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The Carol Burnett Show (needs edit)
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The Carol Burnett Show
Isn't Carol Burnett sweet? A word of advice licking a woman's face without permission might bother them.
Carol Burnett has been on the new version of Hawaii 5-0.
Starring:
Opening theme: "Carol's Theme" by
Joe Hamilton
Country of origin: United States
Original language(s): English
No. of seasons: 12
No. of episodes: 287
Production
Executive producer(s):
Bob Banner
Joe Hamilton
Location(s):
Camera setup: Multi-camera
Running time: 54 minutes
Production company(s):
Broadcast
Original channel: CBS
Audio format: Monaural
Original run:
In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Carol Burnett Show #17 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.
Contents
1 Background
2 Production
3 Notable characters/sketches 3.1 Movie parodies
4 Post-series 4.1 Continuations and revivals 4.1.1 Specials
5 List of guest stars 5.1 Season 1 (1967–1968)
5.2 Season 2 (1968–1969)
5.3 Season 3 (1969–1970)
5.4 Season 4 (1970–1971)
5.5 Season 5 (1971–1972)
5.6 Season 6 (1972–1973)
5.7 Season 7 (1973–1974)
5.8 Season 8 (1974–1975)
5.9 Season 9 (1975–1976)
5.10 Season 10 (1976–1977)
5.11 Season 11 (1977–1978)
5.12 Season 12 (1991)
6 Legacy
7 Media
8 Nielsen ratings/broadcast schedule
Background
In 1967, Carol Burnett had been a popular veteran of television for 11 years, having made her first appearances in 1956 on such programs as The Paul Winchell Show and the sitcom Stanley starring the comedian Buddy Hackett. She then began to be seen more often on television as a guest on such series as Pantomime Quiz; The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar; The Jack Benny Program; and The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1959, she became a regular supporting cast member on the CBS-TV variety series The Garry Moore Show. During her three-year run on the program, Burnett became a television favorite and won her first Emmy Award. During her time on Moore's series, Burnett also starred first off-Broadway and then on Broadway in the musical Once Upon a Mattress. She also guest starred on the CBS-TV interview program Person to Person (with her sister Christine) hosted by Charles Collingwood; an episode of The Twilight Zone ("Cavender Is Coming"); and headlined, with British singer-actress Julie Andrews, a highly praised CBS-TV special called Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, which resulted in Burnett winning her second Emmy Award. Also, during this period, Burnett had the opportunity to display her talents as a singer by recording two albums for Decca Records and, during the 1961–62 season, while appearing as a regular on The Garry Moore Show, she sang and hosted a CBS radio show.
In the spring of 1962, Burnett left The Garry Moore Show to pursue other projects which included not only television, but also Broadway and films. Her Broadway career came to a halt in 1964 when right after the opening of the musical Fade Out – Fade In, Burnett was injured while riding in a taxi on her way to the theatre, and started missing performances. As a result, ticket sales suffered and the musical closed soon after, amidst a great deal of legal hassling and acrimony that was unsettled for quite some time. That same year, she was signed to star in a CBS variety series, The Entertainers, which failed to catch on with the public. In the meantime, Burnett had made her not-so-auspicious motion-picture debut opposite Dean Martin and Elizabeth Montgomery in the romantic comedy, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963). During this transitional time, Burnett continued to appear on CBS specials with such stars as Robert Preston and Rock Hudson. Burnett also starred in television adaptations of the musicals Calamity Jane in 1963 and Once Upon A Mattress in 1964. In addition, she occasionally appeared on Garry Moore's series as a guest star and was also featured as a guest on such programs as Get Smart, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Gomer Pyle USMC, and The Lucy Show.
After leaving The Garry Moore Show, Burnett signed a contract with CBS for 10 years which required her to do two guest appearances and a special a year. Within the first five years of this contract, Burnett had the option to "push the button" to be put on the air for 30 weeks in an hour variety show. After discussion with her husband Joe Hamilton, in the last week of that fifth year of the contract, Burnett decided to call the head of CBS Mike Dann and exercise the clause in the contract. Dann, explaining that variety is a "man's genre" offered Burnett a sitcom called "Here's Agnes". Burnett had no interest in doing a sitcom and because of the contract, CBS was obliged to give Burnett her own variety show.
Production
On the left, cast members in 1967 (clockwise from the bottom): Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner. On the right, the 1977 cast: Burnett, Tim Conway, Lawrence and Korman.
In addition to Carol Burnett, the cast consisted of:
Vicki Lawrence
Harvey Korman (seasons 1–10)
Lyle Waggoner (seasons 1–7)
Tim Conway (seasons 8–11)
Dick Van Dyke (first half of season 11)
Comedic actor Harvey Korman had done many guest shots in TV sitcoms. From 1963 to 1967, he had been a semi-regular on the CBS variety series The Danny Kaye Show. When Kaye's program ended in the spring of 1967, Korman was immediately hired for The Carol Burnett Show. He left the show after its tenth season, and was replaced in the fall of 1977 by Dick Van Dyke. Lyle Waggoner, who often played a self-absorbed Adonis and performed a lot of skit narration, left the series in 1974 to pursue a dramatic acting career and the next year was cast in Wonder Woman. Between 1974 and 1978, some of Waggoner's duties were performed by lead dancer Don Crichton. Vicki Lawrence, a young singer from the Johnny Mann Singers, joined the series shortly after its start. Lawrence wrote a letter to Burnett when she was 17, remarking on her physical resemblance to the comic actress. She was initially hired to play Burnett's kid sister in numerous "Carol and Sis" skits.
The popular variety show not only established Burnett as a television superstar, but it also made her regular supporting cast household names, with such sketches as "As the Stomach Turns", (a parody of As the World Turns) and "Went with the Wind" (a parody of Gone with the Wind), "Carol & Sis", "Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins", "The Family" (which would lead to a made-for-TV movie, titled Eunice, as well as spin off television series, titled Mama's Family), "Nora Desmond" (Burnett's send-up of Gloria Swanson's character Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard), and "Stella Toddler." A frequent repeated segment was "Kitchen Commercials", in which cast members parodied TV commercials that drove a woman (Burnett) crazy. The long-running show was frequently nominated for Emmys, for best variety series and won three times.
The show was rehearsed for three to four hours each day until the Friday tapings, when two recordings were made. As there were only two recordings, if an actor flubbed a line in both takes, the error appeared in the broadcast, giving the show some immediacy. Pick-ups were exceptions, and usually only used for musical numbers.
A recurring guest star from the show's launch and later a regular cast member, Tim Conway provided unrehearsed bits to sketches that became known to the staff as "Conway's Capers". Conway would play the first taping straight, but ad-lib bizarre scenarios during the second. Some notable clips included Conway as a Nazi interrogator berating an American captive (Lyle Waggoner). Using a Hitler puppet and a pencil as a "club," Conway sang three verses of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" as Waggoner tried in vain to remain in character but instead ended up corpsing several times as "Hitler" began yet another verse of the song. Some, like the Hitler puppet, made it into the final broadcast; others, like a notably convoluted story about Siamese elephants joined at the trunk (ad-libbed during a 1977 Mama's Family sketch), would be edited, the uncensored version only appearing years later on CBS specials. Conway's favorite victim was Harvey Korman, who would often break character reacting to Conway's zaniness, such as when Conway played a dentist misusing Novocain or the recurring role of "The Old Man" – an elderly, shuffling, senile man who slowly rolled down stairways and fell prey to various mechanical mishaps (including an electric wheelchair and an automated dry cleaning rack).
The show also became known for its closing theme song, written by Burnett's husband, with the following lyrics:[6]
I'm so glad we had this time togetherJust to have a laugh or sing a songSeems we just get started and before you know itComes the time we have to say, "So long."
At the close of each episode Burnett would tug her ear. This silent message was meant for her grandmother who raised her, and meant she was thinking of her at that moment. After her grandmother's death, Burnett continued the tradition.
When The Carol Burnett Show made its network debut on CBS-TV in September 1967, it was scheduled on Monday nights at 10:00 pm opposite NBC’s I Spy and ABC’s The Big Valley. At the end of its first season and through the spring of 1971, it consistently ranked among the top 30 programs. (For the 1969–1970 season, it posted its highest rating ever, ranking at #13.) In the fall of 1971, CBS moved the show to Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm, where its chief competition was NBC’s Adam-12 and the ABC sitcoms Bewitched and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Despite the schedule change, the show continued to do well until the fall of 1972, when the ratings slipped. In December 1972, CBS again moved The Carol Burnett Show to Saturday nights at 10:00 pm (E.S.T.) where, for the next four years, it not only received solid ratings but was also part of a powerhouse Saturday night lineup of primetime shows that included All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Bob Newhart Show.
