One of the most recognized variety shows of all time is The Carol Burnett Show.  Carol Burnett, with her fiery red hair, spunky personality, and a cast of extremely talented actors, took to the stage with such humor and grace that will never be matched again.

The Carol Burnett Show aired its first episode in 1967 on CBS and ended its eleven season run in 1978.  The show made its laughs off of parodies of television shows, popular characters, films, and commercials.  ”Went With The Wind” was a popular parody of Gone With the Wind where Carol Burnett dresses as Scarlet O’Hara wearing window curtains, complete with curtain rod.  One of the parodies created on the show was “The Family” which eventually got its own spin off show called Mama’s Family.  The show went on to win three Emmys in its eleven season run.

The actors spent three to four hours a day rehearsing for the show until Fridays when two tapings were made.  If the actor flubbed his or her lines in both takes, it was still shown to the television audience.  This gave the show some immediacy and helped the audience relate to the actors.  While many actors took part of Carol’s show, only CarolBurnett and Vicki Lawrence were the only two cast mates to stay for the entire run of the show.

Many celebrities made guest appearances on The Carol Burnett Show, including Jim Nabors who appeared on the first episode of every season.  Musical guests like Mel Torme, Ella Fitzgerald, and Robert Goulet were mixed among the acting celebrity guests.  While audiences loved the guests, the favorite part of the show, for both Carol and most audiences, was the Question and Answer segments before the sketches.  A special The Carol Burnett Show: Let’s Bump Up the Lights!

was made in 2004 focusing mainly on that segment.

I didn’t get the opportunity to watch The Carol Burnett Show until I was older and I have to admit I would not have appreciated it as a child.  Its so lovely seeing these actors having fun and refusing to take themselves seriously.  If you haven’t seen at least some of the outtakes, do so.  You won’t regret it.