Carol Burnett’s role call
Carol Burnettis a definition of a living legend.
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Her plot worked and the show eventually jumped to multiple Broadway houses over the course of a year.
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“Neil Simon made a crack about it,” says Burnett, 85.
“He said, ‘Have you seenOnce Upon a Mattressyet?
Don’t worry, it will soon be at your neighborhood theater.'”
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(CBS initially balked, concerned that Andrews was known only to New York theater audiences.)
And so the special was born with breakout comedy writer Mike Nichols andGarry Moorewriter Ken Welch.
“We did a takeoff onSound of Musicbefore Julie was even cast in it,” says Burnett.
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It went through the roof."
“It was the second night of the show.
I was more nervous knowing she was in the audience than I was opening night,” remembers Burnett.
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Love, Lucy" a tradition that continued until the day Ball died.
“The morning of my birthday, I turned on the television and she had died.
And I got flowers that afternoon.
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She died on my birthday,” Burnett says.
The series’ movie parodies, like theGone With the Windskit, became fan favorites.
“She loved it.”
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“He said, ‘Just cavort, dear.
Just cavort,'” she recalls.
“I go, ‘Okay, I’ll cavort.
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I’ll cavort away.'”
“He wrote a song called ‘Sign,’ and it’s very funny,” she says.
“I just felt that would be something the audience would get a kick out of seeing.”
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“They were both consummate comedic actors,” Burnett says of Hunt and costar Paul Reiser.
And that was all character-driven."
“I became a Gleek when it first came on,” explains Burnett.
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“It was just as easy as pie to do.
I don’t have to run around, rehearse, worry about lines, or anything.
You roll with it,” she says.
“Some of the kids are priceless.
They are the stars of the show, I’m just kind of steering them around.”