In the spring of 1977, Harvey Korman decided to leave the series. After a decade of working with Burnett and winning several Emmy Awards, Korman had been offered a contract by ABC to headline his own series. Also, the ratings had begun to decline. During the 1976–77 season, the series ranked 35th. Nevertheless, CBS renewed Burnett's show for the 1977–78 season.
Dick Van Dyke, fresh from headlining his own variety series, Van Dyke & Company, was brought in to replace Korman. However, his presence did not help stem the sagging ratings, as the show faced new competition in ABC's Fantasy Island. After three months, Van Dyke departed the show, and CBS, in a desperate attempt to save the series, moved The Carol Burnett Show from Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. to Sunday nights at the same hour, beginning in December 1977. Regular guest stars Steve Lawrence and Ken Berry were brought in to fill the void left by Korman and Van Dyke. The ratings improved considerably.
CBS wanted to renew the show for another year, but by this time, Burnett had grown tired of the weekly grind. With the changes in cast along with the mediocre ratings, she felt that television was undergoing a transition and that the variety series format was on its way out. Therefore, Burnett decided to end the series on her own rather than be canceled later. Thus, on March 29, 1978, in a special two-hour finale, The Carol Burnett Show left prime-time television after eleven years, finishing its last season in 43rd place. Reruns were aired during the summer of 1978.
Notable characters/sketches
As the Stomach Turns – A soap opera parody taking place in the fictional town of Canoga Falls with Burnett as the main character Marion
Carol and Sis – Burnett as Carol and Lawrence as her sister Chrissy with Korman as Carol's husband Roger
The Charwoman – Burnett's signature character, a charwoman (most often in a musical number), whose animated image has been used in the opening credits
Chiquita – Burnett's parody of Charo; in one sketch, Charo herself played Chiquita and Burnett played her mother
Nora Desmond – Burnett as a has-been silent film actress and Korman as her bald, dutiful butler Max in the take-off of the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard
The Family – Burnett and Korman as Eunice and Ed Higgins, a married couple, with Lawrence portraying Eunice's very difficult mother Thelma Harper
Shirley Dimple - Burnett's parody of Shirley Temple
Funt and Mundane – Korman and Burnett as two over-the-top stage actors; the names are take-offs of legendary acting couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
Mother Marcus – Korman as a full-figured, Jewish-type mother; usually featured in As the Stomach Turns, but has also been portrayed in other sketches such as the grandmother in La Caperucita Roja, the Mexican version of Little Red Riding Hood, and the fairy godmother in Cinderella Gets it On, the 1970s version of Cinderella
The Old Folks – Burnett and Korman as Molly and Bert, an elderly couple that sit in rocking chairs on a porch talking about their lives
The Oldest Man – Conway as an old, slow moving man, usually in various situations involving Korman being annoyed with his lack of speediness
Alice Portnoy – Burnett as a little girl who is a member of the Fireside Girls of America, a Girl Scout type of organization, always trying to blackmail adults into making a contribution to the Fireside Girls
The Queen – Burnett's parody of Queen Elizabeth II, with Korman as the king, and Conway as a soldier who is completely hollow due to having swallowed a live grenade
Stella Toddler – Burnett as an elderly woman who always ends up in unfortunate accidents
Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins – Conway as Mr. Tudball putting up with his empty-headed secretary Mrs. Wiggins played by Burnett
Zelda – Burnett as a whiny, nasal-voiced woman and Korman as her husband George
Movie parodies[edit]
The curtain dress worn by Burnett in the "Went with the Wind" sketch
The most frequently cited sketch is the 1976 parody "Went with the Wind!",[citation needed] a take–off of the classic 1939 movie Gone with the Wind. Burnett, as Starlett, descends a long staircase wearing a green curtain complete with hanging rod. When Starlett is complimented on her "gown", she replies, "Thank you. I saw it in a window and I just couldn't resist it." The outfit, designed by Bob Mackie, is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution.[7]
In addition to Gone with the Wind, The Carol Burnett Show featured many movie parodies. These included take-offs of, for example, Airport, Babes in Arms, Beach Blanket Bingo, Born to Be Bad, Caged, Double Indemnity, The Enchanted Cottage, From Here to Eternity, The Heiress, Jaws, The Little Foxes, Love Story, Mildred Pierce, National Velvet, The Petrified Forest, Pillow Talk, Random Harvest, Rebecca, San Francisco, Show Boat, A Stolen Life, Torch Song and When My Baby Smiles at Me.
Post-series[edit]
Burnett went on to star in movies, write a Broadway play, and continues to make appearances. Conway and Korman traveled to do comedy routines together all over the country. Vicki Lawrence had a U.S. No. 1 hit record in 1973 ("The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia") and went on to star in several shows of her own (Mama's Family, the NBC daytime edition of Win, Lose or Draw, and her short-lived talk show, Vicki) and continues to perform around America writing and performing comedy sketches.
Continuations and revivals[edit]
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)
The comedy sketches of the show were reedited into freestanding programs; the resulting show enjoyed success for many years in syndicated reruns (as Carol Burnett and Friends, a half-hour edition of selected 1972–77 material).
In the spring of 1979, a year after The Carol Burnett Show left the air, Burnett and her husband Joe Hamilton hosted a party at their home which included Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence. At that gathering, Burnett got wistful and started reminiscing about the show and making suggestions to Conway and Lawrence of future sketches that she wished they could create if the show was still running. Hamilton suggested to Burnett that she do a summer series. Taking that idea, Burnett and Hamilton approached CBS about doing a four-week program in the summer of 1979. CBS already had their schedule filled for the summer months and rejected the idea. However, ABC was interested and as a result, four post-script episodes of The Carol Burnett Show were produced. Under the title Carol Burnett & Company, the show premiered on Saturday, August 18, 1979, and included many favorite sketches such as "Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins", "The Family", "As The Stomach Turns", and Burnett doing her impersonation of Queen Elizabeth II. Its format was very much similar to Burnett's series with two exceptions. Due to the unavailability of Harvey Korman (who, ironically, had been under contract to ABC since he had left Burnett's show in 1977), comic actors Kenneth Mars and Craig Richard Nelson were added to the supporting cast, thereby joining Lawrence and Conway. Ernie Flatt, who had been the choreographer on Burnett's show for its entire 11-year run, was replaced by the show's lead dancer Don Crichton. The guest stars in that four-week period were chronologically Cheryl Ladd, Alan Arkin, Penny Marshall and Sally Field. The reviews of the series were very favorable with several critics heartily welcoming Burnett back to weekly television, albeit on a limited basis. The ratings also were respectable and plans were announced for the program to become a yearly summer event, but by the late spring of 1980, Tim Conway had been signed by CBS to headline his own show, The Tim Conway Show and was unavailable to join Burnett as a series regular that summer. Burnett did not want to do the program without him, so the idea of her show returning annually to ABC in the summer was dropped.[citation needed] During the 1980s, however, Burnett did headline several ABC specials.
The "Family" sketches led to a 1982 CBS-TV special called Eunice starring Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Betty White and Ken Berry. The success of this program spawned a spin-off sitcom entitled Mama's Family starring Vicki Lawrence and Ken Berry which ran from 1983 to 1990. It occasionally featured Burnett and Harvey Korman guest starring as Eunice and Ed Higgins, respectively. In the first year and a half of the show's run, Korman also appeared as narrator Alastair Quince introducing each episode (a parody of Alastair Cooke hosting Masterpiece Theatre) and also directed 31 episodes of the series.
NBC aired a comedy half-hour repertory series called Carol & Company that premiered in March 1990. It proved to be moderately successful in the ratings and was renewed for a second season. The regulars on the show included Peter Krause, Jeremy Piven, Terry Kiser, Meagen Fay, Anita Barone and Richard Kind (and occasional guest stars such as Betty White and Burt Reynolds); each week's show was a different half-hour comedy play. This program lasted until July 1991.
