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On Thursday, Carol Burnett cemented her legendary status forever with a hand-and-footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood.
“Extra’s” Melvin Robert spoke to Burnett, who reacted to the sad news of revered actor Donald Sutherland’s death at 88.
“I’m a big fan of his,” she said, “and one of my favorite performances of his was with Mary Tyler Moore in… ‘Ordinary People.’ He tore my heart apart. He was so wonderful, and it was a different role for him, a different kind of a role for Donald.”
When Mel mentioned that she has brought so much laughter in a world of darkness, the 91-year-old icon smiled, saying, “I just had a lot of fun and I want to continue having fun.”
Burnett called it a “dream come true” to be honored in Hollywood. She noted, “This is my neighborhood. I was raised here in Hollywood, just a few short blocks from here, and when I was a little girl with my grandmother, we’d come up here and look at all the handprints and footprints of all the movie stars, and I remember bending down when I was a little girl and putting my hands on Betty Grable’s handprint. She was my favorite movie star, and now my handprints are there. I’m gobsmacked.”
As for what went through her mind today, Carol said, “My youth when… I was a little girl, you know, and to think, ‘My gosh, now my hands are there.’ It’s just amazing to me.”
Reflecting back on her career and what she is most proud of, Burnett commented, “I guess doing my show, the 11 years of doing my show and having the joy of working with Harvey [Korman] and Tim [Conway] and Vicki [Lawrence] and Lyle [Waggoner], and then all of the guests that I had.”
“The Carol Burnett Show” was on the air from 1967-1978.
Now, she is a part of another really big show, “Palm Royale,” Season 2 of which will be shooting in the fall.
Carol will be back and told “Extra” her biggest excitement will be, “To find out who I am, who my character is — she kind of left Season 1, kind of a mystery.”