Early life
Burnett was born in San Antonio, Texas, the daughter of Ina Louise (née Creighton), a publicity writer for movie studios, and Joseph Thomas Burnett, a movie theater manager. Both of her parents suffered from alcoholism, and at a young age she was left with her grandmother, Mabel Eudora White. Her parents divorced in the late 1930s, and Burnett and her grandmother moved to an apartment near her mother’s in an impoverished area of Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. There, they stayed in a boarding house with her younger half-sister Chrissy.
When Burnett was in the fourth grade, she briefly invented an imaginary twin sister named Karen, with Shirley Temple-like dimples. Motivated to further the pretense, Burnett recalled fondly that she "fooled the other boarders in the rooming house where we lived by frantically switching clothes and dashing in and out of the house by the fire escape and the front door. Then I became exhausted and Karen mysteriously vanished."
They laughed and it felt great. All of a sudden, after so much coldness and emptiness in my life, I knew the sensation of all that warmth wrapping around me. I had always been a quiet, shy, sad sort of girl and then everything changed for me. You spend the rest of your life hoping you'll hear a laugh that great again.
During this time, Burnett performed in several university productions, garnering recognition for her comedic and musical abilities. Her mother disapproved of her acting ambitions:
She wanted me to be a writer. She said you can always write, no matter what you look like. When I was growing up she told me to be a little lady, and a couple of times I got a whack for crossing my eyes or making funny faces. Of course, she never, I never, dreamed I would ever perform.
The young Burnett, always insecure about her looks, described her reaction to her mother's advice of "You can always write, no matter what you look like", in her 1986 memoir One More Time: "God, that hurt!"
In 1954, during her junior year, a professor invited Burnett and some other students to perform at a black-tie party. A man and his wife approached her afterward, as she was putting hors d'oeuvres in her purse to take home to her grandmother. Instead of reprimanding her, the man complimented Burnett's performance and asked about her future plans. When he discovered that she wanted to go try her luck with musical comedy in New York, but did not have enough money, he offered her and her boyfriend Don Saroyan each a $1000 interest-free loan on the spot. The conditions were that it was to be paid back in five years, his name was never to be revealed, and if she became a success, she would help others attain their dreams.
Early career
After spending her first year in New York working as a hat check girl and failing to land acting jobs, Burnett along with other girls living at The Rehearsal Club, a boarding house for women seriously pursuing an acting career, put on The Rehearsal Club Revue on March 3, 1955. They mailed invitations to agents, who showed up along with stars like Celeste Holm and Marlene Dietrich, and this opened doors for several of the girls. Burnett was cast in a minor role on The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show in 1955. She played the girlfriend of a ventriloquist’s dummy on the popular children’s program. This role led to her starring role opposite Buddy Hackett in the short-lived sitcom, Stanley, from 1956 to 1957.
Burnett's first true taste of success came with her appearance on Broadway in the 1959 musical Once Upon a Mattress. In the same year, she became a regular player on The Garry Moore Show, a job that lasted until 1962. She won an Emmy that year for her "Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series" on the show. Burnett portrayed a number of characters, most memorably the put-upon cleaning woman who would later become her signature alter-ego. With her success on the Moore show, Burnett finally rose to headliner status and appeared in the 1962 special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, co-starring her friend Julie Andrews. The show was produced by Bob Banner, directed by Joe Hamilton, and written by Mike Nichols and Ken Welch. Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Program Achievement in the Field of Music. Burnett also guest-starred on a number of shows during this time, including The Twilight Zone and a recurring role as a tough female Marine in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.. Burnett became good friends with the latter show's star Jim Nabors, who would later be her first guest every season on her variety show.
In 1963, Lucille Ball became a friend and mentor to Burnett, and after having the younger performer guest star on The Lucy Show a number of times, Ball reportedly offered Burnett her own sitcom called "Here's Agnes", to be produced by Desilu Productions. Burnett declined the offer, however, deciding instead to put together a variety show. The two remained close friends until Ball's death in 1989. Ball sent flowers every year on her birthday. When Burnett awoke on the day of her 56th birthday in 1989, she discovered via the morning news that Ball had died. Later that afternoon, the flowers Ball had arranged arrived at Burnett's house, with the note "Happy Birthday, Kid. Love, Lucy.