CBS brought back The Carol Burnett Show for another run in the fall of 1991; new regulars included Meagen Fay and Richard Kind (brought over from the NBC show), and Chris Barnes, Roger Kabler and Jessica Lundy. However, the times had changed and Burnett's humor, however hilarious and funny, seemed rather tame in the cutting edge flavor of the 1990s. As a result, the series failed to catch on with the public and only nine episodes of this revival were aired.
In 1994, reruns of the syndicated Carol Burnett and Friends package aired on Nickelodeon. The show also aired on The Family Channel in 1996 and on TV Land as part of that network's inaugural lineup. Beginning in January 2015, the show airs on Me-TV at 11:00 EST.[8]
Specials[edit]
The cast of The Carol Burnett Show were reunited on three CBS specials:
The Carol Burnett Show: A Reunion (January 10, 1993) featured several clips of the show's best moments from 1967 to 1978 with the gang reminiscing about their time together on the show 21.4 rating; 27.1 million viewers (9-11pm)
The Carol Burnett Show: Show Stoppers (November 26, 2001) consisted mostly of bloopers and outtakes from the series November 26, 2001: 29.8 million viewers (timeslot rank: 1st)
April 26, 2002: 11.5 million (timeslot rank: 1st)
September 20, 2002: 6.2 million (timeslot rank: 3rd)
The Carol Burnett Show: Let's Bump Up the Lights! (May 12, 2004) featured one of Burnett's favorite ongoing bits, turning up the house lights and then taking questions from members of the studio audience 13.6 million (timeslot rank: 2nd)
List of guest stars[edit]
Note: only the first appearance by the guest star is listed.
Skit with Mel Torme, 1969
Season 1 (1967–1968)[edit]
Don Adams
Eddie Albert
Lucille Ball
Ken Berry
Sid Caesar
Art Carney
Diahann Carroll
George Chakiris
Richard Chamberlain
Imogene Coca
Tim Conway (became series regular in 1975)
John Davidson
Phyllis Diller
Mike Douglas
Barbara Eden
Nanette Fabray
Ella Fitzgerald
John Gary
Bobbie Gentry
Frank Gorshin
Betty Grable
Jack Jones
Shirley Jones
Lainie Kazan
Richard Kiley
Durward Kirby
Peter Lawford
Gloria Loring
Trini Lopez
Barbara McNair
Liza Minnelli
Garry Moore
Jim Nabors
Leonard Nimoy
Jack Palance
Minnie Pearl
Juliet Prowse
Martha Raye
Lynn Redgrave
Mickey Rooney
Soupy Sales
The Smothers Brothers
Sonny & Cher (Cher later appeared, solo, in 1975)
Mel Tormé
Lana Turner
Gwen Verdon
Shani Wallis
Lesley Ann Warren
Dionne Warwick
Jonathan Winters
Season 2 (1968–1969)[edit]
Edie Adams
Eddie Albert
Barbara Bain
Lucille Ball
Ken Berry
Joan Blondell
Sergio Bustamante
Sid Caesar
Vikki Carr
Carol Channing
Barrie Chase
Imogene Coca
Perry Como
Tim Conway (later became series regular)
Vic Damone
John Davidson
Mike Douglas
Vince Edwards
Nanette Fabray
Eileen Farrell
Ella Fitzgerald
Bobbie Gentry
George Gobel
Robert Goulet
Emmaline Henry
Marilyn Horne
Larry Hovis
Shirley Jones
Durwood Kirby
Martin Landau
Michele Lee
Trini Lopez
Ross Martin
Barbara McNair
Ethel Merman
Garry Moore
Jim Nabors
Martha Raye
Don Rickles
Chita Rivera
Jimmie Rodgers
Mickey Rooney
Soupy Sales
Isabel Sanford
Ronnie Schell
Mel Torme
Flip Wilson
Nancy Wilson
Roland Winters
Season 3 (1969–1970)[edit]
Pat Boone
George Carlin
Pat Carroll
Jane Connell
Bing Crosby
Barbara Feldon
Merv Griffin
Andy Griffith
Steve Lawrence
Peggy Lee
Audrey Meadows
Kay Medford
Scoey Mitchell
Donald O'Connor
Bernadette Peters
Ronald Reagan
Joan Rivers
Rowan & Martin (Dick Martin later appeared, solo, in 1972 and 1974)
Kaye Stevens
Edward Villella
Season 4 (1970–1971)[edit]
Jim Bailey
Dyan Cannon
Cass Elliot
Totie Fields
David Frost
Eydie Gormé
Rita Hayworth
Jerry Lewis
Rich Little
Paul Lynde
Ricardo Montalban
Bob Newhart
Pat Paulsen
Debbie Reynolds
Leslie Uggams
Violette Verdy
Season 5 (1971–1972)[edit]
Kaye Ballard
Karen Black
The Carpenters
Ray Charles
Dom DeLuise
Shecky Greene
Jack Klugman
Vincent Price
Tony Randall
Burt Reynolds
Season 6 (1972–1973)[edit]
Pearl Bailey
Ruth Buzzi
John Byner
Jack Cassidy
Petula Clark
William Conrad
Marty Feldman
Jack Gilford
Joel Grey
Valerie Harper
Paula Kelly
Melba Moore
Anthony Newley
Helen Reddy
Carl Reiner
Paul Sand
Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara
Lily Tomlin
Season 7 (1973–1974)[edit]
Lucette Aldous
Charo
Richard Crenna
The Jackson 5
Roddy McDowall
Gloria Swanson
Jack Weston
Season 8 (1974–1975)[edit]
Alan Alda
James Coco
Buddy Ebsen
Rock Hudson
Janet Jackson
Alan King
Kenneth Mars
The Pointer Sisters
Wayne Rogers
Telly Savalas
Phil Silvers
Maggie Smith
Jean Stapleton
Sally Struthers
Nancy Walker
Lena Zavaroni
Season 9 (1975–1976)[edit]
Sammy Davis Jr.
Emmett Kelly
Shirley MacLaine
Rita Moreno
Dick Van Dyke
Jessica Walter
Betty White
Joanne Woodward
Season 10 (1976–1977)[edit]
Glen Campbell
Madeline Kahn
Hal Linden
Neil Sedaka
Dinah Shore
Ben Vereen
Jim Nabors
Season 11 (1977–1978)[edit]
Captain and Tennille
Natalie Cole
Nancy Dussault
James Garner
Steve Martin
James Stewart
Season 12 (1991)[edit]
Wiki letter w.svg This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2014)
Legacy[edit]
Considering her large body of work, and due in great part to this TV show, Burnett received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, and was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in October 2013.[9]
Media[edit]
Due to an ongoing legal battle with the production company Bob Banner Associates, the first five seasons (1967-1972) have never appeared in syndication and have not been released on home media.[10]
In the early 2000s, certain full-length episodes of The Carol Burnett Show were released on VHS and DVD by Columbia House on a subscription basis (now discontinued). Guthy-Renker released another DVD collection, The Carol Burnett Show Collector's Edition.
In August 2012, Time–Life released The Carol Burnett Show - The Ultimate Collection on DVD in Region 1. This 22-disc set features 50 episodes from the series, selected by Burnett. It also contains bonus features, including interviews with the cast, featurettes, sketches that were never aired and a 24-page commemorative booklet.
Nielsen ratings/broadcast schedule[edit]
Season
Rank [11]
Rating
Time slot
1 (1967–68) #27 20.1 Mondays at 10:00 pm
2 (1968–69) #24 20.8
3 (1969–70) #13 22.1
4 (1970–71) #25 19.8
5 (1971–72) #23 21.2 Wednesdays at 8:00 pm
6 (1972–73) #22 20.3
7 (1973–74) #27 20.1 Saturdays at 10:00 pm
8 (1974–75) #29 20.4
9 (1975–76) 20.5 Sundays at 10:00 pm
10 (1976–77) #35 N/A
11 (1977–78) #43 N/A
12 (1991) Fridays at 9:00 pm
Footnotes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The Carol Burnett Show (sitcom)". ClassicThemes.com. The Media Management Group. 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
2.Jump up ^ "TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". CBS News. February 11, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
3.Jump up ^ Poniewozik, James (September 6, 2007). "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME". Time. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
4.Jump up ^ Fretts, Bruce; Roush, Matt. "The Greatest Shows on Earth". TV Guide Magazine 61 (3194-3195): 16–19.
