Carol Burnett Memoir

Carol Burnett, 76, became a household name decades ago. She’s revered for her wacky humor and quick wit. In her new book, This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection, Burnett reflects on her past and her rise to stardom.

Burnett’s biggest claim to fame was The Carol Burnett Show, which lasted for a total of 11 seasons. The show began in 1967, in a time when variety shows were thriving and catching a lot of attention.

The comedienne writes that she loved putting the show together from scratch every week. “I’m a live-theater performer,” Burnett says. She even goes as far to compare her variety show to “a Broadway musical-comedy revue a week.”

According to Burnett, the closest thing that we have to a variety show on the air now is Saturday Night Live.

Reality shows such as American Idol may be descendants of the variety show, but they focus on one form of entertainment—hence, there is no “variety.”

But her memoir doesn’t just focus on The Carol Burnett Show. The comedienne gives readers a chance to peer into her intimate friendships with fellow stars including Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, and Julie Andrews, while also giving us a look into her personal life.

This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection is now available at bookstores nationwide.