It’s amazing to see Carol Burnett still staying active as an actress at 91 years old, but she’s not slowing down and appears to love her life.
Burnett, who turned 91 last April, has been popping up on late-night talk shows hosted by Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. She’s been busy promoting Palm Royale, a comedy series. Yet one might think Burnett would want to take it easy. Like, Carol Burnett already has her name etched in television history.
Imagine seeing her first appearance on TV back in 1955. She goes on to become a star on The Garry Moore Show, doing sketches that put her in the spotlight. But Carol Burnett also gained Broadway notoriety with her work in Once Upon a Mattress. This led to more variety show work, but her time with Moore’s show ended in 1962. She was out looking for work when her friend Jim Nabors remembered her.
In 1966, Nabors was starring in a big hit in Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. He managed to get Burnett on there, where she starred as a recurring character. As Burnett fans remember, she had Nabors on as her yearly first guest on The Carol Burnett Show. Carol looked upon Jim as a good-luck charm for the season. Burnett had struck up a friendship with Lucille Ball in the late 1950s, one that they kept up until Ball’s death. This also was a mentorship for Burnett, one where she could listen and learn from a TV comedy master.
Carol Burnett Hits A Home Run With Her Variety Show
Television would become a place where Carol Burnett could carve her niche in comedy. In 1967, she happened to exercise a caveat in her contract with CBS. Burnett was given a sitcom titled Here’s Agnes to possibly star in for the network. However, this contract’s caveat was that she had five years from her time ending on The Garry Moore Show to produce 30 one-hour episodes of a variety show.
Burnett bet on herself and took the chance. It was a big risk for her to do, and she knew this. Variety shows were the landscape of men, people like Ed Sullivan, Jackie Gleason, Dean Martin, Milton Berle, and others. Could a woman find her way into this man’s world?
You better believe she did. With a supporting cast of Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence (a teenager at the beginning), and Lyle Waggoner, Burnett kicked off The Carol Burnett Show. Later on, Tim Conway, a regular guest throughout the show’s first seasons, joined the cast permanently in its ninth season.
How did Burnett do with her show? Winning 23 Emmy Awards and being nominated for additional Emmys and Golden Globe awards over the years. That’s how good. Burnett’s variety show brought out the stars left and right. Rita Hayworth, Robert Goulet, Carol Channing, Ken Berry, Nancy Wilson, and many others found a place on that show. It was a staple on the network’s powerful Saturday night primetime lineup in the 1970s. With lead-ins like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Bob Newhart Show, Burnett had a built-in audience already set.
From 1967-78, Burnett’s show kept viewers in stitches. They did film parodies (remember Went with the Wind, a takeoff of Gone with the Wind?) and regular sketches (“The Family,” which ultimately led to the sitcom Mama’s Family). Carol always came out before the show started. She asked for the lights to be brought up and took questions from the audience. It led to some of the most hilarious moments.
But all good things must come to an end. And her show did, giving a fond farewell to the viewers. Yet that wasn’t the end for Carol Burnett.
Movies and Other TV Shows Are Keeping Her Busy
After a lifetime of comedy, Carol Burnett stretched her acting muscles post-variety show. She starred in a gritty television movie titled Friendly Fire. Burnett appeared in such films as The Four Seasons, Annie, and Noises Off. Other TV appearances in her own variety show specials and sitcoms were a part of her life.
Yet she didn’t always want to be in the spotlight. After all, Burnett worked so hard to achieve her success. She kind of took a break from it all as the early 2000s rolled around. Still, Carol Burnett found a different way to express herself: voiceover work. Her voice appeared in a film version of Horton Hears A Who, Toy Story 4, and The Secret World of Arrietty.
Other TV work was on Desperate Housewives and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. As time wore on, Burnett also found herself on the small screen in a spinoff. This time, it was Better Call Saul, originating out of Breaking Bad. Burnett played Marion on there, a role she enjoyed. In March 2024, Burnett started appearing in Palm Royale along with Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, and Laura Dern. For most of her time, Burnett’s character has been in a coma. She’s received high marks for her efforts.
Oh, her celebrity fans haven’t forgotten all of her career work. Carol Burnett has been honored with a special devoted to turning 90 years old. Another one solely focused on The Carol Burnett Show and its greatest skits and funny moments. Reruns of The Carol Burnett Show air on MeTV and have their own channel on Roku.
As you can tell, Carol Burnett’s career arc has been filled with a lot of success. She’s had her down moments, but she doesn’t stay there too long. The fact is she’s loving her time on Palm Royale, an Apple+ show, a point she made to both Colbert and Kimmel during her appearances. And she’s receiving a lot of praise for her work, at 91 years old. Father and Mother Time might want to inject themselves in her life.
Carol won’t listen to them, though. She’s still acting and, for those close by, pulling her ear and saying goodnight.
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