5.Jump up ^ Herman, Karen (29 April 2003). "Interview: Carol Burnett". Archive of American Television.
6.Jump up ^ Bell, Warren (November 9, 2009). "Have a Laugh and Sing a Song". Retrieved August 19, 2011.
7.Jump up ^ Rhodes, Jesse (May 14, 2009). "Carol Burnett—We Just Can’t Resist Her!". Smithsonian. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
8.Jump up ^ MeTV Chicago Program Schedule WCIU.com. Accessed January 1, 2015
9.Jump up ^ "Carol Burnett to win top U.S. humor prize in DC". CBS News. Associated Press. May 21, 2013. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
10.Jump up ^ "Carol Burnett Sued In Dispute Over Copyright And TV Show Revenue". Deadline.com. November 21, 2012. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
11.Jump up ^ "TV Ratings". Retrieved February 17, 2013.
References[edit]
Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Carol Burnett Show.
The Carol Burnett Show at the Internet Movie Database
The Carol Burnett Show at TV.com
The Museum Of Broadcast Communications: The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show-related interview videos at the Archive of American Television
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Categories: 1960s American television series
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1970s American comedy television series
1978 American television series endings
American sketch comedy television shows
American variety television series
Best Musical or Comedy Series Golden Globe winners
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Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
The Carol Burnett Show
Isn't Carol Burnett sweet? A word of advice licking a woman's face without permission might bother them.
Carol Burnett has been on the new version of Hawaii 5-0.
The Carol Burnett Show was always a great show for our whole family.
I bet Carol Burnett is great fun to work with.
Do you remember Ms. Tuttle? She would walk back and forth with her Kim Kardashian following her.
Read on to find out more about the show. Write me to tell me your thoughts. Zane1968@gmail.com
The Carol Burnett Show
Genre: Variety
The Carol Burnett Show
Genre: Variety
Starring:
Carol Burnett
Harvey Korman
Vicki Lawrence
Lyle Waggoner
Tim Conway
Dick Van Dyke
Harvey Korman
Vicki Lawrence
Lyle Waggoner
Tim Conway
Dick Van Dyke
Opening theme: "Carol's Theme" by
Joe Hamilton
Country of origin: United States
Original language(s): English
No. of seasons: 12
No. of episodes: 287
Production
Executive producer(s):
Bob Banner
Joe Hamilton
Location(s):
CBS Television City,
Hollywood, California
Hollywood, California
Camera setup: Multi-camera
Running time: 54 minutes
Production company(s):
Burngood, Inc. (1967–72)
Punkin' Productions, Inc. (1972–76)
Whacko, Inc. (1976–78)
Punkin' Productions, Inc. (1972–76)
Whacko, Inc. (1976–78)
Broadcast
Original channel: CBS
Audio format: Monaural
Original run:
September 11, 1967 – March 29, 1978
The Carol Burnett Show (also Carol Burnett and Friends in syndication) is an American variety/sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner (with Waggoner and Korman later succeeded by Tim Conway and Dick Van Dyke respectively). It originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967 to March 29, 1978, for 278 episodes, and again with 9 episodes in the fall of 1991. The series originated in CBS Television City's Studio 33 and won 25 prime-time Emmy Awards, was ranked No. 16 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time in 2002, and in 2007 was listed as one of Time magazine's "100 Best TV Shows of All Time."
In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Carol Burnett Show #17 on their list of the 60 Greatest Shows of All Time.
Contents
1 Background
2 Production
3 Notable characters/sketches 3.1 Movie parodies
4 Post-series 4.1 Continuations and revivals 4.1.1 Specials
5 List of guest stars 5.1 Season 1 (1967–1968)
5.2 Season 2 (1968–1969)
5.3 Season 3 (1969–1970)
5.4 Season 4 (1970–1971)
5.5 Season 5 (1971–1972)
5.6 Season 6 (1972–1973)
5.7 Season 7 (1973–1974)
5.8 Season 8 (1974–1975)
5.9 Season 9 (1975–1976)
5.10 Season 10 (1976–1977)
5.11 Season 11 (1977–1978)
5.12 Season 12 (1991)
6 Legacy
7 Media
8 Nielsen ratings/broadcast schedule
Background
In 1967, Carol Burnett had been a popular veteran of television for 11 years, having made her first appearances in 1956 on such programs as The Paul Winchell Show and the sitcom Stanley starring the comedian Buddy Hackett. She then began to be seen more often on television as a guest on such series as Pantomime Quiz; The Tonight Show hosted by Jack Paar; The Jack Benny Program; and The Ed Sullivan Show. In 1959, she became a regular supporting cast member on the CBS-TV variety series The Garry Moore Show. During her three-year run on the program, Burnett became a television favorite and won her first Emmy Award. During her time on Moore's series, Burnett also starred first off-Broadway and then on Broadway in the musical Once Upon a Mattress. She also guest starred on the CBS-TV interview program Person to Person (with her sister Christine) hosted by Charles Collingwood; an episode of The Twilight Zone ("Cavender Is Coming"); and headlined, with British singer-actress Julie Andrews, a highly praised CBS-TV special called Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, which resulted in Burnett winning her second Emmy Award. Also, during this period, Burnett had the opportunity to display her talents as a singer by recording two albums for Decca Records and, during the 1961–62 season, while appearing as a regular on The Garry Moore Show, she sang and hosted a CBS radio show.
In the spring of 1962, Burnett left The Garry Moore Show to pursue other projects which included not only television, but also Broadway and films. Her Broadway career came to a halt in 1964 when right after the opening of the musical Fade Out – Fade In, Burnett was injured while riding in a taxi on her way to the theatre, and started missing performances. As a result, ticket sales suffered and the musical closed soon after, amidst a great deal of legal hassling and acrimony that was unsettled for quite some time. That same year, she was signed to star in a CBS variety series, The Entertainers, which failed to catch on with the public. In the meantime, Burnett had made her not-so-auspicious motion-picture debut opposite Dean Martin and Elizabeth Montgomery in the romantic comedy, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? (1963). During this transitional time, Burnett continued to appear on CBS specials with such stars as Robert Preston and Rock Hudson. Burnett also starred in television adaptations of the musicals Calamity Jane in 1963 and Once Upon A Mattress in 1964. In addition, she occasionally appeared on Garry Moore's series as a guest star and was also featured as a guest on such programs as Get Smart, The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, Gomer Pyle USMC, and The Lucy Show.
After leaving The Garry Moore Show, Burnett signed a contract with CBS for 10 years which required her to do two guest appearances and a special a year. Within the first five years of this contract, Burnett had the option to "push the button" to be put on the air for 30 weeks in an hour variety show. After discussion with her husband Joe Hamilton, in the last week of that fifth year of the contract, Burnett decided to call the head of CBS Mike Dann and exercise the clause in the contract. Dann, explaining that variety is a "man's genre" offered Burnett a sitcom called "Here's Agnes". Burnett had no interest in doing a sitcom and because of the contract, CBS was obliged to give Burnett her own variety show.
Production
On the left, cast members in 1967 (clockwise from the bottom): Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner. On the right, the 1977 cast: Burnett, Tim Conway, Lawrence and Korman.
In addition to Carol Burnett, the cast consisted of:
Vicki Lawrence
Harvey Korman (seasons 1–10)
Lyle Waggoner (seasons 1–7)
Tim Conway (seasons 8–11)
Dick Van Dyke (first half of season 11)
Comedic actor Harvey Korman had done many guest shots in TV sitcoms. From 1963 to 1967, he had been a semi-regular on the CBS variety series The Danny Kaye Show. When Kaye's program ended in the spring of 1967, Korman was immediately hired for The Carol Burnett Show. He left the show after its tenth season, and was replaced in the fall of 1977 by Dick Van Dyke. Lyle Waggoner, who often played a self-absorbed Adonis and performed a lot of skit narration, left the series in 1974 to pursue a dramatic acting career and the next year was cast in Wonder Woman. Between 1974 and 1978, some of Waggoner's duties were performed by lead dancer Don Crichton. Vicki Lawrence, a young singer from the Johnny Mann Singers, joined the series shortly after its start. Lawrence wrote a letter to Burnett when she was 17, remarking on her physical resemblance to the comic actress. She was initially hired to play Burnett's kid sister in numerous "Carol and Sis" skits.
Lawrence was the only other original cast member apart from Burnett to continue with the series through 1978.
