Carol Burnett revealed she has no plans to slow down before her upcoming two-hour NBC Special, which will air on her 90th birthday, on Wednesday.
While speaking about the network’s upcoming tribute to her legendary career as an actress and comedian, the six-time Emmy winner said the celebration is “exactly what she wants” in her latest breakthrough.
She said, “I didn’t want a birthday party with cake and balloons and paper and all that.” diverse. What I wanted was to have an entertaining show. And that’s what we got.
“It’s a variety show, with live entertainment from Bernadette Peters, Kristin Chenoweth, Billy Porter, Katy Perry, Darren Criss and Sutton Foster,” she continued. Then funny moments with Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney and Laura Dern.
Additionally, a 19-piece orchestra was present during the recording, which will provide glimpses into her decades-long career, including clips of her onstage at the age of 24.
ICON: Carol Burnett revealed she has no plans to slow down before her upcoming two-hour NBC special, which will air on her 90th birthday, on Wednesday; Seen in the year 2022
“It really kind of covers most of what I’ve done professionally,” Burnett said of the special.
However, Burnett was quick to remind readers that her best years are not left behind and that her career is busier than ever.
“As long as I’m healthy, I have my brain — thank God — and if it’s fun to do, I’ll do it,” said the performer, who starred in Better Call Saul’s final season.
Her next role is in the Apple TV+ comedy Palm Royale, alongside Wiig and Janney.
Earlier this month, she admitted she “couldn’t get around” the fact that she was 90 years old.
I still feel like an 11-year-old, but I’m amazed. It sure went fast the people. “But I’m glad I got all my parts — I got my hips, my knees and my brains, so I’m happy about that.”
On her birthday, April 26, NBC will air a pre-taped star-studded retrospective in her honor called Carol Burnett: 90 years of laughter + love.
During her final interview, Carroll, famous since her Broadway debut in 1959, looks back at the origins of her career.
BIRTHDAY GIRL: Speaking of the network’s upcoming tribute to her legendary career as an actress and comedian, the six-time Emmy winner said the celebration was “exactly” what she wanted to nail her latest achievement (pictured in 2004)
Born in San Antonio, she was raised in Los Angeles where she “used to pose on a radio show” and imitate an announcer.
“I was shouting out the window: ‘Now, ladies and gentlemen, we have a little girl who is going to sing here without any musical accompaniment,'” she recalled.
Once, a guy next door said, “Are you gonna knock that damn thing off?” And I thought, “I’m successful. They think it’s real.”
Unlike “many performers who got their start when they were three, four and five years old”, she only discovered her talent in college, making her a “late star”.
‘I was a pretty quiet student through grammar school, prep, and Hollywood High,’ Carroll recalled. I was joking with my friends, the neighborhood kids, stuff like that. But I never thought about it until I got to UCLA and was in an acting class,” she confesses.
A lot of kids in the class were doing heavy, dramatic things and I thought, I can’t do that. So I chose something light and they laughed. That’s when the error bit.
Over the course of her long and illustrious career, her most notable break was her 11 years as the star of the hit sketch show The Carol Burnett Show.
However, when she first started making her bones in the entertainment industry, television initially wasn’t particularly receptive.
“I didn’t want a birthday party with cake and balloons and paper and all that,” she told Variety. What I wanted was to have an entertaining show. And this is what we got’ (we saw it last month)
It was a local TV show in New York and I got up and sang a song and the manager that I was auditioning for said, “You’re too loud for TV.” said the stage and screen giant.
She eventually found her way to fame on stage, landing her star-making role in the 1959 Broadway musical Once Upon a Mattress.
Based on The Princess And The Pea, the show introduced music to Mary Rodgers – daughter of The Sound Of Music composer Richard Rodgers – and launched Carol to prominence in show business.
From a darling run on The Carol Burnett Show to scene-stealers in movies like Annie, she’s established herself as a star and then a national treasure.
She hopes you’ll be remembered for the fact that “You made people laugh, and you made them feel good when they were down.” In my fan mail, many say it’s the only time the family gets together to watch and laugh. And that sometimes they were lonely and would revel in our show. That feels good.
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love will feature a glittering cast of celebrities ranging from Amy Adams to Ellen DeGeneres to Bill Hader.
Some of the comic actresses who have succeeded Carroll as TV stars will also be in effect, including Lisa Kudrow, Sofia Vergara and Tracee Ellis Ross.
Cher and Lily Tomlin, who both appeared on The Carol Burnett Show, and Aileen Quinn, who starred in Annie, are also part of the retrospective.
A decades-long career: She found her way to fame on stage, landing a star-making role in the 1959 Broadway musical Once Upon a Bed. Seen in 1967
The special was taped a month ago, and was preceded by a red carpet as Carol basked in the adorations of her co-stars and defended friend Julie Andrews, who she’d been friends with for more than half a century.
Jolie and Carol’s longstanding personal and professional relationship, which included a 1962 Carnegie Hall concert recorded for television, will be highlighted in the new special.
Among the musical performances on Thursday’s recording will be Stephen Sondheim’s song Old Friends from the 1981 musical Merrily We Roll Along.
Musical performers will lend their abundance of talent to the proceedings, from pop actress Katy Perry to Broadway legend Bernadette Peters to Billy Porter of POSE.
While NBC’s upcoming special will of course cover the height of her career during her 11 seasons opposite The Carol Burnett Show, it will also highlight some of her lesser-known projects like the Pete ‘N’ Tillie movie.
The party will be attended by notable personalities such as Marisa Tomei, Steve Carell, Dern and Taraji P. Henson, Jani and Hader.
The musical performances will reportedly include a rendition of “I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together,” which has been the theme song to The Carol Burnett Show for its 11 years on the air.
