Website: The Carol Burnett Show
How do you review a life that isn't over and has a lot more to give? This was my question while reading Carol Burnett's 1986 autobiography, "One More Time". I read the book on the recommendation of the biggest Burnett fan I know - a co-worker named Sue who has been an avid fan of Burnett's since 1971 when she saw her first Carol Burnett Show and was hooked for life.
After reading this well written book, I can see why Sue is such a big fan, and heartily recommend this book for anyone who was even slightly a fan of Carol Burnett.
Carol Burnett was born April 26, 1933, in San Antonio, Texas to Joseph "Jody" and Ina Louise "Lou" Burnett, parents who were often unemployed, living mostly on welfare. While a toddler, Carol (named after actress Carole Lombard - her mother used the e but no one else did) was basically raised by her maternal grandmother, Mabel "Nanny" White. Lou Burnett moved to California to seek fame and fortune, and after she divorced Jody, Carol and Nanny moved to Hollywood to live in the same building as Lou. Dirt poor, Carol and Nanny lived in a studio apartment that was filled with garbage that Nanny refused to throw away. Carole slept on the couch and used the shower rung in the bathroom to hang her clothes. She hated leaving her Nanny, who was often sick. And so Carol only went to school sporadically. But she had plenty of friends, and would spend hours playing make-believe. They would act out scenes from movies (Carol always taking the lead spot), running around the neighborhood playing spies or Amazon queens.
Growing up, Carol felt awkward (she was taller than everyone else), ugly, and worthless. Her mother and Nanny fought almost constantly, and Carol's escape would be to ignore what was going on and go into her make-believe worlds with her friends. Her childhood life was tough, but Carol made it through - with determination and persistence.
She graduated from Hollywood High in 1951, and wondered if she'd be able to go to college. It was expensive, and her mother pretty much told her it wouldn't happen. But one morning she opened up the door to her apartment and checked the mail, there she found an unmarked envelope in her mailbox containing $50 - just over the amount needed to sign up at UCLA, where she
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