Burnett, Vicki Lawrence and guest star Dinah Shore in the 1977 "Went With the Wind" sketch
Burnett, Vicki Lawrence and guest star Dinah Shore in the 1977 "Went With the Wind" sketch
The popular variety show not only established Burnett as a television superstar, but it also made her regular supporting cast household names, with such sketches as "As the Stomach Turns", (a parody of As the World Turns) and "Went with the Wind" (a parody of Gone with the Wind), "Carol & Sis", "Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins", "The Family" (which would lead to a made-for-TV movie, titled Eunice, as well as spin off television series, titled Mama's Family), "Nora Desmond" (Burnett's send-up of Gloria Swanson's character Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard), and "Stella Toddler." A frequent repeated segment was "Kitchen Commercials", in which cast members parodied TV commercials that drove a woman (Burnett) crazy. The long-running show was frequently nominated for Emmys, for best variety series and won three times.
A favorite feature consisted of an unrehearsed question-and-answer segment with the audience in CBS Studio 33 (now "Bob Barker Studio") lasting about 3–4 minutes at the start of most shows. Burnett stated that she borrowed the concept from Garry Moore who did the same on his variety show, but never taped it ("The Florence Henderson Show" RLTV, 2009). Burnett would ask for the lights to be turned up ("let's bump up the lights") and then randomly pick audience members who raised their hands. Burnett would often ad-lib funny answers, but occasionally ended up as the straight (wo)man. For example:
Young woman: "Have you ever taken acting lessons?"Carol: "Yes, I have."Young woman: "Do you think it did any good?"
Young woman: "Have you ever taken acting lessons?"Carol: "Yes, I have."Young woman: "Do you think it did any good?"
The show was rehearsed for three to four hours each day until the Friday tapings, when two recordings were made. As there were only two recordings, if an actor flubbed a line in both takes, the error appeared in the broadcast, giving the show some immediacy. Pick-ups were exceptions, and usually only used for musical numbers.
A recurring guest star from the show's launch and later a regular cast member, Tim Conway provided unrehearsed bits to sketches that became known to the staff as "Conway's Capers". Conway would play the first taping straight, but ad-lib bizarre scenarios during the second. Some notable clips included Conway as a Nazi interrogator berating an American captive (Lyle Waggoner). Using a Hitler puppet and a pencil as a "club," Conway sang three verses of "I've Been Working on the Railroad" as Waggoner tried in vain to remain in character but instead ended up corpsing several times as "Hitler" began yet another verse of the song. Some, like the Hitler puppet, made it into the final broadcast; others, like a notably convoluted story about Siamese elephants joined at the trunk (ad-libbed during a 1977 Mama's Family sketch), would be edited, the uncensored version only appearing years later on CBS specials. Conway's favorite victim was Harvey Korman, who would often break character reacting to Conway's zaniness, such as when Conway played a dentist misusing Novocain or the recurring role of "The Old Man" – an elderly, shuffling, senile man who slowly rolled down stairways and fell prey to various mechanical mishaps (including an electric wheelchair and an automated dry cleaning rack).
The show also became known for its closing theme song, written by Burnett's husband, with the following lyrics:[6]
I'm so glad we had this time togetherJust to have a laugh or sing a songSeems we just get started and before you know itComes the time we have to say, "So long."
At the close of each episode Burnett would tug her ear. This silent message was meant for her grandmother who raised her, and meant she was thinking of her at that moment. After her grandmother's death, Burnett continued the tradition.
When The Carol Burnett Show made its network debut on CBS-TV in September 1967, it was scheduled on Monday nights at 10:00 pm opposite NBC’s I Spy and ABC’s The Big Valley. At the end of its first season and through the spring of 1971, it consistently ranked among the top 30 programs. (For the 1969–1970 season, it posted its highest rating ever, ranking at #13.) In the fall of 1971, CBS moved the show to Wednesday nights at 8:00 pm, where its chief competition was NBC’s Adam-12 and the ABC sitcoms Bewitched and The Courtship of Eddie's Father. Despite the schedule change, the show continued to do well until the fall of 1972, when the ratings slipped. In December 1972, CBS again moved The Carol Burnett Show to Saturday nights at 10:00 pm (E.S.T.) where, for the next four years, it not only received solid ratings but was also part of a powerhouse Saturday night lineup of primetime shows that included All in the Family, M*A*S*H, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and The Bob Newhart Show.
In the spring of 1977, Harvey Korman decided to leave the series. After a decade of working with Burnett and winning several Emmy Awards, Korman had been offered a contract by ABC to headline his own series. Also, the ratings had begun to decline. During the 1976–77 season, the series ranked 35th. Nevertheless, CBS renewed Burnett's show for the 1977–78 season.
Dick Van Dyke, fresh from headlining his own variety series, Van Dyke & Company, was brought in to replace Korman. However, his presence did not help stem the sagging ratings, as the show faced new competition in ABC's Fantasy Island. After three months, Van Dyke departed the show, and CBS, in a desperate attempt to save the series, moved The Carol Burnett Show from Saturday nights at 10:00 p.m. to Sunday nights at the same hour, beginning in December 1977. Regular guest stars Steve Lawrence and Ken Berry were brought in to fill the void left by Korman and Van Dyke. The ratings improved considerably.
CBS wanted to renew the show for another year, but by this time, Burnett had grown tired of the weekly grind. With the changes in cast along with the mediocre ratings, she felt that television was undergoing a transition and that the variety series format was on its way out. Therefore, Burnett decided to end the series on her own rather than be canceled later. Thus, on March 29, 1978, in a special two-hour finale, The Carol Burnett Show left prime-time television after eleven years, finishing its last season in 43rd place. Reruns were aired during the summer of 1978.
Notable characters/sketches
As the Stomach Turns – A soap opera parody taking place in the fictional town of Canoga Falls with Burnett as the main character Marion
Carol and Sis – Burnett as Carol and Lawrence as her sister Chrissy with Korman as Carol's husband Roger
The Charwoman – Burnett's signature character, a charwoman (most often in a musical number), whose animated image has been used in the opening credits
Chiquita – Burnett's parody of Charo; in one sketch, Charo herself played Chiquita and Burnett played her mother
Nora Desmond – Burnett as a has-been silent film actress and Korman as her bald, dutiful butler Max in the take-off of the 1950 film Sunset Boulevard
The Family – Burnett and Korman as Eunice and Ed Higgins, a married couple, with Lawrence portraying Eunice's very difficult mother Thelma Harper
Shirley Dimple - Burnett's parody of Shirley Temple
Funt and Mundane – Korman and Burnett as two over-the-top stage actors; the names are take-offs of legendary acting couple Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne
Mother Marcus – Korman as a full-figured, Jewish-type mother; usually featured in As the Stomach Turns, but has also been portrayed in other sketches such as the grandmother in La Caperucita Roja, the Mexican version of Little Red Riding Hood, and the fairy godmother in Cinderella Gets it On, the 1970s version of Cinderella
The Old Folks – Burnett and Korman as Molly and Bert, an elderly couple that sit in rocking chairs on a porch talking about their lives
The Oldest Man – Conway as an old, slow moving man, usually in various situations involving Korman being annoyed with his lack of speediness
Alice Portnoy – Burnett as a little girl who is a member of the Fireside Girls of America, a Girl Scout type of organization, always trying to blackmail adults into making a contribution to the Fireside Girls
The Queen – Burnett's parody of Queen Elizabeth II, with Korman as the king, and Conway as a soldier who is completely hollow due to having swallowed a live grenade
Stella Toddler – Burnett as an elderly woman who always ends up in unfortunate accidents
Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins – Conway as Mr. Tudball putting up with his empty-headed secretary Mrs. Wiggins played by Burnett
Zelda – Burnett as a whiny, nasal-voiced woman and Korman as her husband George
Movie parodies[edit]
The curtain dress worn by Burnett in the "Went with the Wind" sketch
The most frequently cited sketch is the 1976 parody "Went with the Wind!",[citation needed] a take–off of the classic 1939 movie Gone with the Wind. Burnett, as Starlett, descends a long staircase wearing a green curtain complete with hanging rod. When Starlett is complimented on her "gown", she replies, "Thank you. I saw it in a window and I just couldn't resist it." The outfit, designed by Bob Mackie, is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution.[7]
In addition to Gone with the Wind, The Carol Burnett Show featured many movie parodies. These included take-offs of, for example, Airport, Babes in Arms, Beach Blanket Bingo, Born to Be Bad, Caged, Double Indemnity, The Enchanted Cottage, From Here to Eternity, The Heiress, Jaws, The Little Foxes, Love Story, Mildred Pierce, National Velvet, The Petrified Forest, Pillow Talk, Random Harvest, Rebecca, San Francisco, Show Boat, A Stolen Life, Torch Song and When My Baby Smiles at Me.