The Carol Burnett Show
The hour-long Carol Burnett Show, which debuted in 1967, garnered 23 Emmy Awards and won or was nominated for multiple Emmy Awards every season it was on the air. Its ensemble cast included Tim Conway (who was a guest player until the 9th season),Harvey Korman, Lyle Waggoner, and the teenaged Vicki Lawrence (who was cast partly because she looked like a young Burnett). The network did not want her to do a variety show because they believed only men could be successful at variety but Burnett's contract required that they give her one season of whatever kind of show she wanted to make. She chose to carry on the tradition of past variety show successes.
Burnett became known for her acting and talent, and for ending each show by tugging her ear, which was a message to her grandmother who had raised her. This was done to let her know that she was doing well and that she loved her.
A true variety show in its simplest of forms, The Carol Burnett Show struck a chord with viewers through parodies of films ("Went With the Wind" as a parody of Gone With the Wind), television ("As the Stomach Turns" parodying of the soap opera As the World Turns) and commercials. Burnett and team struck gold with the original skit "The Family", which eventually was spun off into its own television show called Mama's Family, starring Vicki Lawrence.
Other roles
Burnett starred in a few films while her variety show was running, including Pete 'n' Tillie (1972). After the show ended, Burnett assumed a number of roles that departed from comedy. She appeared in several dramatic roles, most notably in the television movie Friendly Fire. She appeared as Beatrice O'Reilly in the film Life of The Party: The Story of Beatrice, a story about a woman fighting her alcoholism. Her other film work includes The Four Seasons, Annie, and Noises Off. She also returned to star in a different role as Queen Aggravain in the movie version of Once Upon a Mattress.
Burnett also made occasional returns to the stage: in 1974, she appeared at The Muny Theater in St. Louis, Missouri in I Do! I Do! with Rock Hudson and eleven years later, she took the supporting role of Carlotta Campion in the 1985 concert performance of Stephen Sondheim's Follies.
Burnett made frequent appearances as a panelist on the game show Password, an association she maintained until the early 1980s. She was also the first celebrity to appear on the children's series, Sesame Street, on that series' first episode on November 10, 1969.
In the 1980s and 1990s, she made several attempts at starting a new variety program. She also appeared briefly on The Carol Burnett Show's "The Family" sketches spinoff, Mama's Family, as her stormy character, Eunice Higgins. She played the matriarch in the cult comedy miniseries Fresno, which parodied the primetime soap opera Falcon Crest. She returned to TV in the mid-1990s as a supporting character on the sitcom Mad About You, playing Theresa Stemple, the mother of main character Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt).
Burnett has long been a fan of the soap opera All My Children. She realized a dream when Agnes Nixon created the role of Verla Grubbs for her. Burnett suddenly found herself playing the long-lost daughter of Langley Wallingford (Louis Edmonds) and causing trouble for her stepmother Phoebe Tyler-Wallingford (Ruth Warrick). She hosted a 25th anniversary special about the show in 1995 and made a brief cameo appearance as Verla Grubbs on the January 5, 2005 episode which celebrated the show's 35th anniversary. It was announced in June that Burnett will reprise her role as Grubbs in September 2011 as part of the series' finale.
Personal life
The first house Burnett lived in was the Beverly Hills house formerly owned by Harry James and Betty Grable. Growing up in rented rooms, an actual house was "a luxury", as "A Murphy bed was [her] idea of spacious."
She married Don Saroyan on December 15, 1955; the couple divorced in 1962. On May 4, 1963, Burnett married TV producer Joe Hamilton, a divorced father of eight, with whom she had three daughters: actress and writer Carrie Hamilton, Jody Hamilton, and singer Erin Hamilton. The marriage ended in divorce in 1984, and Joe Hamilton later died of cancer (1991). On November 24, 2001, she married Brian Miller (principal drummer in and contractor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra), who is twenty-three years her junior.
