Carol Burnett (1) (1933–)

Book on CD narrated by the author


Subtitle: Laughter and Reflection.

In this memoir Carol Burnett chronicles her show business career, from her early roles in New York, to headlining her incredibly popular variety show and beyond.

I love Carol Burnett. She is truly an American Treasure. She’s a huge star with legions of adoring fans, and yet she can be completely star-struck and awkward when meeting one of HER idols. In performing she gives all her heart to a role and to her audience.

I show more can’t remember the last time I read a book that had me both howling out loud in uncontrollable laughter (I’m talking my husband coming from the other side of the house to see what’s going on), and crying to the point where I had to put it aside for a moment because I literally could not see the words on the page for my tears. That speaks, I think, to the genuine person Burnett is, and to her generosity of spirit to lay it all out there.

Burnett narrates the audiobook herself. I cannot imagine anyone who could do a better job. show less

In short vignettes, Carol Burnett reflects on life, laughter, family and friends. Awhile back, she toured the U.S. giving one woman shows that were essentially an extended question and answer period. She never knew what would be asked ahead of time, but some questions and stories kept coming up often. From those stories, and others she chose to share, Carol gives you a window into her life as a woman in show biz, a wife, a mother and a friend in this entertaining memoir.

This was made truly show more delightful by listening to the unabridged audio read by Carol herself. Her personality really came through in the reading, from comedic timing in the funniest stories to hearing her choke back tears during the most poignant. Whether you were a huge fan of the show or, like me, too young to have seen it (yes, I know, but that's what DVDs and YouTube are for, and I promise I'm rectifying that), this is a fabulous, heartwarming and very funny read. show less

Listening to Carol Burnett tell her story adds to the fun of these recollections of one of our greatest comedians. Her warmth, humor, and amazing storytelling ability come through. You feel like you're sitting in her living room, curled on her couch, listening to your friend tell you about her life. Included are stories about Julie Andrews, Carol Channing, Marlon Brando, Jimmy Stewart, and, or course, Harvey Korman, Vicky Lawrence, Tim Conway, and Lyle Waggoner. (The story of her phone show more conversation with Marlon Brando will have you rolling on the floor!) show less

Carol Burnett’s television show was a huge hit from 1967 through 1978. And like millions of Americans, I watched it regularly, enjoying the inspired insanity of the skits, laughing until I cried at the classic spoofs of “Gone With the Wind”, “Star Trek”, “As the World Turns”, and other satire-worthy targets.

But there was one regular feature of the show’s later run, that I was never comfortable with – the “Mama’s Family” routines. The underlying spirit of the segments show more always seemed to me to be mean-spirited. There was generally an argument, hurtful words were hurled, and Carol Burnett’s character ended up humiliated and in tears. I never understood where that rage was coming from.

Burnett doesn’t admit it, but she reveals the roots of that anger in her 1986 memoir “One More Time”. Written as a letter to her then young adult children, the book relates Burnett’s childhood and the early years of her career.

Reared by her grandmother because her mother’s and father’s alcoholism prevented them from being effective parents, Burnett spent most of her childhood in a one-room apartment, scraping by on welfare and rejecting the occasional advances of the mother she felt had abandoned her. Burnett’s mother and grandmother spent 30 years tearing at each other, often both in alcohol-fueled rages. The echoes of that horribly destructive relationship, which none of them could resolve or escape, play out painfully in the “Mama’s Family” vignettes.

Astonishingly, Burnett neither casts blame on her dysfunctional family nor takes on a pity-poor-me tone when recalling the events. They happened; she acknowledges them; she moves on.

There are happy memories here, too. Burnett recalls hanging out with neighborhood kids, finding herself in musical comedy, and receiving an amazing gift which allowed her to relocate to New York, where her career ultimately took off.

This is not a kiss-and-tell book, or a behind the scenes exposé of the often cutthroat business of television. It’s just an entertaining read that throws some light on one woman’s path to adulthood, and reflects her desire to light the path for her daughters. show less