Carol Burnett is a genuinely legendary entertainer who began her career in the 1950s. Her work affected an entire generation of new talent, with comedians like Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, and Steve Carell among those who have praised her.
But what is Carol Burnett up to these days? She peaked with her own variety programme decades ago, and many former fans haven’t followed up with her work since then. Find out what the comedy queen has been up to.
Do We Still Have Carol Burnett?
Yes, Carol Burnett is still alive and healthy. She’s been acting since the 1950s. Ina Louise Creighton and Joseph Thomas Burnett had Burnett on April 26, 1933 in San Antonio, Texas. Due to her parents’ severe drinking, she lived with her grandma.
While residing in a Hollywood boarding home, Burnett and her grandmother bonded over the Golden Age of movies. Burnett’s grandma saved her from a life of addiction and showed her what to do if she ever fell into a similar predicament.
Burnett‘s favorite roles were those that made people laugh. Burnett studied journalism at University of California. Her talent and passion of entertainment led her to switch from journalism to theatre. Burnett performed at nightclubs while hunting for Hollywood comedic opportunities.
Jack Paar and Ed Sullivan heard her sing I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles in a nightclub. Secretary of State Dulles presided. Burnett has been acting since the 1950s.
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Carol Burnett Touches Her Ears for What Reason?
The young actress had heard of a dancing team that “greeted” its children by tugging on their ears, so she decided to do the same for her grandmother. Burnett kept the ear-tugging ritual even after her grandmother died while the show was still on the air.
Getting Her Acting Career Started
Carol Burnett wanted to be a Broadway actress before she started TV. She generally answered that she wanted to act in Broadway productions after college.
After one of Burnett’s private shows in San Diego, a prominent businessman and his wife volunteered to help her go to New York. Carol Burnett landed her first significant role in an off-Broadway production of Once Upon a Mattress.
Burnett saw Lucille Ball at the second performance. Ball and Burnett hit it off backstage after the show.
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Becoming Television’s Comedy Queen
In 1955, she made her debut television appearance on The Paul Winchell Show. Burnett’s first television appearance was as Celia Howard on the 1950s comedy show Stanley, alongside Buddy Hackett, Jane Connell, and Frederic Tozere.
Carol Burnett was starring in The Lucy Show with Lucille Ball by the 1960s. Carol Bradford, who began as Lucy’s roommate on the programme, would be played by Burnett.
She went on to play Carol Barnes on Gomer Pyle: USMC shortly after her appearance on The Lucy Show. When Lucille Ball returned to television screens in the United States with Here’s Lucy, Burnett would appear alongside Ball and as Carol Krausmeyer.
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By the 1960s, she had established herself as one of the best female comedians of the day. Carol Burnett had earned herself her own comedy show, The Carol Burnett Show, by 1967. Saturday Night Live might not have been if it hadn’t been for The Carol Burnett Show.
Suffering From Multigenerational Addiction
Burnett’s addiction history began with her parents’ extreme drinking, which caused her to move in with her grandmother. While her parents fought with alcoholism, Burnett’s children Carrie and Erin Hamilton would later struggle with drug addiction.
Carol Burnett, who had never used drugs, was distraught when her oldest daughter began to do so. Carrie Hamilton’s name became famous not because of her performance, but because of her addiction to Quaaludes and cocaine.
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Contributing to the Global Fight Against Drug Addiction
Carol Burnett has dedicated her life not only to entertaining, but also to assisting people in overcoming addictions. Burnett took her struggle against addiction all the way to the Soviet Union in 1988, when she introduced Alcoholics Anonymous to the country.
When Burnett undertook her international trip, the Soviet Union had 4.5 million registered alcoholics. Carol Burnett starred in a feature film about alcohol abuse as part of a campaign for Alcoholics Anonymous.