In January 2002, Carrie Hamilton died of lung and brain cancer at the age of 38. She had become addicted to drugs as a teenager. Burnett and Carrie wrote a play together called Hollywood Arms, which was adapted from Burnett's bestselling memoir, One More Time. The Broadway production featured Linda Lavin as Burnett's character's beloved grandmother, and Michele Pawk as Burnett's mother Louise. Pawk went on to receive the 2003 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.
Lawsuits
Burnett drew attention in 1981, when she sued the tabloid newspaper National Enquirer for libel after the Enquirer described her alleged public drunkenness, purportedly with Henry Kissinger. Carol was particularly sensitive to the accusations because of her parents' own alcoholism. The case, Carol Burnett v. National Enquirer, Inc., was a landmark for libel cases involving celebrities, although the unprecedented $1.6 million verdict for Burnett was reduced to about $800,000 on appeal. She donated a portion of that award to the University of Hawaii and University of California at Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism saying she hoped the suit would teach aspiring journalists the dangers of defaming individuals in articles. The money was used to fund Law and Ethics courses at the school. Burnett said at the time that she didn't care if she just won "cab fare", and that the lawsuit was a matter of principle.
In March 2007, she sued 20th Century Fox for copyright infringement, trademark violation, statutory violation of right of privacy, and misappropriation of name and likeness over the use of an altered version of her signature closing song and the portrayal of her charwoman character in an episode of Family Guy. On May 26, 2007, the lawsuit was dismissed by a Los Angeles federal judge. The judge used Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as the general basis for the decision.
Awards and recognition
Emmy Awards
Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6439 Hollywood Blvd. in front of the Hollywood Pacific Theatre (below), where she was once fired from a job as an usherette. At the time, it was known as the Warner Hollywood Theatre.
1962 – Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series, The Garry Moore Show
1963 – Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series, Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall and An Evening with Carol Burnett
1969, 1970, 1971 – Nominated for Outstanding Variety or Musical Series, The Carol Burnett Show
1972 – Outstanding Variety Series – Musical, The Carol Burnett Show, shared with Joe Hamilton (executive producer) and Arnie Rosen (producer)
1972 – Nominated for Outstanding Single Program – Variety or Musical – Variety and Popular Music, Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center
1973 – Nominated for Outstanding Variety Musical Series, The Carol Burnett Show, with Joe Hamilton (executive producer), and Bill Angelos, Buz Kohan, and Arnie Rosen (producers)
1974 – Outstanding Music-Variety Series, The Carol Burnett Show, with Joe Hamilton (executive producer) and Ed Simmons (producer)
1974 – Nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Drama, 6 Rms Riv Vu
1975 – Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series, The Carol Burnett Show, with Joe Hamilton (executive producer) and Ed Simmons (producer)
1976, 1977, 1978 – Nominated for Outstanding Comedy-Variety or Music Series, The Carol Burnett Show, with Joe Hamilton (executive producer) and Ed Simmons (producer)
1977 – Nominated for Outstanding Special – Comedy-Variety or Music, Sills and Burnett at the Met, with Beverly Sills and Joe Hamilton (producer)
1979 – Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Special, Friendly Fire
1983 – Nominated for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, Texaco Star Theater: Opening Night
1993 – Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, The Larry Sanders Show
1995 – Nominated for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program, Men, Movies & Carol
1997 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, Mad About You
1998 – Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series, Mad About You
2002 – Nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special, Carol Burnett: Show Stoppers, with John Hamilton and Rick Hawkins (executive producers), Jody Hamilton and Mary Jo Blue (producers)
2009 – Nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
[edit]Golden Globe Awards
1968 – Best TV Star – Female, The Carol Burnett Show
1970, 1972, 1977, 1978 – Best TV Actress – Musical/Comedy, The Carol Burnett Show
1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979 – Nominated for Best TV Actress – Musical/Comedy, The Carol Burnett Show
1973 – Nominated for Best Motion Picture Actress – Musical/Comedy, Pete 'n' Tillie
1979 – Nominated for Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role, A Wedding
1982 – Nominated for Best Motion Picture Actress – Comedy/Musical, The Four Seasons
1983 – Nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical, Annie
1983 – Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV, Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice
1991 – Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series – Comedy/Musical, Carol & Company
Tony Awards
1969 – Special Award (for "her charitable work . . . From her roots in the theatre, she has drawn upon her experience to create a very special rapport with audiences in another medium -- television -- and she has widened the theatrical horizons of her viewers.")
