Overview (3)

Mini Bio (1)

Spouse (3)

Trade Mark (4)

Tugs on her left ear during all on-camera appearances as a way of saying "Hello" to her grandmother. It was her grandmother who raised her and took her to the movies all the time.





On The Carol Burnett Show (1967), her favorite on stage Tarzan yell

Red hair and hazel eyes



Her very big strident voice



Trivia (88)

Attended but did not complete her degree from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 1954.



Born at 4:00am-CST



Was forced to drop out of the 1964 Broadway musical "Fade Out, Fade In" after sustaining a neck injury in a taxi accident. The show's producers sued her for breach of contract, but the suit was later dropped.





In 1981, she successfully sued the "National Enquirer" for libel, prompted by its article describing her alleged public drunkenness during an altercation with then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger while in a Washington restaurant, in 1976. The case remains a landmark in the study of libel cases involving celebrities, even though the unprecedented $1.6 million verdict (including $300,000 in personal damages and $1.3 million in "punitive" damages) was later reduced on appeal and the case was eventually settled out of court. Burnett donated the money to charity. She said she pursued the lawsuit because, as the daughter of two deceased alcoholics, the gossip paper's fabrication wounded her emotionally and that they should be punished for their irresponsibility when writing lies about celebrities.



Daughter Erin Hamilton was Miss Golden Globe 1993.



Considered Jim Nabors to be her good luck charm. He appeared as a guest on the first episode of The Carol Burnett Show (1967), and when the show took off, she had him back on the first episode of every season.



When asked, on her show, who her favorite actor was, she replied, " Anthony Hopkins - you know, the little English guy?" [Hopkins is Welsh].

Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy", by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 74-76. New York: Facts on File, 1992. ISBN 0816023387





Lost her daughter, Carrie Hamilton , on January 20, 2002 to lung and brain cancer.



Once worked as an usherette at the Warner (now Pacific) Theater on Hollywood Blvd. One night, the movie playing was Alfred Hitchcock 's Der Fremde im Zug (1951), a film Carol had seen and loved. She advised a late arriving couple to wait until the next show, because the film was so good, it should be seen from beginning to end. The manager overheard her, rudely fired her on the spot, and humiliated her by ripping the epaulets off her usherette uniform. Decades later, when she was to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she was asked by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce where she would like it placed. Carol asked that her star be placed in front of the Pacific Theater. In her memoir "One More Time", she states the name of the manager who so rudely fired her, followed by an epithet that won't be repeated here. The star is at 6433 Hollywood Blvd.

1985: Inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame.



Received a Special Tony Award in 1969. She was also twice nominated for the Tony Award - in 1960, as Best Actress (Musical) for "Once Upon a Mattress" and in 1996, as Best Actress (Play) for "Moon Over Buffalo.".





At age 10, comedian Jim Carrey sent her his resume.



Lucille Ball gave Carol her first baby shower.

Has appeared in three different television adaptations of "Once Upon A Mattress", the Broadway version of the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea." In the 1964 and 1972 versions, she played Princess Winnifred. 33 years later, she played Queen Aggravain in the 2005 Disney adaptation.





On the morning of her fifty-sixth birthday, her good friend Lucille Ball died - April 26, 1989. That afternoon, Burnett received the flowers that Ball had ordered for her birthday.

In 1965, Carol broke her right leg playing softball.





Most familiar to children as the show-stealing "Miss Hannigan" in Annie (1982).

Nominated for the 1960 Tony Award (New York City) for Actress in a Musical for "Once Upon a Mattress".



Nominated for the 1996 Tony Award (New York City) for Actress in a Musical for "Moon Over Buffalo".





Former stepmother of Jeffrey Hamilton



Older sister of Chrissie Burnett



Discovered her protégé Vicki Lawrence when Vicki was age 17 and became a acting mentor to her. Vicki was discovered when she wrote Carol a fan letter and Carol went to see her contest and told her she will get back to her and they will discuss her career, Vicki was later cast in The Carol Burnett Show (1967). The story how they met has become known as show business legend. Carol has always felt that it was fate that lead to her discovering Vicki.

Named recipient of the 2013 "Mark Twain Prize for American Humor" by the Kennedy Center [May 21, 2013].





Mentor and best friend of Vicki Lawrence

Is a registered Democrat.





She and Vicki Lawrence often get mistaken for sisters because of their close resemblance.



Mama from the famous The Family sketches of her show and Mama's Family was originally written for Carol, but Carol felt more of connection towards Eunice and passed Mama to her protégée Vicki Lawrence the role would become Vicki's most iconic character.



Carol's favorite character she did was from 'The Family' Sketches off the The Carol Burnett Show Eunice. Interestingly Vicki Lawrence who played her Mama was 16 years younger than Carol.



Is a big gamer, she was known to have gone on a lot of game shows like Password and was known to throw games at her house parties like mysteries game and others with friends like Vicki Lawrence Tim Conway , and Betty White



For a short while she lived in Hawaii. She lived across the street from her good friend and Protege Vicki Lawrence who was also living Hawaii at the time. Vicki was the first to move back to California, Carol followed shortly after because of getting homesick. Actor Jim Nabors was also a neighbor.



Gave best friend and protégée Vicki Lawrence a trip to Hawaii as a wedding gift, when Vicki married makeup artist Al Schultz in 1974.



Vicki Lawrence 's kids Courtney and Garret Shultz were known to hang out with Carol at her house as kids, especially when they lived in Hawaii.



Big fan of the soap opera All My Children (1970).



Took care of her sister, Chrissie Burnett , for a while when she lived in New York.

Both her parents were alcoholics and after their marriage ended. She was raised by her maternal grandmother, Mabel Eudora White.



