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Best Known For
Carol Burnett is a comedian and actress who had a long-running sketch and variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, in the 1960s and '70s.
Videos see all videos
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Carol Burnett - On Confrontation (Shatner's Raw Nerve) (1:17)
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Carol Burnett - Nanny the Hypochondriac (Shatner's Raw Nerve) (2:58)
Carol Burnett - "Carrie and Me"
Carol Burnett reads from her new book Carrie and Me, a tribute to her late daughter Carrie Hamilton. Excerpted from the audiobook Carrie and Me, read by Carol Burnett. Audio courtesy of Simon & Schuster.
Carol Burnett - On Her TV Show
Host William Shatner talks with performer Carol Burnett about her grueling schedule as the star of “The Carol Burnett Show.”
Carol Burnett - On Confrontation
William Shatner talks to comedian Carol Burnett about a nightmarish childhood experience at the dentist’s office.
Carol Burnett - Nanny the Hypochondriac
Carol Burnett sits down with William Shatner to talk about her early life of poverty and growing up with her grandmother.
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Play NowCarol Burnett. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 12:03, May 22, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/carol-burnett-9231937.
Carol Burnett. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/carol-burnett-9231937 [Accessed 22 May 2013].
"Carol Burnett." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 22 2013, 12:03 http://www.biography.com/people/carol-burnett-9231937.
"Carol Burnett," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/carol-burnett-9231937 [accessed May 22, 2013].
"Carol Burnett," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/carol-burnett-9231937 (accessed May 22, 2013).
Carol Burnett [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 22] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/carol-burnett-9231937.
Carol Burnett, http://www.biography.com/people/carol-burnett-9231937 (last visited May 22, 2013).
Carol Burnett. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/carol-burnett-9231937. Accessed May 22, 2013.
Synopsis
Born on April 26, 1933, in San Antonio, Texas, Carol Burnett became popular through television guest appearances and specials before receiving her own comedy-variety program, The Carol Burnett Show, in 1967. The show ran for 11 seasons. Burnett has also appeared in a number of feature films, and on Broadway. She published her autobiography, One More Time, in 1986.
Contents
Quotes
"They tried to talk me out of it. They said, you know, Carol, it's a man's game. It's Dean Martin. It's Gleason. It's Milburn. And all of these guys! There had never been a woman doing a comedy variety..."
[On working with CBS to create "The Carol Burnett Show."]
"Adolescence is just one big walking pimple."
Early Life
One of the most popular comedians on television during the 1960s and '70s, Carol Creighton Burnett was born on April 26, 1933, in San Antonio, Texas, to Joseph and Ina Louise Burnett. After her parents divorced in the late 1930s, Burnett moved with her grandmother, Mabel Eudora White, to a small apartment in Hollywood, California. She attended Hollywood High School, graduating in 1951.
After studying theater arts and English at the University of California, Los Angeles, as an aspiring playwright, Burnett left school early and made her way to New York City with her boyfriend, Don Saroyan, in hopes of breaking into acting.
Early Career
Carol Burnett made her first television appearance in the early 1950s with a short stint on The Winchell-Mahoney Show, a children's TV program. Soon after, she began co-starring with Buddy Hackett on the sitcom Stanley (1956-57). In 1959, Burnett became a regular on the Garry Moore Show. Over the years, she was also featured on occasional CBS specials. Already a popular performer, she got her own comedy-variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, in 1967.
'The Carol Burnett Show'
The Carol Burnett Show usually opened with a question-and-answer session with the audience, and the silliness ensued—broad comedy skits and sketches, with Burnett using her expressive face to great humorous ends. The show ran for 11 seasons, leaving the air in 1978. Burnett later returned to TV with the comedy series Carol & Company in 1990 and The Carol Burnett Show in 1991. However, neither effort lasted long.
More recently, Burnett made a guest appearance on the hit TV series Desperate Housewives in 2006, and appeared in roles on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Glee in 2009 and 2010, respectively.
Film and Stage Career
In addition to her TV work, Carol Burnett has appeared in a number of feature films, including Pete 'n' Tillie (1972), The Front Page (1974), Annie (1982), Noises Off (1992) and Post Grad (2009), and performed the voices of animated characters in films like The Trumpet of the Swan (2001) and Horton Hears a Who! (2008).
Burnett has also done a lot of stage work. She made her Broadway debut in the musical Once Upon a Mattress in 1959 and went on to appear in a few other Broadway shows, including Moon Over Buffalo (1995-'96) and Putting It Together (1999-'00). Her 1986 autobiography, One More Time: A Memoir, provided the source material for the play Hollywood Arms, which was performed on Broadway from October 2002 to January 2003. Burnett co-wrote the piece with her daughter, Carrie Hamilton.
BOOKS
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Learn more about Carol Burnett's book Carrie and Me, a touching tribute to her daughter Carrie Hamilton, at Simon & Schuster.
Listen to an audio excerpt of Carrie and Me.
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Famous Lefties
View groupLeft-handed people are a rare breed—only 10 percent of the general population is a lefty. There isn't a definite scientific explanation of why people are left-handed, and although it might be an inconvenience for some, it's actually an advantage in sports. Legendary lefty athletes include baseball player Babe Ruth and basketball star Larry Bird. They're in good company with a wide variety of famous faces from President Barack Obama and Oprah Winfrey to composer Wolfgang Mozart and entrepreneur Bill Gates.
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Guests on Glee
View groupThe TV musical Glee, which debuted in 2009, follows the adventures of a diverse high school singing group who covers everyone from Michael Jackson to Madonna. The show has become famous for its jubilant song and dance numbers as well as for its guest stars. Gwyneth Paltrow made headlines with her turn as a mini-skirt clad substitute teacher who wowed with Cee-Lo's "Forget You," while Ricky Martin did a chair dance to LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It." Legendary comedienne Carol Burnett also appeared as the Nazi-hunting mother of Sue Sylvester (actress Jane Lynch), leading the two in a duet of "Ohio." Who's been your favorite guest star on Glee?
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The Ed Sullivan Show Guests
View groupOriginally called Toast of the Town, The Ed Sullivan Show ran from 1948-1971 on CBS and was an American staple in the 50s and 60s. The American variety show featured the Who's Who of celebritydom over the decades, including Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Tony Bennett, Carol Channing, Lucille Ball, The Jackson 5, and The Doors.
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