THIS IS NOT CAROL BURNETT. THIS IS A FAN SITE ONLY.
Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is one of the most successful female comedians on American television, thanks largely to her eponymous variety show, The Carol Burnett Show, that ran on CBS from 1967 through 1978.
Early life
Burnett was born in San Antonio, Texas to Jodie and Louise Burnett. Both of her parents, particularly her father, suffered from alcoholism, and at a young age she was left with her grandmother. Burnett moved to Hollywood, California with her grandmother where she graduated from Hollywood High School and then attended University of California, Los Angeles, eventually working her way up through bit parts on TV.
Career
After several minor appearances in theater and television, Burnett was first noticed in the mid-1950s with her comic novelty love song "I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles" (Dulles was the current Secretary of State at the time). She also appeared during this time in an NBC sitcom, Stanley, with Buddy Hackett, which lasted one season.
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, which she would continue until 1962.
She won an Emmy in 1962 for her "Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series" on the show. Burnett portrayed a number of characters, most memorably a put-upon cleaning woman. With her success on the Moore show, she finally came to headliner status and appeared in the 1962 special Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, co-starring her friend Julie Andrews.
Before getting her variety show, Burnett also appeared as a panelist on the game show Password — an association she maintained until the early 1980s.
Comedy legend Lucille Ball became a friend and mentor to Burnett from the beginning, and after having the younger performer guest star on The Lucy Show a number of times, Ball reportedly offered Burnett her own sitcom, to be produced by Desilu. 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. Awaking on her 56th birthday in 1989, Burnett heard the morning news that Ball had died. Later that afternoon, the flowers Lucy had arranged arrived at Burnett's house, with the note "Happy Birthday, Kid. Love, Lucy."
The hour-long Carol Burnett Show debuted in 1967, and was a huge success, garnering 22 Emmy Awards. Its ensemble cast included Tim Conway (Conway was a guest player until the 9th season, interview on ET May 22, 2006), 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.
Burnett became known for her Tarzan yell during many shows, and for ending each show by tugging her ear, which was a message to the grandmother who had raised her. The show ceased production in 1978, and is generally regarded as the last successful major network variety show, to date. It continues to have success in syndicated reruns.
After the show ended, Burnett diversified into a variety of roles. She appeared in several dramatic roles, most notably in the television movie Friendly Fire. Her other film work includes The Four Seasons, Annie, and Noises Off.
During the filming of Annie, Burnett accompanied her daughter to an oral surgeon, who suggested surgery to Burnett lengthen her jaw. Burnett recalled on an interview on NPR's "Fresh Air" that she was called back to reshoot some scenes for Annie and director John Huston wanted her to start where she leaves a closet. She told Huston that she would then be going in the closet with one chin and out with another. She said Huston told her to "come out of the closet determined".
After a few more attempts at starting a new variety program, Burnett returned to TV in the mid-1990s as a supporting character on the sitcom Mad About You when she played Theresa Stemple, the mother of main character Jamie Buchman (Helen Hunt).
Burnett was a recipient of the 2003 Kennedy Center Honors at the age of 70.
Burnett has long been a vocal 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 raising hell for her stepmother Phoebe Tyler-Wallingford (the late Ruth Warrick).
She hosted a 25th anniversary special about the show in 1995 and made a brief cameo as Verla Grubbs on the January 5, 2005 episode celebrating the 35th anniversary of the program. Due to scheduling conflicts, the scene was shot on the Los Angeles set of General Hospital instead of the New York City set where All My Children is taped.
Burnett most recently appeared on the popular television program Desperate Housewives playing Eleanor, the cold stepmother of lead character Bree (portrayed by Marcia Cross).
Personal and family life
Burnett's first husband was Don Saroyan (no known relation of author William Saroyan) to whom she was married from December 15, 1955 until they divorced in 1962. On May 4, 1963, Burnett married TV producer Joe Hamilton, a divorced father of 8, with whom she had 3 daughters, including late actress and writer, Carrie Hamilton, and singer Erin Hamilton. The marriage ended in divorce in 1984, and Hamilton later died of cancer. Her current husband is the much-younger Brian Miller, to whom she has been wed since November 2001.
Burnett drew attention in 1981, when she sued the National Enquirer for libel after the tabloid newspaper described her alleged public drunkenness, purportedly with Henry Kissinger. Burnett was particularly sensitive to the accusations because of her parents' own alcoholism. The case was a landmark for libel cases involving celebrities, although the unprecedented $1.6 million verdict for Burnett was reduced to about $800,000 on an appeal, and eventually settled out of court.
She donated a portion of that award to the University of Hawaii 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 "carfare," and that the lawsuit was a matter of principle.
Personal tragedy struck Burnett in 2002 when her daughter, actress and writer Carrie Hamilton, died of lung cancer at the age of 38.
Hamilton had a problem with drugs as a teenager but overcame it with her mother's help. She and her mother often spoke out against drug abuse. Carrie Hamilton was a talented actress in her own right, and she and her mother appeared together in the 1988 television film Hostage. They also wrote a play together, Hollywood Arms, which played on Broadway, with Linda Lavin portraying Burnett's character's beloved grandmother.
TV Work
The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show (regular in 1955) Stanley (1956 - 1957)
The Garry Moore Show (regular from 1959 - 1962)
The Carol Burnett Show (1960)
Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall (1962)
An Evening with Carol Burnett (1963)
Calamity Jane (1963)
Once Upon a Mattress (1964)
The Entertainers (1964 - 1965)
The Carol Burnett Show (1967 - 1978)
The Carol Burnett Show in London (1970)
Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center (1971)
Once Upon a Mattress (1972)
6 Rms Riv Vu (1974)
Out to Lunch (1974)
Sills and Burnett at the Met (1976)
All My Children (cast member in 1976 and in 1983, 1995, and 2005)
Dolly and Carol in Nashville (1978)
The Grass Is Always Greener Over the Septic Tank (1978)
Friendly Fire (1979)
Carol Burnett & Company (1979) (canceled after 4 episodes) The Tenth Month (1979)
Eunice (1982) (pilot for Mama's Family)
Life of the Party: The Story of Beatrice' (1982)
Between Friends (1983)
Mama's Family (cast member from 1983 - 1985)
Burnett Discovers Domingo (1984)
The Laundromat (1985)
Follies in Concert (1986)
Fresno (1986) (miniseries)
Plaza Suite (1987) (also executive producer)
Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin (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 Carol Burnett Show: A Reunion (1993)
Carol Burnett: The Special Years (1994)
Seasons of the Heart (1994)
Men, Movies & Carol (1994)
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)
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)
The Last Guy on Earth (2006) (currently in pre-production)
Stage Work
Once Upon a Mattress (1959)
Fade Out - Fade In (1964)
Moon Over Buffalo (1995)
Putting It Together (1999)
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