Post-series[edit]
Burnett went on to star in movies, write a Broadway play, and continues to make appearances. Conway and Korman traveled to do comedy routines together all over the country. Vicki Lawrence had a U.S. No. 1 hit record in 1973 ("The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia") and went on to star in several shows of her own (Mama's Family, the NBC daytime edition of Win, Lose or Draw, and her short-lived talk show, Vicki) and continues to perform around America writing and performing comedy sketches.
Continuations and revivals[edit]
This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2012)
The comedy sketches of the show were reedited into freestanding programs; the resulting show enjoyed success for many years in syndicated reruns (as Carol Burnett and Friends, a half-hour edition of selected 1972–77 material).
In the spring of 1979, a year after The Carol Burnett Show left the air, Burnett and her husband Joe Hamilton hosted a party at their home which included Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence. At that gathering, Burnett got wistful and started reminiscing about the show and making suggestions to Conway and Lawrence of future sketches that she wished they could create if the show was still running. Hamilton suggested to Burnett that she do a summer series. Taking that idea, Burnett and Hamilton approached CBS about doing a four-week program in the summer of 1979. CBS already had their schedule filled for the summer months and rejected the idea. However, ABC was interested and as a result, four post-script episodes of The Carol Burnett Show were produced. Under the title Carol Burnett & Company, the show premiered on Saturday, August 18, 1979, and included many favorite sketches such as "Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins", "The Family", "As The Stomach Turns", and Burnett doing her impersonation of Queen Elizabeth II. Its format was very much similar to Burnett's series with two exceptions. Due to the unavailability of Harvey Korman (who, ironically, had been under contract to ABC since he had left Burnett's show in 1977), comic actors Kenneth Mars and Craig Richard Nelson were added to the supporting cast, thereby joining Lawrence and Conway. Ernie Flatt, who had been the choreographer on Burnett's show for its entire 11-year run, was replaced by the show's lead dancer Don Crichton. The guest stars in that four-week period were chronologically Cheryl Ladd, Alan Arkin, Penny Marshall and Sally Field. The reviews of the series were very favorable with several critics heartily welcoming Burnett back to weekly television, albeit on a limited basis. The ratings also were respectable and plans were announced for the program to become a yearly summer event, but by the late spring of 1980, Tim Conway had been signed by CBS to headline his own show, The Tim Conway Show and was unavailable to join Burnett as a series regular that summer. Burnett did not want to do the program without him, so the idea of her show returning annually to ABC in the summer was dropped.[citation needed] During the 1980s, however, Burnett did headline several ABC specials.
The "Family" sketches led to a 1982 CBS-TV special called Eunice starring Burnett, Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Betty White and Ken Berry. The success of this program spawned a spin-off sitcom entitled Mama's Family starring Vicki Lawrence and Ken Berry which ran from 1983 to 1990. It occasionally featured Burnett and Harvey Korman guest starring as Eunice and Ed Higgins, respectively. In the first year and a half of the show's run, Korman also appeared as narrator Alastair Quince introducing each episode (a parody of Alastair Cooke hosting Masterpiece Theatre) and also directed 31 episodes of the series.
NBC aired a comedy half-hour repertory series called Carol & Company that premiered in March 1990. It proved to be moderately successful in the ratings and was renewed for a second season. The regulars on the show included Peter Krause, Jeremy Piven, Terry Kiser, Meagen Fay, Anita Barone and Richard Kind (and occasional guest stars such as Betty White and Burt Reynolds); each week's show was a different half-hour comedy play. This program lasted until July 1991.
CBS brought back The Carol Burnett Show for another run in the fall of 1991; new regulars included Meagen Fay and Richard Kind (brought over from the NBC show), and Chris Barnes, Roger Kabler and Jessica Lundy. However, the times had changed and Burnett's humor, however hilarious and funny, seemed rather tame in the cutting edge flavor of the 1990s. As a result, the series failed to catch on with the public and only nine episodes of this revival were aired.
In 1994, reruns of the syndicated Carol Burnett and Friends package aired on Nickelodeon. The show also aired on The Family Channel in 1996 and on TV Land as part of that network's inaugural lineup. Beginning in January 2015, the show airs on Me-TV at 11:00 EST.[8]
Specials[edit]
The cast of The Carol Burnett Show were reunited on three CBS specials:
The Carol Burnett Show: A Reunion (January 10, 1993) featured several clips of the show's best moments from 1967 to 1978 with the gang reminiscing about their time together on the show 21.4 rating; 27.1 million viewers (9-11pm)
The Carol Burnett Show: Show Stoppers (November 26, 2001) consisted mostly of bloopers and outtakes from the series November 26, 2001: 29.8 million viewers (timeslot rank: 1st)
April 26, 2002: 11.5 million (timeslot rank: 1st)
September 20, 2002: 6.2 million (timeslot rank: 3rd)
The Carol Burnett Show: Let's Bump Up the Lights! (May 12, 2004) featured one of Burnett's favorite ongoing bits, turning up the house lights and then taking questions from members of the studio audience 13.6 million (timeslot rank: 2nd)
List of guest stars[edit]
Note: only the first appearance by the guest star is listed.
Skit with Mel Torme, 1969
Season 1 (1967–1968)[edit]
Don Adams
Eddie Albert
Lucille Ball
Ken Berry
Sid Caesar
Art Carney
Diahann Carroll
George Chakiris
Richard Chamberlain
Imogene Coca
Tim Conway (became series regular in 1975)
John Davidson
Phyllis Diller
Mike Douglas
Barbara Eden
Nanette Fabray
Ella Fitzgerald
John Gary
Bobbie Gentry
Frank Gorshin
Betty Grable
Jack Jones
Shirley Jones
Lainie Kazan
Richard Kiley
Durward Kirby
Peter Lawford
Gloria Loring
Trini Lopez
Barbara McNair
Liza Minnelli
Garry Moore
Jim Nabors
Leonard Nimoy
Jack Palance
Minnie Pearl
Juliet Prowse
Martha Raye
Lynn Redgrave
Mickey Rooney
Soupy Sales
The Smothers Brothers
Sonny & Cher (Cher later appeared, solo, in 1975)
Mel Tormé
Lana Turner
Gwen Verdon
Shani Wallis
Lesley Ann Warren
Dionne Warwick
Jonathan Winters
Season 2 (1968–1969)[edit]
Edie Adams
Eddie Albert
Barbara Bain
Lucille Ball
Ken Berry
Joan Blondell
Sergio Bustamante
Sid Caesar
Vikki Carr
Carol Channing
Barrie Chase
Imogene Coca
Perry Como
Tim Conway (later became series regular)
Vic Damone
John Davidson
Mike Douglas
Vince Edwards
Nanette Fabray
Eileen Farrell
Ella Fitzgerald
Bobbie Gentry
George Gobel
Robert Goulet
Emmaline Henry
Marilyn Horne
Larry Hovis
Shirley Jones
Durwood Kirby
Martin Landau
Michele Lee
Trini Lopez
Ross Martin
Barbara McNair
Ethel Merman
Garry Moore
Jim Nabors
Martha Raye
Don Rickles
Chita Rivera
Jimmie Rodgers
Mickey Rooney
Soupy Sales
Isabel Sanford
Ronnie Schell
Mel Torme
Flip Wilson
Nancy Wilson
Roland Winters
Season 3 (1969–1970)[edit]
Pat Boone
George Carlin
Pat Carroll
Jane Connell
Bing Crosby
Barbara Feldon
Merv Griffin
Andy Griffith
Steve Lawrence
Peggy Lee
Audrey Meadows
Kay Medford
Scoey Mitchell
Donald O'Connor
Bernadette Peters
Ronald Reagan
Joan Rivers
Rowan & Martin (Dick Martin later appeared, solo, in 1972 and 1974)
Kaye Stevens
Edward Villella
Season 4 (1970–1971)[edit]
Jim Bailey
Dyan Cannon
Cass Elliot
Totie Fields
David Frost
Eydie Gormé
Rita Hayworth
Jerry Lewis
Rich Little
Paul Lynde
Ricardo Montalban
Bob Newhart
Pat Paulsen
Debbie Reynolds
Leslie Uggams
Violette Verdy
Season 5 (1971–1972)[edit]
Kaye Ballard
Karen Black
The Carpenters
Ray Charles
Dom DeLuise
Shecky Greene
Jack Klugman
Vincent Price
Tony Randall
Burt Reynolds
Season 6 (1972–1973)[edit]
Pearl Bailey
Ruth Buzzi
John Byner
Jack Cassidy
Petula Clark
William Conrad
Marty Feldman
Jack Gilford
Joel Grey
Valerie Harper
Paula Kelly
Melba Moore
Anthony Newley
Helen Reddy
Carl Reiner
Paul Sand
Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara
Lily Tomlin
Season 7 (1973–1974)[edit]
Lucette Aldous
Charo
Richard Crenna
The Jackson 5
Roddy McDowall
Gloria Swanson
Jack Weston
Season 8 (1974–1975)[edit]
Alan Alda
James Coco
Buddy Ebsen
Rock Hudson
Janet Jackson
Alan King
Kenneth Mars
The Pointer Sisters
Wayne Rogers
Telly Savalas
Phil Silvers
Maggie Smith
Jean Stapleton
Sally Struthers
Nancy Walker
Lena Zavaroni
Season 9 (1975–1976)[edit]
Sammy Davis Jr.
