Line #4 Trivia/TheCarolBurnettShow


1	* ActingForTwo: Many sketches would have Carol playing twins, usually to spoof films in which actresses like Creator/BetteDavis did the same. Examples include [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EpPSayL19Ag "A Swiped Life"]] and [[Series/{{Columbo}} "Cobumble"]].
2	** One question period had Carol tell a childhood anecdote in which she actually pretended to be a set of twins, complete with changing of clothes, etc.
3	* ApprovalOfGod: Initially, viewers did not find the "Nora Desmond" sketches [[DudeNotFunny very funny]], and felt they were an insult to actress Creator/GloriaSwanson (whose ''Film/SunsetBoulevard'' character the sketches were a parody of). Swanson herself loved them, however, and even said she thought they were hilarious when she appeared as a guest in Season 7.
4	* {{Blooper}}: Of course a compilation of them was released.
5	* {{Corpsing}}
6	** Tim Conway was notorious for breaking up the others on the show. In many of the sketches featuring Conway and Harvey Korman, it was all Korman could do to get through it without collapsing. Keep in mind, it wasn't like this was live: the show was taped and each sketch was run twice; Conway was just that funny. Causing Carol Burnett herself to lose it was a major feat, but Conway accomplished it several times. It got to the point that the cast would have a weekly pool to see how long it would take Conway to make someone (mainly Korman) break character.
7	** Once in a while, Carol or Vicki would get even with Tim by making him corpse... for example, during the "Flasher" sketch, which was less an actual sketch than a giant prank on Tim.
8	** Sometimes, even the scripts would make Conway corpse. [[https://youtu.be/iKcoS1m3b2Y In a sketch titled "Jowls"]] (a parody of ''Film/{{Jaws}}''), Conway's character talks about losing his girlfriend to a great white shark... because [[FoodAndAnimalAttraction she was wearing her lucky ham]]. Though Conway visibly stifles his laughter on the sketch that made broadcast, [[https://youtu.be/5RM0ZAoFtjQ the outtakes show him losing control]] halfway through that particular line... only to break out laughing after saying the whole thing.
9	** But it was Vicki Lawrence who caused probably the most epic instance of corpsing in television history during a last-season Mama sketch, the now famous "Elephant Story Blooper": Tim told the story, with Carol fighting desperately to hold her laughter, and when Carol tried to move the sketch along, Vicki fired off with "You sure that little asshole's through?" and the entire cast collapsed in hysterical laughter.
10	** In a behind the scenes special, Carol mentioned they would tape the show twice, and use the copy with the lesser amount of corpsing.
11	** Though many ended up in the final broadcasts.[[note]]Although the show was pre-recorded (as opposed to being aired live), Carol has said that the reason the bloopers were often in left was because she wanted a "live" show, and not a "perfect" show.[[/note]]
12	* CreatorBacklash: Creator/DickVanDyke isn't happy with his time as a cast member, as the writers continued writing material suited for Harvey Korman out of inertia and didn't try to write to his comedic style. He and Burnett mutually agreed that it wasn't working out and he departed on good terms, remaining friends with everyone.
13	* EditedForSyndication: The intros with the audience and non-musical sketches were edited into the half hour 1978 show ''Carol Burnett and Friends''.
14	* EnforcedMethodActing: According to Carol, the reason behind Ms. Wiggins's trademark walk was due to the fact that the skirt she was given was too large and walking that way was the only way to keep it from falling off.
15	* FollowTheLeader: When CBS aired the reunion special, it proved to be a stunning ratings success. CBS and other networks promptly went out of their way to produce show retrospectives to cash in.
16	* HarpoDoesSomethingFunny: Tim Conway either added his own embellishments or went completely off script during his appearances, sending sketches off the rails and causing the cast to break character to the delight of the audience.
17	* KeepCirculatingTheTapes: The first five seasons of the series (1967-1972) are co-owned with Bob Banner, preventing them from subsequent syndication and home video releases. With Banner's death in 2011, the outcome of this looked uncertain, until Carol Burnett and Time/Life announced a 2015 DVD release of select episodes from those seasons.
18	** The bulk of the musical numbers have not been seen since the original network airings due to licensing issues. Eventually, a DVD collector's edition of the show which includes the musical numbers was released by mail order offering only 2 episodes per $19.95 disc, the extra money going for the licensing.
19	** In 2019, edited 30-minute versions of the early episodes started running on Creator/MeTV, and Creator/{{PBS}} later started showing select full episodes courtesy of American Public Television.
20	* PostScriptSeason: ''Carol Burnett & Company'', a four-episode miniseries that aired on Creator/{{ABC}} during the summer of 1979. The show featured Carol, Vicki Lawrence, and Tim Conway back as regulars, with Craig Richard Nelson and Kenneth Mars replacing the still-unavailable Harvey Korman.
21	* ReferencedBy: In ''Film/HereToday'', Creator/BarryLevinson says he met Charlie Burnz whilst working on ''The Carol Burnett Show''.
22	* SeparatedAtBirthCasting: Vicki Lawrence was hired because she looked like a younger Burnett, which made her perfect for the "Carol and Sis" sketches.
23	* ThrowItIn: The show would only do two takes a sketch, meaning even flubbed lines would get thrown in the broadcast.
24	** WordOfGod says Miss Wiggins' nail biting was Carol's way of not breaking up at Tim's Mr. Tudball.
25	* UnPerson: Sort of. The fact that Dick Van Dyke was an actual cast member during the last years (replacing Harvey Korman) is rarely brought up in documentaries or behind the scenes specials, and said episodes rarely air in syndication. Mainly because many people felt those episodes [[SeasonalRot weren't very good]], and that Van Dyke had no real chemistry with Carol, Tim, or Vicki. Even Van Dyke himself [[OldShame looks back at his time on the show with regret and embarrassment.]] On the other hand, Van Dyke does remain good friends with Burnett, and was part of the show's most famous blooper which he did display on his own show several times.
26	* WhatCouldHaveBeen: In interviews, Tim Conway said that in the 80s he was offered a chance to star in a ''Mr. Tudball'' spin-off. He declined because he didn't see much potential for storylines, plus the fact that Carol would not be playing Miss Wiggins.
27	* WriteWhatYouKnow: "The Dentist Sketch" was inspired by Tim Conway's experience with an army dentist who, while trying to inject Novocaine into Conway's jaw, stabbed a hypodermic needle straight through Conway's cheek and didn't notice that the medication was being sprayed onto the floor. When the dentist was finally told what happened, he tried to go ahead with the procedure anyway! Unlike poor Harvey Korman, however, Conway managed to escape.
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Context Trivia / TheCarolBurnettShow