Carol Burnett, Take a Bow

There is good news today for Carol Burnett and her many, many fans. On January 30, this talented entertainer will be honored with a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild. Carol has been making us laugh for over half a century, and she’s one of my all-time favorite funny ladies. 

I became a fan back in the 1950s. That’s when she appeared on the Garry Moore Show. She soon had her own TV show, which had me rolling in the aisles each week. My favorite sketch? The Gone with the Wind parody. Watching Carol as Scarlet O’Hara in a dress with the curtain rods as giant shoulder pads made me laugh so hard my husband almost called for an ambulance. Her line, “I saw it in the window and couldn’t resist,” is a classic.

Several years later, I attended one of Carol’s Q&A shows in San Diego. Imagine my delight at being called on to ask a question! “Who do you think is the funniest person working in showbiz today?” I asked.

Carol replied, “Tom Hanks.”

Although Tom Hanks can be very funny indeed (remember the movie Big?), I think the correct answer to my question is “Carol Burnett.”