Carol Burnett

In 1955, Burnett married her college sweetheart Don Saroyan but the couple divorced in 1962.

In 1965, she married TV producer, Joe Hamilton. The couple was blessed with three daughters, Carrie Hamilton, Jody Hamilton and Erin Hamilton. The two divorced in 1984.

In 2001, she married Brian Miller, who is 23 years her junior. He is the principal drummer in and contractor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra.

Carol Creighton Burnett was born to Joseph Thomas Burnett and Ina Louise on April 26, 1933 in San Antonio, Texas. Her father was a movie theatre manager and her mother worked as a publicity writer.

Burnett had a traumatic childhood. Both her parents suffered from alcoholism. After their legal separation, she was raised by her maternal grandmother, who instilled in young Burnett the love for movies.

She graduated from Hollywood High School in 1951. Subsequently, she enrolled at the University of California, Los Angeles for a course in journalism. However, following the freshman year, she switched her majors to theatre arts and English.

Burnett longed to enter a playwright program but it required her to attend an acting workshop. Reluctantly she joined, but was so smitten that she decided to make acting her profession.

She performed for several university productions and theatre groups. With each performance, she discovered her natural comic timing and musical abilities. Though her mother did not approve of her acting career, she continued with her new-found passion.

In 1954, she left for New York City. After a couple of stints at local show, she eventually gained her big break in 1955 in the popular kids’ television series, ‘The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show’ as a girlfriend to ventriloquist’s dummy.

In 1956, she bagged the role of Buddy Hackett’s gawky girlfriend in the short-lived NBC sitcom, ‘Stanley’. Its premature conclusion led Burnett to perform in the New York cabarets and night clubs. It was during this time that her outstanding performance in the novelty song, ‘I Made A Fool of Myself’ had spectators rolling with laughter.

In 1957, she made night-time variety show appearances on Jack Paar’s ‘The Tonight Show’ and ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’. Same year, she appeared in television’s earliest game show, ‘Pantomine Quiz’.

While Burnett earned a huge fan club with her performance in television, it was her Broadway debut that set the stage for stardom. She appeared as Princess Winnifred in the 1959 Broadway musical comedy ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ which earned her, her first Tony Award nomination.

In 1959, she became a regular player in the popular variety series, ‘The Garry Moore Show’ which lasted until 1962. For the show, she played a repertoire of characters, the most favourable being her act of a put-up cleaning woman that eventually became her alter-ego. Same year, she earned her first Emmy award in the category of Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Musical Program or Series.

Burnett’s talent and skill had earned her a lot of fan following for her television shows, but it was her Broadway debut that set the stage for her runaway success in films, television and theatre. Her performance in the 1959 Broadway musical, ‘Once Upon a Mattress’ earned her, her first award

The highpoint in her career came with her flagship show, ‘The Carol Burnett Show’. Ever since its launch, the show became a huge success and garnered loyal viewership that lasted through all the seasons. During the eleven years that the show lasted, it bagged 23 Emmy Awards and several Golden Globe nominations.

Other than acting in films, television and theatre, she has penned two memoirs: ‘One More Time’ (1986) and ‘This Time Together’ (2010).