Lyle Waggoner. Part of Waggoner’s role was to be dashing, but thankfully he wasn’t afraid of making fun of his looks.
Chosen For Looks
The One That Got Away
Over the 11 seasons, Burnett got pretty much any guest she ever wanted, including Ronald Reagan and Steve Martin. The one guest she really wanted but was never able to get was Bette Davis. She wanted more money than the show budgeted for guests, and the showrunners feared this would set a dangerous precedent.
The One That Got Away
A Protective Figure
The show was Burnett’s baby, and she wasn’t afraid to criticize the writers. Burnett believed Vicki Lawrence needed funnier lines and said this to the writers in no uncertain terms. Lawrence said Burnett’s persistence led to two writers leaving the show in protest, adding that everyone knew who took her under her wing.
A Protective Figure
Paying The Mystery Man
Burnett kept her promise to the mysterious man who lent her $1,000 at the beginning of her career. She admitted to paying the man back five years later to the day. Later his wife phoned and invited Carol and her husband down to their home for a quiet and reserved lunch.
Paying The Mystery Man
Using Real Experiences
Things can happen to us that are so funny we couldn’t make them up. When Conway served in the military, he was having dental work done. His dentist accidentally injected his own thumb, which of course became a sketch for the show. Conway admitted Korman found it so funny he actually wet himself while filming.
Using Real Experiences
