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Why do we love Carol?
For more than half a century Carol Burnett has made us laugh. It was something of a hard knock life she lead growing up as a child of alcoholic parents where her grandmother was her guidepost. Many afternoons were spent in the movie houses in Hollywood, escaping into the glitz and glamour of the golden age of the movies. As a teen she worked as an usher in the theaters making extra cash and spending time with the silver screen gods and goddesses. Years later, coming full circle, Carol would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and asked that it be placed in front to that theater.
As a student at UCLA Carol often entertained at parties for Hollywood's movers and shakers. At one such party, she impressed a guest so much that he offered to underwrite her trip to New York on two conditions, that when she was in the position she would help other artists and that she never reveal his identity. To this day Carol has honored both requests. She left UCLA just short of graduation and arrived in New York with a cardboard suitcase and $42 dollars in her pocket and made her way to the only hotel she knew, the Algonquin, home of Dorothy Parker's Round Table. After a night, she found her way to a boardinghouse for actresses and began making the audition rounds. A hit song parody “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles" sung during cabaret gigs lead to appearances on the Tonight Show with Jack Parr and the Ed Sullivan Toast of the Town show.
The stage would soon beckon and Carol made her Broadway debut in Once Upon a Mattress for which she would receive a Tony Award nomination. Sensing her star potential, Gary Moore made her a member of his television comedy troupe and CBS soon followed that with an exclusive 10 year television deal. That deal would result in an enduring television comedy classic. In 1967 The Carol Burnett show debuted and the hour-long sketch comedy show, which ran for eleven seasons, featured such classic characters as Mrs. Wiggins, Eunice (to Vicki Lawrence's Mama), Scarlet O'Hara, and the beloved Charwoman.
With her comedic gifts well established, Carol tackled dramas and returned to her musical comedy roots in the big screen adaptaion of Annie. While life on screen was going along swimmingly, off screen Carol dealt with her daughter Carrie's drug addiction and would successfully sue the National Enquirer for libel for a story alleging her public drunkenness during an altercation with then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. She won a landmark judgement of $1.6 million which was later reduced on appeal. Her relationship with daughter Carrie once trying, became a gratifying and ultimately tragic partnership. They co-wrote the play Hollywood Arms based on Carol's memoirs but sadly, Carrie would lose her battle with cancer before the play debuted on Broadway.
More than forty years ago, the George Foster Peabody Awards recognized Carol's gifts, "In a world that needs laughter today more than ever before, Carol Burnett has emerged in the past year as one of television’s funniest, and most highly acclaimed, comediennes. Already a star of the first magnitude, she promises to give untold enjoyment to the world of television for years to come." She continues to entertain and make us laugh, Carol, we're so glad we had this time together and look forward to many more years of laughter.
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Biography:
Born - April 26, 1933
San Antonio, Texas
Emmy Awards:
- 1962 - Won - Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series for "The Garry Moore Show"
- 1963 - Won - Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series for "Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall" and for "An Evening with Carol Burnett"
- 1969 - Nominated - Outstanding Variety or Musical Series for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1970 - Nominated - Outstanding Variety or Musical Series for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1971 - Nominated - Outstanding Variety Series - Musical for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1972 - Nominated - Outstanding Single Program - Variety or Musical - Variety and Popular Music for Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center
- 1972 - Won - Outstanding Variety Series - Musical for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1973 - Nominated - Outstanding Variety Musical Series for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1974 - Won - Outstanding Music-Variety Series for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1975 - Won - Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1976 - Nominated - Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1977 - Nominated - Outstanding Special - Comedy-Variety or Music for Sills and Burnett at the Met
- 1977 - Nominated - Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1978 - Nominated - Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1979 - Nominated - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for Friendly Fire
- 1993 - Nominated - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for "The Larry Sanders Show"
- 1995 - Nominated - Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for "Men, Movies & Carol"
- 1997 - Won - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for "Mad About You"
- 1998 - Nominated - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for "Mad About You"
- 2002 - Nominated - Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for "Carol Burnett: Show Stoppers"
Golden Globes:
- 1968 - Won - Best TV Star - Female for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1970 - Won - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1971 - Nominated - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1972 - Won - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1973 - Nominated - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1973 - Nominated - Best Motion Picture Actress - Musical/Comedy for Pete 'n' Tillie
- 1974 - Nominated - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1975 - Nominated - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1976 - Nominated - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1977 - Won - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1978 - Won - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1979 - Nominated - Best TV Actress - Musical/Comedy for "The Carol Burnett Show"
- 1979 - Nominated - Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role for A Wedding
- 1982 - Nominated - Best Motion Picture Actress - Comedy/Musical for The Four Seasons
- 1983 - Nominated - Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice
- 1983 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical for Annie
- 1991 - Nominated - Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series - Comedy/Musical for "Carol & Company"
Other Honors:
- 1960 - Nominated - Tony Award Best Actress in a Musical for Once Upon a Mattress
- 1962 - Peabody Award - Personal award for televison entertainment
- 1969 - Won - Tony Award - Special Award
- 1969 - Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year
- 1985 - Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame
- 1988 - Horatio Alger "Distinguished American Citizen" Award
- 1996 - Nominated - Tony Award Best Actress in a Play for Moon Over Buffalo
- 1998 - Grand Marshal Tournament of Roses Parade
- 1999 - American Comedy Award - Funniest Female Performer in a TV Special for The Marriage Fool
- 2003 - Kennedy Center Honors
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In her own words -- On embracing challenges:
"I have always grown from my problems and challenges, from the things that don't work out, that's when I've really learned."
And dreams:
"When you have a dream, you've got to grab it and never let go."
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