The classic bits from “The Carol Burnett Show” are all here: Starlet O’Hara clad in green drapes, complete with curtain-rod shoulder pads; frizzy-haired Eunice, shrilly badmouthing her family; and that unparalleled Tarzan yell.
A new PBS documentary, “Carol Burnett: A Woman of Character,” showcases the comedian’s signature creations and revisits a prime-time era in which variety shows reigned.
“There’s nothing like that on the air now,” said Burnett, 74, who rose to comic stardom as a cast member of “The Garry Moore Show,” seen in black-and-white film clips during the documentary. “You’ve got dance shows and singing shows, but the networks don’t trust the V-word now.”
Burnett said she was flattered when “American Masters” producers approached her about doing the documentary.
“It’s a living, moving scrapbook, and I thought it would be nice for my grandchildren and, someday, great-grandchildren to see,” she said. She had been impressed with the “American Masters” featuring Bob Newhart in 2006, she said, “but I don’t know where they found some of that (footage).”
The documentary includes Burnett’s reflections on her career, as well as interviews with colleagues and friends. Also featured: vintage film of appearances with Ed Sullivan and on Moore’s show, a weekly collection of songs, skits and stand-up that spotlighted Burnett’s versatile wit and timing.
The 90-minute program includes one of Burnett’s rarely seen performances of a novelty song that brought her national attention: “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles.” Dulles was then secretary of state.
“After I had done that number on the Jack Paar show, he (Dulles) was on ‘Meet the Press,’ ” Burnett recalled. “The interviewer asked him, ‘Mr. Secretary, what is going on between you and this girl who sings that love song about you?’ And he got this twinkle in his eye and said, ‘I never discuss matters of the heart in public.’ “
Burnett also has done a significant amount of film and stage work, and the special shows footage of her in the 1964 TV adaptation of her Broadway musical hit “Once Upon a Mattress.”
Her longtime friends and comic foils Tim Conway and Harvey Korman are among the interviewees, along with other cast members and writers from her CBS variety series.
Contemporaries Julie Andrews, Betty White, Florence Henderson and Phyllis Diller pay tribute. Also interviewed are performers influenced by Burnett’s career, such as Jenna Elfman and Tracy Ullman. Ullman was Burnett’s co-star in another TV version of “Once Upon a Mattress.”
Burnett’s own reminiscences include a look at her childhood. The daughter of divorced, alcoholic parents, Burnett was raised primarily by her maternal grandmother — the beloved “Nanny” who inspired Burnett’s familiar ear-tweak tribute. The shy Burnett found an outlet for make-believe in the movies she and her grandmother attended nearly every day.
“The exciting thing is, I grew up watching Betty Grable and Lana Turner, and they ended up being guests on the show,” Burnett said.
“The Carol Burnett Show,” spanning 11 seasons (from 1967-78) and capturing 25 Emmys, remains one of Burnett’s favorite experiences.
“We played for the studio audience, and we’d just go as if it were a live show,” she said. “I always believed if the 300 folks in the audience are gonna laugh, so are the ones watching at home. We didn’t do many retakes — unless the scenery fell down and hit someone.”
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