Is an avid animal lover and owns many pets, especially dogs.





In 2007, she sued 20th Century Fox for copyright infringement, trademark violation, invasion of privacy, and misappropriation of name and likeness over the use of an altered version of her signature closing song and the portrayal of her cleaning lady "charwoman" character in an episode of Family Guy (1999).The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge. The judge used Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as the general basis for the decision, ruling that the cartoon was a permissible parody of a public figure.

She was the first woman to have own variety TV Show.





Her mentoring Vicki Lawrence is in The Mentor Hall of Fame in 2013.



Went on her Protégée Vicki Lawrence own television show, at least five times more than any other celebrity.

In a recent interview (2013) stated that she still lives in Southern California.





Known to have taken Comedian Vicki Lawrence under her wing when she was 17 years old, their friendship has lasted for over 50 years so far.

As of 2013 her Net Worth is estimated to be $25 million.





Her daughter Carrie Hamilton had a drug problem for three years when she was a teen, Carol put her through rehab and Carrie successfully overcame her addiction and started a career in the entertainment business like her mother.



Helped Actress and Singer Bernadette Peters get her first break.



Acting mentor to Comedian Vicki Lawrence

When she was age 12, she used to fool a boy by saying she was a twin and she would sneak out of the window pretending be both twins, this went on for two days.





Is still very close to Vicki Lawrence



She wrote an endorsement for Vicki Lawrence 's album The Night the lights went out in Georgia.

Appeared a lot on the Game Show Password through the 1960s to the early 1980s.





Despite that The Carol Burnett Show (1967) charwoman was the trademark for the show Carol has stated that she did not much care for the character as she thought the character was empty.



Often called her protégée Vicki Lawrence by the nickname Wicks and wicki.

Has said if she could go back and learn something she would learn to read music and taken dance classes.



Carol grew up in Green Apartments, one block off Hollywood Boulevard.





Ralph Helfer , renowned animal trainer, Hollywood animal behaviorist and author of several compassionate books about animals, was Carol's best friend growing up in Green Apartments. As children they would played Tarzan and Jane but Carol could always do the Tarzan yell better then Ralph.



Discovered Comedy Legend Vicki Lawrence in 1966 when Vicki was only 17 years old and Still in High School.



During the first couple seasons of The Carol Burnett Show (1967) her Protégé Vicki Lawrence admitted that she idolize and looked up to Carol so much, even stating that she had Carol on a Pedestal that she could barely say two words to her at first. She still admires her.



Childhood friend of Alan Alda

When Carol and one cousin were children they played Tarzan and Jane, Carol would play Tarzan since she can do the Tarzan yell.





Surrogate mother of Vicki Lawrence

Graduated from Hollywood High School in Hollywood, California, in 1951.





Comedic partner is Vicki Lawrence

Born in Texas, but grew up in Hollywood.





Liked to make weekend visits' to Ralph Helfer 's, Africa U.S.A. Ranch in Soledad Canyon, California where together they rode his Indian elephant Modoc



Surrogate grandmother of: Courtney Allison Schultz and Garrett Lawrence Schultz, both of Vicki Lawrence 's children.

John Barrowman, Susan Egan and she awarded the 1998 Back Stage Garland Award for Performance for "Putting It Together" at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre in Los Angeles, California.





Comedian Vicki Lawrence is her protegee and they share a very close friendship.

Inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame on March 10, 2016 in Austin, Texas.



Personal Quotes (16)

[about her youth] Sometimes a guy would ask me to jitterbug, but nine times out of ten, they were not only a foot shorter than I was, but geeks to boot.



Comedy is tragedy -- plus time.



I think the hardest thing to do in the world, show-business-wise, is write comedy. We had a great staff of writers, and if we had a sketch we were rehearsing and it wasn't working, we'd call the writers down and show them what we had come up with. And there were no egos. In 11 years, we never had a writer get angry because we made it a little bit more of our own and maybe a little improved. They would jump in and say, "Oh okay, how about this then, while you're doing that?" We were all in the sandbox together.



I was once asked to do my Tarzan yell at Bergdorf Goodman, and a guard burst in with a gun! Now I only do it under controlled circumstance.



I had the imprint as a child that if Mickey and Judy could put a show on in a barn and then it got to Broadway, well that's just the way things are! Inside I always knew I would be okay.



[on never trying stand-up comedy] I can't tell a joke to save my soul. It's just not my thing, though I love to listen to jokes. I remember Ed Wynn, a famous comedian who started out in vaudeville, once said "Stand-up comedians say funny things. Sketch comedians say things funny." Isn't that a good distinction?



I'm glad I was born when I was. My time was the golden age of variety. If I were starting out again now, maybe things would happen for me, but it certainly would not be on a variety show with 28 musicians, 12 dancers, two major guest stars, 50 costumes a week by Bob Mackie. The networks just wouldn't spend the money today.





[on discovering the potential of her Friend and protégé Vicki Lawrence ] There was something about her that drew the audience to her, and that's something you're born with, She bore such a resemblance to me; that was obvious.



[on her friend Vicki Lawrence playing Mama] Each time we did it, [Vicki] knocked it out of the ballpark, It's so funny. She started out as my kid sister and wound up as my mother!.

God bless the theatre. And please let there be a way for it to thrive..forever.



When you have dream, you've got to garb it and never let it go.





[on her protégé Vicki Lawrence ] I adore Vicki, we adore each other!

I can't dance! I was fair at faking it all these years, but I am NOT and never was, a dancer.





[on working with Tim Conway when he went off script] I often thought that I should have some investment in Depends, because nobody could be with Tim and keep a straight face.

The best advice that I could give is be kind.



Salary (2)