Carol Burnett on Emmy history and which Oscar-winning actress she would love to work with [Exclusive Red Carpet Interview]
Six-time Emmy winner Carol Burnett hit the red carpet Friday, May 19 at the NBCU FYC House in Los Angeles. She was there to celebrate her 90th birthday special, “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love,” which premiered Wednesday, April 26 on NBC. Gold Derby senior editor Denton Davidson caught up with the legendary performer to discuss her career and which other Hollywood icon she would most like to work with next. Watch the exclusive red carpet interview above (or read the full transcript below).
Denton Davidson:
“90 Years of Laughter and Love.” I’m just curious, what makes you laugh the hardest and what do you love the most?
Carol Burnett:
Oh my goodness. Well, what makes me laugh the hardest is when my cat wants to eat and she takes the phone off the hook.
Denton Davidson:
That’s a good one.
Carol Burnett:
That’s pretty funny. That makes me laugh the hardest.
Denton Davidson:
Is the cat also who you love the most?
Carol Burnett:
Oh no, no. I love my husband the most.
Denton Davidson:
Okay. Good answer. And in the special we get to see a glimpse of how many people you’ve worked with and influenced throughout your career. If you could pick one person who you didn’t get the chance to work with, who is that?
Carol Burnett:
Oh gosh. Meryl Streep. I would love to work with her ’cause she’s not only a brilliant actress, she is very funny and she sings up a storm.
Denton Davidson:
You have six Emmys and counting and you won the first two you were nominated for. So when you won those first two were you like, “Hey, this is easy!” And what do you first remember about winning that very first one?
Carol Burnett:
No. I was surprised. I was very surprised. It was for “The Garry Moore Show.” Yeah. I did not expect it. And that’s always the best. It’s worse if you expect it and you don’t get it, but actually I never expected any of them.
Denton Davidson:
And this would be, if you got a seventh, either for this special or “Better Call Saul,” it would be seven decades, which would be history. No one’s ever done that before. So, what would that mean to you to get a little history on the way?
Carol Burnett:
Well, you just said it. That would mean a whole lot. Yeah. I’d be gobsmacked again!
Denton Davidson:
And just for my own selfish reasons I have to ask, you’ve touched every generation. So for me, it was my eighth birthday, I got “Annie” on VHS.
Carol Burnett:
Oh really?
Denton Davidson:
So I know a lot of kids probably would’ve liked the kids or the music, but I was all about drunk, cruel, Miss Hannigan, the orphan mother. How much fun was it to put your own spin on that?
Carol Burnett:
I loved doing it and actually I spoke with John Huston who directed it and I said, “How do you see me doing this Mr. Huston?” And he said, “Just cavort dear.” That’s all he said. “Just cavort.” So I cavorted. But it was my idea to have her have a drinking problem. Because with those orphans, that was the only escape she had. So that gave me a little more spin on the character.
Denton Davidson:
And what would your response be if I said, “We love you, Miss Hannigan.”
Carol Burnett:
I love that very much my little pig dropping.
Denton Davidson:
Made my day. Okay. Thank you so much for stopping by.
Carol Burnett:
Thank you.
“Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love” is executive produced by Burnett, Brian Miller, Steve Sauer, Paul Miller and Baz Halpin, Mark Bracco & Linda Gierahn of Silent House Productions. The special is currently streaming on Peacock.
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