The Carol Burnett Show (TV)
"The Carol Burnett Show" is a beloved American television variety show that aired from 1967 to 1978, featuring the charismatic comedian Carol Burnett as its host. Known for her engaging interactions with the studio audience, Burnett established a relatable persona while showcasing her remarkable singing talent alongside notable guests from various entertainment fields, including Julie Andrews and Bernadette Peters. The show featured a talented ensemble cast, including Lyle Waggoner, Harvey Korman, and Vicki Lawrence, and became famous for its comedic skits, parodies of classic films, and memorable characters such as Mrs. Wiggins and Eunice.
The inclusion of Tim Conway added a unique flair, as his ability to elicit laughter from fellow cast members became a cherished aspect of the performance. The show is notable for its clever writing and ad-libbed moments, paying homage to vaudeville traditions, which contributed to its status as a key example of 1970s variety programming. The show’s exploration of family dynamics, particularly through recurring sketches involving the character Eunice and her family, foreshadowed a shift towards more complex representations of family life in television. Ultimately, "The Carol Burnett Show" left a lasting impact on comedy and television, concluding its run while still enjoying high popularity.
The Carol Burnett Show (TV)
Identification Television comedy-variety show
Date Aired from 1967 to 1978
Burnett’s talented ensemble company, wide range of celebrity guests, and her own appeal to the masses—as an actress, singer, and most of all, comedian—made this program a memorable and classic example of the variety show even as the genre was fading away.
Key Figures
Carol Burnett (1933- ), comedienne and television variety show host
Carol Burnett would start her show by spending a few minutes in front of the curtain in lighthearted conversations with the studio audience. She would take a question or two, crack a joke, and reinforce her “I’m-just-one-of-you” persona, even while garbed in a resplendent Bob Mackie gown. This was her great strength: She represented the common person, yet she could hold her own by singing with the likes of Julie Andrews or Bernadette Peters. Her guest list demonstrated that she was on easygoing terms with an impressive mix of television, film, stage, and musical stars. She had certain motifs that fans came to recognize, such as always having Jim Nabors as a guest on the first show of each season, doing her Tarzan yell, or pulling on her ear as a goodnight sign-off to the grandmother who had raised her.
Family shows became a popular tradition, highlighting the ensemble cast of Lyle Waggoner, Harvey Korman, and Vicki Lawrence. When 1970’s sex symbol Waggoner left the show after the 1974 season, he was replaced by the unpredictable Tim Conway, who had become a regular guest as the decade progressed. Conway’s ability to disrupt a skit by setting off a bad case of the giggles among the other performers, particularly Korman, became a key component of the show during his tenure. Many skits were loving parodies of old films, but fans also applauded a recurring soap opera titled “As the Stomach Turns”; the antics of Burnett as no-nonsense, well-hipped secretary Mrs. Wiggins; the pantomimes of Burnett as her trademark lonely charwoman; and the insulting barbs exchanged by Burnett as the neurotic character Eunice with her spiteful Mama (Lawrence) and her lazy husband Ed (Korman) in “The Family.” When Conway left the cast in 1977, Dick Van Dyke briefly replaced him but then also soon left, and Burnett decided to end the show the following year while it was still successful.
Impact
The homage that The Carol Burnett Show paid to vaudeville and Hollywood, to clever writing, to talented performances, and to unedited ad-lib antics hold together well, making it a superior example of the variety show genre of the 1970’s. One of the darker recurring skits from the closing years, Eunice’s travails with the rest of the Family, was the harbinger of a new emphasis in the television programming of the 1980’s on the dysfunctional family. One such program would be a direct spin-off starring Lawrence, Mama’s Family, which ran from 1983 to 1990.
Bibliography
Burnett, Carol. One More Time: A Memoir. Rev. ed. New York: Random House, 2003.
Horowitz, Susan. Queens of Comedy. Sydney: Craftsman House, 1997.
Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Laughing ’Till It Hurts: The Complete Life and Career of Carol Burnett. New York: Morrow, 1988.