How Carol Burnett’s ‘Unbelievable’ Memory Helped Bring ’90 Years of Laughter + Love’ to Life
Spoiler Alert
How do you plan a birthday party for a legend? Basically, you let them plan it themselves. Carol Burnett was “intimately involved” in the Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love special, which delighted viewers on Wednesday, April 26 on NBC.
The special, which aired on her 90th birthday, sat Burnett and best friend Julie Andrews in the front row as stars of the stage and screen flocked to celebrate the comedy icon they all grew up adoring. Executive producers Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn of Silent House Productions took TV Insider behind the scenes of the special’s production, from its inception to the day of filming. (Baz Halpin also executive produced.) And by all accounts, it was a memorable labor of love for all those involved.
Burnett was in the lead every step of the way, because as Bracco told us, “No one knows the details of her career better than her.”
“We were in constant communication with her about all of the retrospective packages, just talking about the clips and different moments,” he said. “She would give us suggestions of things to find, like if there was a specific scene in a specific movie. I remember her saying, ‘Oh, you know, from The Four Seasons, you should use the scene where Alan Alda and I are fighting in the bedroom.’ We’d be like, ‘Great, let’s find that.’ Or she would specifically point out certain things that she thought were really good scenes from certain movies or TV shows or things she was in. So she was intimately involved in the entire process.”
Todd Williamson/NBC
It’s no surprise that an expert at her craft would easily curate the ideal highlights reel. But Bracco was surprised to see the depths of her “unbelievable” encyclopedic memory.
“We would be editing packages and we would send them to her to look at, and she’d say, ‘You know, are you sure that’s not 1963 or 1960?’ because we put the year on a graphic. She just remembers everything. It’s amazing.”
Gierahn said the star is “everything you would imagine her to be,” adding, “she has such a vision. Clearly she’s had it throughout her career, but even having this celebratory night, she had such a vision for what it should include and what should be highlighted. And it was just an absolute joy to work with her. She is so inspiring and I think just a role model to all of us and really paved the way for so many people, so many women. So, it was really an amazing experience, and yes, I pinched myself the whole time.”
Many of the night’s performers sat in the audience until it was their time to pay tribute. Sheryl Lee Ralph recalled memories of being a child in the 1960s and the impact of seeing Black artists like Sammy Davis, Jr. and more be welcomed onto The Carol Burnett Show. Amy Poehler tried her hand at Burnett’s famous audience Q&A warmups, which hilariously proved to be much harder than it looked.
In a shout-out to both Burnett’s guest-star role as Sue Sylvester’s mother on Glee and their mutual connection to Annie, Jane Lynch performed “Little Girls” and was then joined by Bernadette Peters and Billy Porter for a rendition of “Easy Street.” To wrap the Annie medley, the original Annie herself, Aileen Quinn, sang “Tomorrow” while holding Burnett’s hand.
Peters and fellow former Lily St. Regis, Kristin Chenoweth, treated viewers to two performances. The first was a tribute to Burnett and Beverly Sills with “Only an Octave Apart,” and then they honored Burnett and Andrews’ 60+ years of friendship by singing Stephen Sondheim‘s classic “Old Friends.” Two of Burnett’s old friends, Cher and Bob Mackie, each appeared to pay tribute to the star. And in one of the highlights of the night, Vicki Lawrence came out for a touching tribute to her Burnett Show co-star.
No one who was asked to participate in the special said no. If they could make it, they were there, the EPs said. And if they couldn’t, they figured out a way to virtually partake. To that end, video tributes from Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Fallon, former First Lady Michelle Obama, President Joe Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Dolly Parton, Martin Short and Steve Martin, Bill Hader (Burnett’s cousin, they both recently learned!), and more were peppered throughout the event.
“There were a lot of big stars in the room, and they were all in awe of Carol and Julie,” Bracco shared, “because you recognize, in the history books of Hollywood and entertainment, these are two incredible legends and icons and people who influenced so many millions of people all over the world.” Because of that, the energy in the room was incomparable. “Everyone was just so happy to be a part of it,” he added.
Casey Durkin/NBC
“As we were filming and watching all the different cameras as they were shooting, you just saw so much joy on people’s faces looking up at the screen when we were rolling the retrospective packages,” he went on. “It wasn’t something we thought about when we were shooting, but in the edit, we ended up doing those little picture-in-picture boxes showing some of the stars in the audience watching those retrospective packages because they were laughing and had tears in their eyes at points. Their reactions were so great that we just knew we needed to capture that … including Carol as she was watching those packages. There was just an overwhelming feeling of love in the room. That’s the best way to describe it.”
“There was so much love between all the celebrities and those attending,” Gierahn added. “There was also so much love with just the crew and the production team. We were all so happy to be a part of it and make this night happen. And, you know, you don’t always get that either. So, there was just a lot of positivity that was really felt throughout the load-in and the whole night of the show, which was really nice.”
“There were a lot of really nice moments where various crew members from various departments just kind of would offhandedly like, as you were walking by them, say, ‘This is really special.’ We’ve all worked on a lot of shows and all that, but everyone working on the show recognized that this was a very special special.”
A special night for a special talent. Andrews turns 90 in three years. Is this team down for a tribute to Burnett’s beloved friend?
“Let’s do it. Yes, 100 percent,” Bracco said. Gierahn added, “Absolutely. I mean, who wouldn’t be?”
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love, Streaming Now, Peacock
