Hello, miss Carol Burnette. How are you? I'm good? Hi, Renee, how are you? I don't know how I am. I'm sweating and they told me ten minutes ago. And how can you talk to your lifelong idol in ten minutes? I don't know? So wait, let's do this. Oh my goodness, so um hello, hello Renee. Oh my gosh. And the book is fantastic in such good company, sort of like a little homage, if you will. You're a love letter to to this industry in that era that you made amazing. So thank you for that.
Well, thank you for the compliment. Absolutely, I before we get into the book though, I'm a huge fan of Turner classic movies and um, of course um Lucille Ball and I love that narrative you did. Oh, thank you, thank you. She was a very good friend, a very close friend. And I you know, this kind of a Renee is kind of nat day goes by that she kind of doesn't dip into my mind and heart, you know, just just even if it's a fleeting moment I think
of her. That's so cool to know that and to know that you had people that inspired you, especially strong leading women, because for someone like myself who breaking into this industry, and you know, I'm trying to be funny. I don't know if it works all the time, but you were sort of an inspiration and made me believe I could go after my dreams and passion and know that funny is funny whether you're a female or not. Well that's true. Thank you for that, and you know, keep it up,
keep doing it. And it's so wonderful today when there's so many I mean, with Kristin Wig and Tina and Amy, and it's just it's it's great. You know. I remember when I wanted to do my show, I was kind of the network didn't want me to do it because they kept saying,
no, no, it's a man's game. Variety is a man's game, like Sid Caesar and Milton Burrows, you know, Dean Martin and Jackie Gleason and so forth, and so I was, you know, they tried to dissuade me from doing it. And so are we to get a lot of the insight stuff that maybe we haven't even seen in one of the many
specials you've done with with in such good company. Oh yeah, I've got Well, it's got a lot of anecdotes about some of the guest stars, backstage things that went on, how we got the show, how I found Harvey and Vicky and Lyle and Tim and just a general and then I list some of my favorite questions and answers that we had, and then I list
I talked about some of the iconic sketches that we did. You know, La Gone with the Wind and take Off on Love Story and Doris Day movies and Sunset Boulevard and so forth, how all of those things came about. So it's really kind of an homage to that, to that time, that era, and also when we were doing our show, there was just tons
of other variety shows on the air. It was a golden age for variety in the seventies when you think of Laughing and Sonny and Chair and the Mothers Brothers and Arry Como had a show, Glenn Campbell, Jim Neighbors, it was just and Flip Wilson, just really wonderful, wonderful time for variety. How did you come up with the structure of your show and how much say did you have at that time? Well, what happened, Renee was I
had started out. One of my big breaks was when I was in my twenties, I was chosen to be a regular performer on the Gary Moore Show, which was a wonderful comedy variety show that was based here in New York. And so I learned to do sketches and comedic sketches from the Gary Moore Show. So when I got my show, what was wonderful was that several of the people who had worked on Gary show the risk and came out to
California to be on my show. The head writer, the choreographer, and one of the lead dancers, some of the other writers and the producers and all so that we just it was there were no labor pains. We just fell right into doing my show the way we learned on the Gary Moore Show. And You're no stranger. Two Awards, Emmy's, you know, all kinds of honors. Of course, obviously the Kennedy Center Honor, that's that's
a pretty big deal. But I need to point out the Mark Twain Prize because obviously Mark Twain house right here in Connecticut, and you know, growing up and with the reading and writing and things like that, who inspired you as a little girl to turn into this amazing icon. You are today. Well, thank you for that. But actually I wanted to be a writer, and I that that was my goal, and at one point even the
cartoonist and I'd had my own comment strip. But so then when I got to UCLA, I took a theater arts English course in order to get playwriting courses and you know, other kinds of writing. But because it was also a theater arts course, I had to take an acting course as a freshman, which I wasn't really I was scared about, but I had to take the course. And I remember I did a scene from a play and I picked something that would be easy. I thought, easy to do, you
know, I didn't want to do any heavy dramatic stuff. And they laughed, you know, the kids in the class laughed, and I thought, wow, that's a good feeling. Eighteen years old, before I realized that's really what I wanted to do. We are chatting with Carol Burnett, and I know my time is quickly coming to an end. The book is in such good company, and I'll leave you just with I'll try to get this
last question in here. The rapport between you, Harvey, Vicky and Tim Unlike I know, there were many other people involved, and I know that there were great bits and skits and things like that whatever, but that I don't think. I'm trying to think in my head right now, quick off the top of my head. Maybe if I had more time, But I don't know if there is such a rapport right now or even something close to. I know there's great you know, sidekicks, of course, and there's
great groups of people together. But my god, that was magic. It was magic. And I think that in that era it was too. It wasn't just our show. You look at the rapport on Mary's show, Mary Tyler Moore, Dick Van Die right right, you know All in the Family, my goodness, and you know that was those we're all on the same night. You know, it was really a pointment television. And I think today the networks and some of the producers and writers say they were it to
death. They don't seem to want to have fun and be loose, you know, But we were. And I think that's what made our show as successful as it was. And I still watch it. I still watch I'm still watching Sandford ince On. I'm so watching All in the Family. And although you know, the different networks that have different things on and of course I love things today, but there just is something I guess that is the best way to put it. And I'm stealing from your your pr line here,
but it was magic. It was a golden era, and this book is. This book is a great gift for anybody who just wants to laugh and revisit these times in such good company. Carol Burnett, I have to tell you from the bottom of hor what an inspiration you have been seeing. Thank you, sweetheart, that's so nice of you. Thank you well. Continued success, and if you're ever in Connecticut or Newingham, please considered an open invitation here will do. Thanks dear ye