I'm So Glad We'll Have More Time Together

When The Carol Burnett Show first aired on CBS fifty years ago today, on September 11, 1967, few of us probably could imagine a date in 2017, way into the 21st Century, or the show's long-lasting impact.

Even Carol herself was just initially thinking of the show on a short-term basis -- because the show was actually an unintended result of a little-noticed clause in Burnett’s contract for The Garry Moore Show wherein CBS promised the musical comedy actress her own program.  But from such inauspicious beginnings, Burnett and her talented ensemble cast of Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner soon became a hit, averaging 30 million viewers per week and ultimately winning 25 Emmy Awards.

And now, even though The Carol Burnett Show has been off the air for several generations, Burnett told me in a 2012 interview that she still gets mail "from teenagers -- even 11-year-olds -- who write me because they've seen individual sketches on YouTube.  They're the sweetest letters, saying 'We heard about this show from our parents' or 'our grandparents. We wish we could have been there at the beginning.'"

The timing of the 50th Anniversary celebration is part of a perfect Carol Burnett storm happening in 2017, reminiscent of the big year another then-octogenarian icon, Betty White, experienced in 2010.  In July, Netflix announced a new unscripted series, A Little Help with Carol Burnett, in which the comedy legend joins a panel of 4- to 8-year old kids to give life advice.  And this past spring, Carol shot the pilot for Household Name, a multi-camera sitcom in which she plays a deliciously haughty 92-year-old movie queen living with a non-showbiz family in her Los Angeles manse; having attended the May pilot taping, I can attest that the show was hilarious, which is why it was surprising when ABC did not pick it up to series at the time of its May upfront presentation.  Still, the show is currently being redeveloped by its creator, Michael Saltzman, and the network, which was thrilled with Carol's work, hopes to pick it up in the future. 

There have been studies in the past showing that in bad economic times, comedy flourishes; and someday, I'm sure, sociologists will study 2017, and see how the anxiety of the Trump era drove us all towards the comfort of safe, nostalgic programming.  Netflix already has had several seasons of success with its Fuller House, and now this season on the broadcast networks we have upcoming reboots of '90s sitcoms Roseanne and Will & Grace.  Just the other day, ABC picked up a pilot for a new version of its 1981 show Greatest American Hero -- which wasn't even a hit in its day, but remains beloved by its fans nonetheless -- this time with a female, Indian-American lead.  Suddenly, everything old is new again.

And so this December 3, CBS is celebrating the Golden Anniversary of The Carol Burnett Show -- a little late, but perfectly timed to catch us in a nostalgic, holiday mood.  The star-studded tribute will tape next month in Los Angeles.  Below, CBS' press announcement about the special honoring their comedy icon.

Sept. 7, 2017

CBS CELEBRATES THE 50^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CLASSIC, AWARD-WINNING COMEDY PROGRAM “THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW”

WITH A NEW STAR-STUDDED TWO-HOUR SPECIAL

“The Carol Burnett 50^th Anniversary Special” to Air Sunday, Dec. 3

Carol Burnett, Original Cast Members Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, Costume Designer Bob Mackie, along with Celebrities Jim Carrey, Kristin Chenoweth, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick Jr., Bill Hader, Jay Leno, Jane Lynch, Bernadette Peters, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short and More Will Commemorate the Groundbreaking Show

CBS will celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Carol Burnett’s classic, award-winning comedy series with THE CAROL BURNETT 50^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL, a new two-hour star-studded event featuring Burnett, original cast members and special guests, on Sunday, Dec. 3 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Filming on Stage 33 at CBS Television City in Los Angeles, the show’s original soundstage, Burnett will reminisce about her favorite sketches, Q&As with the studio audience, guest stars, her memorable wardrobe and bloopers, as well as the tremendous effect the show continues to have on television today as a true pioneer of sketch comedy.

“I can’t believe how fast the time went, and what makes me the happiest is that so much of the funny stuff we did still holds up today, and we can share it with generations to come,” said Carol Burnett. “What a great ride!”

“‘The Carol Burnett Show’ was a comedy showcase that was years ahead of its time. If social media existed then, clips from the broadcast would have quickly gone viral,” said Leslie Moonves, Chairman and CEO, CBS Corporation. “We are very proud of the show’s significant place in CBS’ legacy, as well as in television history, and we look forward to this primetime celebration of incredible talent, led by the incomparable Carol Burnett.”

The special will also feature original cast members Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner, costume designer Bob Mackie, as well as other comedians, comic actors and friends, including Jim Carrey, Kristin Chenoweth, Stephen Colbert, Harry Connick Jr., Bill Hader, Jay Leno, Jane Lynch, Bernadette Peters, Maya Rudolph and Martin Short, among others, who will join Burnett to discuss how the revolutionary series paved the way for them and impacted their careers.

“The Carol Burnett Show” premiered on Sept. 11, 1967 and starred Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner and Tim Conway. Airing for 11 seasons and a total of 276 episodes, the show earned a total of 25 Primetime Emmy Awards, including three for Outstanding Variety-Music/Comedy Series. In addition, the show earned eight Golden Globe Awards, including one for Best Television Show – Comedy or Musical, and Burnett received four for Best Actress – Comedy or Musical.

