Knock 'Em Dead
Say “Come to Hawai‘i,” and she will come. That’s one way to keep Carol Burnett performing, she jokes. As her storied career goes on, stretching gracefully towards seven decades, the queen of comedy continues to entertain audiences around the world. That includes Honolulu, where she recently put on her Q&A show, “Laughter and Reflection,” for two nights at Blaisdell Concert Hall.
“It keeps the old gray matter ticking,” Burnett says of the touring performance. “So that I’m right there in the present, I can’t be thinking of what I did yesterday or what I might do tomorrow. I have to be in the now, and I think that’s very healthy and keeps me at least young inside.”
Age has found a sparring partner in Burnett, who, when not performing, does crossword puzzles (she enjoys the ones in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times), exercises (half-an-hour every day) and meditates (she recommends the Headspace app). She also contributes to a playwriting class with Stephen Sondheim, and supports a variety of causes, such as the Hereditary Disease Foundation. Previously a part-time Hawai‘i resident, Burnett now calls Santa Barbara home. But she still holds many fond memories of the Aloha State, where she lived on-and-off during the 1980s.
“I had a condo on Maui, and then I moved over to O‘ahu, where my sister and brother-and-law were with the museum,” she explains. “And, of course, my dear friend, Jim Nabors, lived there forever, so it was nice to be neighbors. I miss him so much.”
Burnett’s favorite memories of the island? Her stays at The Kahala Hotel & Resort, and swimming with the dolphins there, plus hanging out with Nabors and dining at Michel’s.
“I think my first time to Hawai‘i was when the kids were little,” remembers Burnett. (Her three daughters—Carrie, Erin and Jody—were born in the 1960s.) “We stayed at the Kahala Hilton and fed the dolphins ... There’s really that aloha spirit there. People are kind, and it’s less stressful than on the mainland.”
The islands have been a recurring part of her career. She appeared in the original Magnum P.I. and, in recent years, found her way back to Hawai‘i guest starring in CBS’ reboot of Hawaii Five-0, playing Steve McGarrett’s aunt Deb. Burnett says the experience was “kind of like coming home.” Her fondness for O‘ahu is evident in her longtime support of the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa. In 1981, she gifted a $100,000 endowment for the Carol Burnett Fund for Responsible Journalism, which continues to recognize and award students who demonstrate a strong sense of journalistic responsibility and integrity.
“It’s wonderful, I’m very happy about that,” says Burnett.
The cause is close to her heart. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Burnett grew up in California with her grandmother, and was editor of her junior high school and high school newspapers. She later attended UCLA; the school didn’t offer journalism as a major, an omission that ended up sending Burnett down her life’s path.
“I looked through the catalog and there was Theater Arts-English, where I could take playwriting courses, and I would still take the journalism courses,” she recalls. “Then, as a freshman, whether you want to write or direct or produce or design scenery, you had to take an acting course.”
The rest of Burnett’s story could fill a book—and has on more than one occasion, including her memoir 1986 “One More Time” and a story collection from 2011. She has made numerous appearances in feature films, TV shows and on Broadway. Her long list of awards includes Golden Globes, Emmys, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Kennedy Center Honors, the Peabody, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and more. In 2019, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association presented her with its inaugural television special achievement award, fittingly named the Carol Burnett Award, honoring those who have made outstanding contributions to the medium.
Still, she has a special place in her heart for the Carol Burnett Show, which ran between 1967 and 1978. The trailblazing variety hour—the first of its kind hosted by a woman—received acclaim from viewers and critics alike, catapulting Burnett to instant-icon status. It also won over major network executives, who doubted whether a female comic could lead a major variety hour.
“I think the highlight of my career was my 11 years on my show,” she says. “I really have no other particular goals. I take work as it comes. Focus Features has optioned a book I wrote to make it into a movie. It’s called Carrie and Me, and it’s about the relationship with my oldest daughter, so that’s in the process of being written as a film.”
There’s not a straightforward biopic in the works, but when asked which actress would play her, Burnett quips: “I don’t know, why not Angelina Jolie, what the hell?”
Joking aside, Burnett says she’s grateful that she has done—and is still doing—what she loves: Making people laugh. What can she say? It just never gets old.