Emmett Kelly
Shirley MacLaine
Rita Moreno
Dick Van Dyke
Jessica Walter
Betty White
Joanne Woodward
Season 10 (1976–1977)[edit]
Glen Campbell
Madeline Kahn
Hal Linden
Neil Sedaka
Dinah Shore
Ben Vereen
Jim Nabors
Season 11 (1977–1978)[edit]
Captain and Tennille
Natalie Cole
Nancy Dussault
James Garner
Steve Martin
James Stewart
Season 12 (1991)[edit]
Wiki letter w.svg This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2014)
Legacy[edit]
Considering her large body of work, and due in great part to this TV show, Burnett received Kennedy Center Honors in 2003, and was awarded the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in October 2013.[9]
Media[edit]
Due to an ongoing legal battle with the production company Bob Banner Associates, the first five seasons (1967-1972) have never appeared in syndication and have not been released on home media.[10]
In the early 2000s, certain full-length episodes of The Carol Burnett Show were released on VHS and DVD by Columbia House on a subscription basis (now discontinued). Guthy-Renker released another DVD collection, The Carol Burnett Show Collector's Edition.
In August 2012, Time–Life released The Carol Burnett Show - The Ultimate Collection on DVD in Region 1. This 22-disc set features 50 episodes from the series, selected by Burnett. It also contains bonus features, including interviews with the cast, featurettes, sketches that were never aired and a 24-page commemorative booklet.
Nielsen ratings/broadcast schedule[edit]
Season
Rank [11]
Rating
Time slot
1 (1967–68) #27 20.1 Mondays at 10:00 pm
2 (1968–69) #24 20.8
3 (1969–70) #13 22.1
4 (1970–71) #25 19.8
5 (1971–72) #23 21.2 Wednesdays at 8:00 pm
6 (1972–73) #22 20.3
7 (1973–74) #27 20.1 Saturdays at 10:00 pm
8 (1974–75) #29 20.4
9 (1975–76) 20.5 Sundays at 10:00 pm
10 (1976–77) #35 N/A
11 (1977–78) #43 N/A
12 (1991) Fridays at 9:00 pm
Footnotes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The Carol Burnett Show (sitcom)". ClassicThemes.com. The Media Management Group. 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
2.Jump up ^ "TV Guide Names Top 50 Shows". CBS News. February 11, 2009. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
3.Jump up ^ Poniewozik, James (September 6, 2007). "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-TIME". Time. Retrieved March 4, 2010.
4.Jump up ^ Fretts, Bruce; Roush, Matt. "The Greatest Shows on Earth". TV Guide Magazine 61 (3194-3195): 16–19.
5.Jump up ^ Herman, Karen (29 April 2003). "Interview: Carol Burnett". Archive of American Television.
6.Jump up ^ Bell, Warren (November 9, 2009). "Have a Laugh and Sing a Song". Retrieved August 19, 2011.
7.Jump up ^ Rhodes, Jesse (May 14, 2009). "Carol Burnett—We Just Can’t Resist Her!". Smithsonian. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
8.Jump up ^ MeTV Chicago Program Schedule WCIU.com. Accessed January 1, 2015
9.Jump up ^ "Carol Burnett to win top U.S. humor prize in DC". CBS News. Associated Press. May 21, 2013. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
10.Jump up ^ "Carol Burnett Sued In Dispute Over Copyright And TV Show Revenue". Deadline.com. November 21, 2012. Retrieved 2015-03-11.
11.Jump up ^ "TV Ratings". Retrieved February 17, 2013.
References[edit]
Brooks, Tim and Marsh, Earle, The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Carol Burnett Show.
The Carol Burnett Show at the Internet Movie Database
The Carol Burnett Show at TV.com
The Museum Of Broadcast Communications: The Carol Burnett Show
The Carol Burnett Show-related interview videos at the Archive of American Television
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Categories: 1960s American television series
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1970s American comedy television series
1978 American television series endings
American sketch comedy television shows
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Friday, April 24, 2015
Comedy in Variety Shows
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Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
Please excuse the page construction. I will try to get all the links working soon. In the mean time you can use the links on the right side. You may have to scroll up or down to find the list. Thank you for helping me feed my family. My elderly dad thanks you. We miss my mom. Oh crap.... a bill. I'm going back to typing madly to entertain you. I love doing it. I hope you are enjoying my work......sniff sniff....wiping tear....But how does it work....That's just a funny line I heard on Undercover Highschool.
Okay go on and enjoy more of my blog.....Leave the tissue box.
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Hee Haw
In Living Color
Monty Python
Mr. Bean
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Whose Line Is It?
Red Green Show
MadTv
The Carol Burnett Show
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
Please excuse the page construction. I will try to get all the links working soon. In the mean time you can use the links on the right side. You may have to scroll up or down to find the list. Thank you for helping me feed my family. My elderly dad thanks you. We miss my mom. Oh crap.... a bill. I'm going back to typing madly to entertain you. I love doing it. I hope you are enjoying my work......sniff sniff....wiping tear....But how does it work....That's just a funny line I heard on Undercover Highschool.
Okay go on and enjoy more of my blog.....Leave the tissue box.
*************************************
Comedy in Variety Shows
*************************************
Hee Haw
In Living Color
Monty Python
Mr. Bean
This Hour Has 22 Minutes
Whose Line Is It?
Red Green Show
MadTv
The Carol Burnett Show
Comedy in Reality Shows (needs edit)
Home
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
Comedy in Reality Shows
Junkyard Wars
Canada's Worst Handyman
Dirty Jobs
Canada's Worst Driver
Idiot Drivers
MXC
MythBusters
Wipeout
Wipeout
YouTube
Punk'd
Monster Garage
American Choppers
I Sirvived A Japanese Game Show
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
Comedy in Reality Shows
Junkyard Wars
Canada's Worst Handyman
Dirty Jobs
Canada's Worst Driver
Idiot Drivers
MXC
MythBusters
Wipeout
Wipeout
YouTube
Punk'd
Monster Garage
American Choppers
I Sirvived A Japanese Game Show
Cartoons and Animation
Home
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
Cartoons and Animation
Click here to go to the website version of this page
Okay I'm lazy but I do have the website mostly updated....well both the site and the blog are supposed to have the same information. I guess the website will have special effects and fireworks and cute babies and animals .... some cute babes (of the adult kind too).
Hey teenagers ...... you might just see some skin that you aren't supposed to see yet.....It might just be a knee cap or an elbow......Wait someone is whispering to me.......I'm being told that we have camels with toes.....What's special about.....hang on....More whispering....Oh .... Camel Toes.....So.......Oh...ohhhhhhhhhhh. Give me a sec. I'm whispering back.....Do you have any pictures I can see right now.......In case your wondering I'm rubbing my hands in anticipation. I'm being handed the picture. I'm turning it over and I'm seeing curvy legs....long legs....I see huge Kardashian type lips.....okay I`m looking at the whole picture now. Wholly /$%??&&&&* ......Hey wait ....That`s a camel and there`s a closeup on its toe.