THE CAROL BURNETT 50^TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL will be produced for television by dick clark productions. Carol Burnett, Steve Sauer, Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Mark Bracco, Paul Miller and Leslie Kolins Small are executive producers. Paul Miller directs.

CHEAT TWEET: Celebrate the 50^th anniversary of #TheCarolBurnettShow! 2-hour star studded special event on Dec. 3! #CarolBurnett50

Happy 80th Birthday, Carol Burnett

This spring, I had the immense honor of getting to interview Carol Burnett about her new book Carrie and Me:  A Mother Daughter Love Story (released April 9 by Simon & Schuster), about the box set of The Carol Burnett Show released last fall by Time Inc., about her life and career, and about her love for her daughter Carrie Hamilton, a talent in her own right who passed away far too young at age 38.

This weekend, as the TV legend and comedy icon celebrates her 80th birthday, let's all look back at the times we had together.

A Legend’s Love Story

In a New Memoir, Carol Burnett Pays Tribute to a Talented Daughter

Carol Burnett and daughter Carrie Hamilton

For eleven seasons, Carol Burnett brought the audience for her eponymous variety show some of television’s biggest, longest laughs.  Now, via both her latest autobiographical volume and a deluxe Carol Burnett Show DVD box set, the beloved comedienne is bringing us back to her show’s 1970s heyday, to relive her on-screen highs as well as to reveal her poignant struggles behind-the-scenes.

The Carol Burnett Show debuted in 1967, the almost accidental result of a little-noticed clause in Burnett’s contract for The Garry Moore Show wherein CBS promised the musical comedy actress her own program.  From such inauspicious beginnings, Burnett and her talented ensemble cast of Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner soon became a hit, averaging 30 million viewers per week and ultimately winning 25 Emmy Awards.

Now, even though The Carol Burnett Show has been off the air for more than a generation, as Burnett explains, she still gets mail “from teenagers – even 11-year-olds – who write me because they’ve seen individual sketches on YouTube.  They’re the sweetest letters, saying ‘We heard about this show from our parents’ or ‘our grandparents.  We wish we could have been there at the beginning.’”

The Best of The Carol Burnett Show

That’s why, adds this recipient of twelve People’s Choice awards, eight Golden Globes, six Emmys, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Kennedy Center honors, she’s so happy about her latest prize:  last fall’s release of a Carol Burnett Show DVD box set, titled “Carol’s Favorites” (16-episode set $59.95 or 25-episode set $99.95 in stores; 50-episode deluxe edition, including showcase collector’s box and exclusive memory book $199.95, only at timelife.com).  Now, Burnett explains, fans old and new can experience the show’s laughs in context, within episodes hand-selected by the star and presented in their entirety for the first time since their original broadcast. 

Both box sets sport bonus features, such as a reunion roundtable of the show’s old gang where, Burnett explains, “we all ended up telling stories that even the others had never heard before.”  That’s an achievement, because as the 80-year-old actress notes, “I have a good memory for the show.”  Burnett remembers well the sketches and musical numbers that had America cracking up at home – and, famously, had some of the show’s cast members cracking up on screen.  And so, picking the episodes for DVD from among eleven seasons was easy, she adds.  “But I want you to know, I don’t sit around like Norma Desmond.”

Maybe not, but Burnett did famously portray “Nora” Desmond, a similarly faded and self-obsessed silent-screen star in one of the show’s popular movie parodies.  Then there was Mrs. Wiggins, the blonde bimbo secretary obliviously chomping her gum.  And who could forget Eunice – she’s so starved for attention, she’d never let you get away with it – in the frequently recurring series of “Family” sketches that ultimately was spun off into its own series (although sans Burnett), Mama’s Family.

But it was in the actress’s spoof of another iconic big-screen heroine, this time called “Starlet” O’Hara, where The Carol Burnett Show hit its brilliant peak, and made television history.  As Burnett descended down a grand, Tara-esque staircase, in a gown the show’s costume designer Bob Mackie deliberately made to look clumsily thrown together from fringed velvet curtains, complete with curtain rod across the shoulders, “the audience saw the dress for the first time, and they were screaming,” the actress remembers.   The resulting bout of laughter, reportedly ten-minutes long, is one of the longest ever recorded on television, and the dress that incited it resides in the Smithsonian.  Even Burnett herself nearly broke down.  “To keep from laughing myself, I had to walk down the stairs while biting the inside of my cheek,” she remembers.

Breaking Up Is Hard Not To Do

Carol may have kept it together in “Went With the Wind,” but her entire ensemble was already infamous for not being able to keep a straight face; in one famous sketch, poor Korman was unable to stop shaking with laughter as Conway, as a dentist, improv’d a hilarious slapstick routine with a novocaine needle.  “We never did it on purpose,” Burnett insists about “breaking” on screen.  Instead, trained in live television on shows like Garry Moore and earlier, The Paul Winchell Show, Burnett wanted to preserve a spontaneous feel.  “I wanted people to see that we’re in the sandbox and we’re having fun.  We’re playing,” she explains.  “I didn’t want to stop and re-do the scenes, so I said just let it go.  Let the audience know this is happening, and it’s truthful.  And the audience appreciated that.”

