CAROL BURNETT'S FAVORITE SKETCHES - Comedy
Airs Saturday March 18th at 5:30pm
Join beloved funny lady Carol Burnett as she presents her own personally selected favorite moments from her long-running variety series “The Carol Burnett Show.” Laugh along with Carol and her hilarious troupe of regulars — Harvey Korman, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner — and special guests Steve Martin and Betty White.
A comedy-variety revue, The Carol Burnett Show ran 11 seasons on CBS, from 1967 to 1978. Throughout the years, the TV series racked up 25 Emmy Awards.
The special features unforgettable characters from The Carol Burnett Show, including Starlet O’Hara, Norma Desmond, Mrs. Wiggins, Eunice, Ed, Mama, and The Oldest Man, and Mr. Tudball.
In addition to classic skits and characters, several of the sketches Carol selected are from the first five years of the series and have not been seen in decades. Featured are:
- “As the Stomach Turns: Close Encounters”
The soap opera parody pokes fun at the alien visitation classic Close Encounters of the Third Kind with guests Steve Martin and Betty White.
- “The Dentist”
The famous sketch with Harvey Korman as the very first patient of nervous dentist Tim Conway, who just got out of dental school and accidentally injects himself with Novocain.
- “Went With the Wind”
Ranking as of the greatest sight gags in TV history: Starlet O’Hara (Carol) appears in a dress made from curtains in this famous Gone With The Wind parody.
- “Nora Desmond: The Commercial”
Carol satirizes Norma Desmond from Sunset Boulevard as an actress looking for a career via a Knock ’Em Dead bug spray commercial.
- “The Oldest Man: Galley Slaves”
Slave ship taskmaster (Lyle Waggoner) assigns a rowing partner in the form of “The Oldest Man” (Tim Conway) for one of his men (Harvey Korman).
- “The Family - Sorry!”
Eunice, Ed and Mama sit down for a nice little game of Sorry! and things get ugly fast, causing Mama to lay into Eunice with the put-down “You got splinters in the windmills of your mind.”
- “Tudball and Wiggins”
Mr. Tudball and his secretary Mrs. Wiggins are up to their old shenanigans trying to implement a fire safety program.
- “As the Stomach Turns: Mother Marcus”
A hilarious visit from the most notorious snoop in Canoga Falls.
A BIT OF BURNETT TRIVIA
- Tim Conway improvised during much of his appearances on the show which would cause the other cast members to laugh during taping. The cast breaking character became a popular part of the series.
- The show had many break ups, but three are considered classics; one being The Dentist Sketch where Harvey Korman could not keep a straight face with Tim Conway. Secondly, The Family Sketch in the game Sorry when Vicki Lawrence completely went off script causing Carol Burnett to lose it. The most famous one is the Family Sketch called the Elephant Story when Tim Conway dragged on a story about two elephants causing the cast to break up, when he finally finished Vicki Lawrence will steal the scene by saying 'Are you sure the little a**hole is through' causing Tim Conway, Carol Burnett, and Dick Van Dyke to fall to pieces.
- Vicki Lawrence wrote a fan letter to Carol Burnett while still in High School, Carol received the letter on the day that Vicki was going to be in a Miss Fireball contest. Having a feeling about her, Carol found her dad's number, called Vicki and attended the contest. They talked for 5 minutes when Carol told her that she will keep in touch to discuss Vicki's Career. Vicki auditioned and got the part of Carol's kid sister and became Carol's protégée.
- After Jim Nabors appeared on the premiere episode, Carol Burnett would have him as the guest for each seasons first show because she considered him her "good luck charm".
- Carol Burnett's trademark tugging of her ear was a message to her grandmother. Burnett's grandmother died during the run of the series but Burnett continued to tug her ear in every episode as a tribute to her.