Other
She was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award in 1980.
In 1997, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.
She was a recipient of the 2003 Kennedy Center Honors.
President George W. Bush awarded Burnett the Presidential Medal of Freedom on November 9, 2005.
She was named the Grand Marshal of the 109th Rose Parade and the 84th Rose Bowl Game on New Year's Day in 1998.
She was the first honoree and presenter at second annual awards ceremony of the Back Stage West Garland Awards in 1999
On December 1, 2009, she was inducted into the California Hall of Fame at The California Museum for History, Women and the Arts.
Burnett was presented a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame located at 6439 Hollywood Blvd., in front of the Hollywood Pacific Theatre where she worked as an usher in 1957.
Work
Television
The Entertainers (1964–1965)
The Lucy Show (special guest star-4 episodes-1966)
Carol + 2 (1967)
Get Smart (1967) as "Ozark" Annie Jones in Season 3 episode "One Of Our Olives Is Missing"
The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978)
The Carol Burnett Show in London (1970)
Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center (1971)
Sesame Street (1971) giving a lecture about noses
Once Upon a Mattress (1972)
6 Rms Riv Vu (1974)
Out to Lunch (1974)
Twigs (1975)
Cher (1975)
Sills and Burnett at the Met (1976)
All My Children (cast member: 1976, 1983, 1995, 2005, and 2011)
Dolly and Carol in Nashville (1978)
The Grass Is Always Greener over the Septic Tank (1978)
Friendly Fire (1979)
Carol Burnett & Company (1979)
The Tenth Month (1979)
Eunice (1982) (teleplay based on the Family sketches separate from Mama's Family)
Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice' (1982)
Between Friends (1983)
Mama's Family (cast member from 1983 to 1985)
Burnett Discovers Domingo (1984)
Magnum, P.I. (1984 and 1988 as Susan Johnson)
The Laundromat (1985)
Follies in Concert (1986)
Fresno (1986) (miniseries)
Plaza Suite (1987) (also executive producer)
Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin (1987)
Fame (1987) – episode Reggie and Rose (with Carrie Hamilton), broadcast April 27, 1987
Hostage (1988)
Julie & Carol: Together Again (1989)
Carol & Company (1990) (canceled after one and a half seasons)
The Carol Burnett Show (1991) (canceled after two months)
The Larry Sanders Show (1992) - episode The Spider Episode
The Carol Burnett Show: A Reunion (1993)
Carol Burnett: The Special Years (1994)
Seasons of the Heart (1994)
Men, Movies & Carol (1994)
Mad About You (Theresa Stemple, 1996–1999)
Touched by an Angel (1997) – episode The Comeback (with Carrie Hamilton), broadcast November 23, 1997
The Marriage Fool (1998)
Putting It Together (2000)
Carol Burnett: Show Stoppers (2001) (also executive producer)
The Carol Burnett Show: Let's Bump Up the Lights (2004) (also executive producer)
Once Upon a Mattress (2005) (also executive producer)
Desperate Housewives (2006) (guest starring role as Eleanor Mason)
American Masters Tribute to Carol Burnett (2007)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) (Emmy award-nominated guest appearance)
The Bonnie Hunt Show (2010) (Special guest)
Glee (2010) (Special guest star)
Filmography
Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963)
Rowan & Martin at the Movies (1968) (short subject)
Star Spangled Salesman (1968) (short subject)
Pete 'n' Tillie (1972)
The Front Page (1974)
A Wedding (1978)
Health (1980)
The Four Seasons (1981)
Chu Chu and the Philly Flash (1981)
Annie (1982)
Noises Off... (1992)
Moon Over Broadway (1997) (documentary)
Get Bruce (1999) (documentary)
The Trumpet of the Swan (2001) (voice)
Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Legends Who Were There (2003) (documentary)
Once Upon A Mattress (2005)
Horton Hears a Who! (2008) (voice)
Post Grad (2009)
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