In another throwback to her days working with Moore, who performed a stand-up routine to warm up his own live audience, Burnett also reluctantly committed to interacting with the crowd – but this time, on camera.  “My executive producer, Bob Banner, also produced Garry’s show.  He pointed out, ‘Carol, you’re going to be in funny outfits, with your teeth blacked out, fat suits, and wigs.  I think it’s important for the audience to get to know you first,’” Burnett remembers.  “And after the first two or three shows, the audience came prepared with some really wonderful questions, so I started to enjoy it.”

Burnett would ultimately pepper many personal touches into these interactive “Let’s Bump Up the Lights” segments throughout the eleven years.  She would perform her trademark Tarzan yell – which she’d developed as a kid, forced to portray Tarzan opposite a beautiful cousin who insisted on being Jane -- on command.  She continued to tug her ear – a on-air gesture she’d originally used in her Garry Moore days to signal the OK to her grandmother at home – and close with her signature song, “I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together,” written by her then-husband, and the show’s executive producer, Joe Hamilton.

A Mother-Daughter Love Story

But as Burnett writes in her new book, Carrie and Me:  A Mother-Daughter Love Story, ($24, in stores April 9), even with this outlet for such personal expression, she decided in 1978 to end her series, in part to spend more time at home with Hamilton and their three young daughters.  The book, Burnett’s third, portrays the actress’ relationship with her eldest, Carrie Hamilton, who in her early teens developed an addiction to drugs.

Carrie’s illness and setbacks on the road to recovery preoccupied Burnett during her early post-variety show career, on the sets of such films as The Four Seasons and the 1982 big-screen Annie.  As Burnett writes, it took a while to accept a tough lesson about forcing your child to deal with her addiction:  “You have to love them enough to let them hate you.”  But by 18, Carrie had successfully completed rehab, and began a career in which it was clear she had inherited many of her mother’s talents.

“When she was 25, Carrie made a movie in Japan, Tokyo Pop, that has become a cult film.  She got sensational reviews – but then she wanted to do other things,” Burnett explains.  Eventually moving to Colorado, Carrie pursued a multi-faceted career as a singer, composer and writer, and began work on a screenplay called “Sunrise in Memphis,” meant to be the story of a bohemian girl’s journey to Graceland.

As Burnett chronicles in Carrie and Me, her daughter took the Graceland trip as research, crossing through Burnett’s own birthplace of San Antonio, Texas, and digging further back into the family’s roots in the town of Belleville, Arkansas.  But unfortunately, Carrie never got to finish that screenplay; she was soon diagnosed with cancer, which would ultimately take her life at just age 38.

The mother and daughter team had first collaborated on the play Hollywood Arms, based on Burnett’s book One More Time; the play ultimately opened in April of 2002, just months after Carrie’s death.  Then, during her last days in the hospital, Carrie asked her mother to fill in the missing middle portion of “Sunrise in Memphis,” but “not having taken that journey myself, I didn’t know where she wanted the characters to go.  They were hers to write,” Burnett explains.

But now, with Carrie and Me, Burnett is fulfilling her promise, finally bringing her daughter’s screenplay to life by publishing it just as it is.  “I felt Carrie on my shoulder the whole time I was writing the book,” Burnett explains.  “I loved doing it because it brought her back to me.”

“The thing about Carrie was, she never met a stranger,” Burnett explains.  “She loved people, and was a great listener.  And where I’m a very conservative dresser, she had hair that was never the same color from week to week, and a collection of boas she’d wear.  She was quite the character, and I hope readers will get the essence of just what a special person she was.”

I saw it in the window and just couldn't resist it!

If you watched PBS' excellent recent multi-part series, Make 'Em Laugh, you saw a clip of one of TV's longest sustained laugh breaks in history, from CBS' classic The Carol Burnett Show (1967-78).

Interestingly, the laugh came not from a punchline, but from an ingenious visual, as, in one of their beloved movie parodies, Carol and company sent up Gone With the Wind in 1976.  In "Went With the Wind," "Starlet," in order to impress "Rat" Butler, frets over what to wear.  Of course, she ends up wearing the drapes -- thanks to a brilliant idea from costume designer Bob Mackie, curtain rod and all.

Now, 33 years later, Mattel has come out with a strikingly lifelike doll of Starlet and her famous green velvet curtain ensemble.  This limited edition collectible from the Barbie Pink Label collection is 11.5 inches tall, with an outfit re-created by Bob Mackie to match his famous original.  Click here for a link to the doll on amazon.com.

I have a few of Mattel's Barbie-as-Lucy dolls, and I hadn't known that the company was even planning on issuing a likeness of another of TV's great comediennes, Carol Burnett.  But, to quote Starlet, "I saw it in the window and just couldn't resist it!"