Okay, that person is fired. Click on the link above while I go out to do a google search....not camel toes.
Hang on......my assistant is telling me one final secret ..... There is a thing called a coin slot......Oh crap. Why do I care about vending machines. He says it has to do with chicks or there are chicks in front of the machines. Baby chickens are cute and if you put them in a vending machine they can get you free chocolates.
Okay so coin slots. He says think about plumbers when they are fixing your sink. Ewwwwww. He says think female plumber........You had me at female.
Okay I`m being interrupted so ask me to finish this later .... or pay me not to.
Later.
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
Cartoons and Animation
Click here to go to the website version of this page
Okay I'm lazy but I do have the website mostly updated....well both the site and the blog are supposed to have the same information. I guess the website will have special effects and fireworks and cute babies and animals .... some cute babes (of the adult kind too).
Hey teenagers ...... you might just see some skin that you aren't supposed to see yet.....It might just be a knee cap or an elbow......Wait someone is whispering to me.......I'm being told that we have camels with toes.....What's special about.....hang on....More whispering....Oh .... Camel Toes.....So.......Oh...ohhhhhhhhhhh. Give me a sec. I'm whispering back.....Do you have any pictures I can see right now.......In case your wondering I'm rubbing my hands in anticipation. I'm being handed the picture. I'm turning it over and I'm seeing curvy legs....long legs....I see huge Kardashian type lips.....okay I`m looking at the whole picture now. Wholly /$%??&&&&* ......Hey wait ....That`s a camel and there`s a closeup on its toe.
Okay, that person is fired. Click on the link above while I go out to do a google search....not camel toes.
Hang on......my assistant is telling me one final secret ..... There is a thing called a coin slot......Oh crap. Why do I care about vending machines. He says it has to do with chicks or there are chicks in front of the machines. Baby chickens are cute and if you put them in a vending machine they can get you free chocolates.
Okay so coin slots. He says think about plumbers when they are fixing your sink. Ewwwwww. He says think female plumber........You had me at female.
Okay I`m being interrupted so ask me to finish this later .... or pay me not to.
Later.
(November 26, 2015 Thursday -- 2:22am)
Okay coin slots.
I've had a some time to do some research. I went up to people who work in the vending industry and I asked a few questions.
I started small. I lucked out and found a nice looking woman filling a vending machine. I approached her and said I had a few questions.
She said she'll try to help if she can. I pointed at the slot where you insert coins and asked her if she had any weird stories about the coin slot.
She giggled but saw I wasn't up to speed in some way. She said she had seen people insert all kinds of things into the coin slot. Again she giggled but again saw I didn't see the humour.
I said to the woman that a friend of mine had given me some questions to ask her.
She said okay.
I didn't put much thought into the questions so I just asked them.
The first question was "may a get a close look at your coin slot." I looked at the machine's coin slot but the woman assumed that I knew what I was talking about and that I wanted to see her coin slot..... yes she thought at that moment that I meant the area above her but hole where her butt cleavage starts. I did not mean that at that moment. She gave me an angry look so I pointed at the machine's coin slot. She calmed down and asked if I wanted to take a picture of the coin slot on the machine. I didn't think long and said yes okay.
I took a picture of the machine's coin slot then looked at the questions I had been given.
At the end of the first question it said "Not a machine's coin slot."
I didn't put much thought into that notation.
Question 2 asked me to ask the subject of my questions if I can touch the coin slot. I didn't think as usual and I turned to the woman.
I would like to touch your coin slot. I again was looking at the machine's coin slot but the woman again assumed I was pranking her and she took a swing at me.
She missed and I asked if I could touch her coin slot--- and I pointed at the machine's coin slot.
She was annoyed but she politely said that if I wanted to touch the machine's coin slot I could but then to leave her alone.
I touched the coin slot....on the machine and didn't get what the big deal was.
I told her I was told to get a picture of her coin slot. She pointed at the machine's slot and said "You can take a picture of this slot."
I took the picture and then asked what other slot would I be talking about. She seemed confused.
She had to be wondering if I could be that out of it....and at that moment I was.
I said that I missed a question if she'd let me just ask her I would ask it and then be out of her hair....or I guess it could have been her underwear that I'd get out of.
She folded her arms and say go ahead.
I looked at the paper and said I should ask her for her number in case I had more questions about her coin slot or if she wanted to model some lingerie.
I realized that I had been set up.
I turned red .... well you could tell I was embarrased. I looked at the woman and apologized and said my friend gave me these questions.
I still didn't get what kind of trouble I had gotten myself into.
After I curled up into a fetal position for a few minutes the woman helped me to my feet.
I asked her what I had missed. She seemed to be willing to give me the benefit of a doubt.
She whispered in my ear.
She explained what the other coin slot is and why asking to see her coin slot or take a picture would be so rude.
I almost fell to the floor but she help me up.
I regained my balance and then apologized again.
Now that we were both on the same page she said it's a new thing and she's surprised that I didn't know about it.
She felt so sorry for me and some how he got to be attracted to me ..... like fresh meat ..... so she gave me her phone number.
She again whispered in my ear.
She said I could get better results with the question list from my friend if I went to her house.
We've been happily married for a few years now........buzzzzzzzzzzz
Oh crap, the alarm clock.
I looked around and realized I was in my own bed, alone. It was all a dream?
I moved the pillow around a bit and realized there was something under there.
There was a quarter, vaseline, some pictures, and ...... a phone number.
Wow, could it be?
I got my phone and started dialing......
416 967 1111...........oh crap
I hang up. But what about the other items....
There's a note.....
Thursday, April 23, 2015
My thoughts on April 23, 2015 Thursday
Home
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
chirp chirp, chirp chirp
Just kidding
Two Broke Girls. I kind of understand what the running total means. They might put a note with the total for people like me.
The internet had a hiccup so I was typing madly and nothing was happening. I typed four paragraphs before I realized nothing was happening. ...... okay it was 4 words but everything froze for about 5 minutes.
Okay, back to work.....do you hear a whip????
Anger Management. Charlie Sheen is a smart psychiatrist---or is he a psychologist?.....I'm guessing that it's psychiatrist because he's doing talk therapy. He tries to get away with all kinds of stuff but he manages to fix everything in the end....or he's just lucky a lot---yes he gets lucky and he is lucky. This isn't Two and a Half Men.
The show is good not great. I think they are trying too hard. In Two and a Half Men things are easy....still scripted but easy. Charlie is the jigalo...spelling? and John Cryer is the goody two shoes who ends up living with Charlie. John Cryer has his son with him too. The kid asks a lot of questions and learns about the birds and the bees first hand. The cleaning lady is fun. The girls are fun. The kid -- the actor -- Angus T. Jones.....almost messed up his whole career by speaking his mind.
More later...food is ready.
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
chirp chirp, chirp chirp
Just kidding
Two Broke Girls. I kind of understand what the running total means. They might put a note with the total for people like me.
The internet had a hiccup so I was typing madly and nothing was happening. I typed four paragraphs before I realized nothing was happening. ...... okay it was 4 words but everything froze for about 5 minutes.
Okay, back to work.....do you hear a whip????
Anger Management. Charlie Sheen is a smart psychiatrist---or is he a psychologist?.....I'm guessing that it's psychiatrist because he's doing talk therapy. He tries to get away with all kinds of stuff but he manages to fix everything in the end....or he's just lucky a lot---yes he gets lucky and he is lucky. This isn't Two and a Half Men.
The show is good not great. I think they are trying too hard. In Two and a Half Men things are easy....still scripted but easy. Charlie is the jigalo...spelling? and John Cryer is the goody two shoes who ends up living with Charlie. John Cryer has his son with him too. The kid asks a lot of questions and learns about the birds and the bees first hand. The cleaning lady is fun. The girls are fun. The kid -- the actor -- Angus T. Jones.....almost messed up his whole career by speaking his mind.
More later...food is ready.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Karima Ladhani's Business Directory
Home
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
Karima Ladhani's Business Directory
Sitcoms
Talkshows
Standup Comedians
Cartoons and Animation
Comedy in Reality Shows
Comedy in Variety Shows
Karima Ladhani's Business Directory
Thursday, April 2, 2015
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