In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox

by Carol Burnett

Overview

"Comedy legend Carol Burnett tells the ... behind-the-scenes story of her iconic weekly variety series, The Carol Burnett Show"--

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101904671
Publisher:	Crown Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Pages:	320
Sales rank:	200,321
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

CAROL BURNETT has been an actor on Broadway, on television, and in the movies.  She has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, The Mark Twain Prize for Humor and the Kennedy Center Honors, among other singular achievements of a woman comedian who was nothing less than a pioneer and a role model for stars like Tina Fey, Amy Pohler and Amy Schumer.

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INTRODUCTION
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "In Such Good Company"
by .
Copyright © 2017 Carol Burnett.
Excerpted by permission of Crown/Archetype.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Table of Contents

Introduction 1

In the Sandbox 4

A Man's Game 9

Play! 11

Variety Shows in the Seventies 14

A Typical Week 19

Let's Bump Up the Lights! 24

Some of My Favorite Q&As 29

Our Gang 35

Vicki Lawrence 35

Harvey Korman 45

Lyle Waggoner 47

Tim Conway 50

Those Behind the Scenes for the Entire Eleven-Year Run 56

Bob Mackie 56

Ernie Flatt 62

Don Crichton 64

Artie Malvin 65

Music 67

Our Sound Effects 70

CBS Censorship 72

The Writing Staff 73

"Life Once Removed": A Conversation with Larry Gelbart 77

Explaining a Punch Line 79

Our Recurring Sketches Over the Years 80

The Charwoman 80

"Carol and Sis" 83

George and Zelda 85

"The Old Folks" 86

"As the Stomach Turns" 88

Speaking of Martha Raye … 91

The Queen 93

Stella Toddler 96

Mrs. Wiggins and Mr. Tudball 100

"Mary Worthless" 102

Another One That Bit the Dust 104

A Bad Idea for a Number 105

Fred and Marge 107

"The Family" 108

Betty White 116

Cary Grant and "The Family" 121

Eunice 124

The Famous Blooper 126

Cracking Up 129

"The Pigeon Lady" Gets Back at Tim 134

Characters and Auras 141

The Movie Parodies 144

"Mildred Fierce" and "Torchy Song" 145

"The African Queen" 154

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gormé 155

"Went With the Wind" 162

Our Trips to England, Ireland, and Italy 170

"And Then Somebody Asked Me …" 176

A Miracle Moment 181

Down Memory Lane with Some of Our Guests 185

Jim Nabors 185

Ken Berry 189

Bernadette Peters 190

Alan Alda 192

Sammy Davis, Jr. 195

Roddy McDowall 199

Vincent Price 203

Donald O'Connor 205

Lucille Ball 206

"Lovely Story," "The Funn Family," and Other Guests 211

"Pillow Squawk" 211

Rock Hudson 218

"Double Calamity" 221

"Caged Dames" 229

Shirley MacLaine 233

"Lovely Story" 236

"The Funn Family" 239

Mickey Rooney 251

Nanette Fabray 254

Embarrassing Moments 256

"Are Those Your Own Teeth?" And Other Questions I've Answered 260

The Night I Got Even 266

Ken and Mitzie Welch 269

The Mini-Musicals 272

Australia 288

Lights, Camera, Action: More Movie Parodies I Loved 295

"Sunset Boulevard" 295

A Woman's Picture 298

"To Each Her Own Tears" 299

Lana Turner 305

"High Hat" 306

Rita Hayworth 309

"The Doily Sisters" 313

Betty Grable 323

Stress Relief 328

The Flip Shows 329

More Special Memories about Some Other Amazing Guest Stars 333

The Jackson 5 333

Ray Charles 335

Carol Channing 338

Jerry Lewis 341

The Only One, but Who Needs More? 344

Sid Caesar 344

Carl Reiner 349

Bing Crosby 351

Jonathan Winters 354

Dick Van Dyke 355

James Stewart 358

The Night I Fired Harvey 365

The Emmys 374

A Conversation with Dick Cavett 378

Harvey Leaves Our Show 385

Our Final Season and the Last Show 387

Afterword 393

The Artist Entrance 397

Wrapping It All Up 399

Appendix 1 Shows and Guests 401

Appendix 2 Writers by Season 421

Acknowledgments 429

Editorial Reviews

06/27/2016
From 1967 to 1978, The Carol Burnett Show delighted television viewers of all ages from coast to coast. Now Burnett presents a look at her beloved variety hour. Though it may start with the show’s inauspicious beginnings (a forgotten clause in Burnett’s contract) and end with its star-studded finale, Burnett’s narrative is hardly chronological; instead, it resembles the conversational cadence of a relative reminiscing about the good old days. This is certainly a relatable approach, but it does lead Burnett to repeat details about her favorite stories. Nevertheless, Burnett’s fans will enjoy the wealth of knowledge as she reveals her close relationships with her crew, revisits highlights from audience q&a sessions, and shares anecdotes about the biggest stars of the 1960s and ’70s. Burnett watched every episode afresh to research this book, and that attention to detail shows in her exhaustive accounts of major sketches. However, even nonfans will enjoy the nuggets of intrigue Burnett scatters throughout, in which she shines a light on the sexism she faced during her tenure as a leading lady of the small screen. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

In this light, behind-the-scenes memoir, [Burnett] pays tribute to the many talented individuals responsible for the show's enduring success, [sharing] some of the hilarious impromptu moments on the set and sheds light on the many memorable sketches, including the movie parodies that have become classic TV.” —Kirkus Reviews

"The great comedian [Carol Burnett] filled America’s living rooms with pratfalls and Tarzan yells.... Carol Burnett’s new memoir, In Such Good Company, captures this zaniness with relish. Written in Burnett’s laughing voice, the book chronicles how she prepared her weekly dose of mayhem.... Resonating with Burnett’s lively enthusiasm, In Such Good Company captures the excitement of being there once again, and it’s a joyous addition to her earlier memoirs." —The Washington Post

From the Publisher

07/01/2016
From 1967 to 1978, The Carol Burnett Show made television history and is regularly recognized as one of the best shows of all time. Here Burnett (This Time Together) offers a breezy reminiscence of the show's creation, its cast and guests, and much-beloved characters and sketches. While there's some sense of chronology, most of the book is a collection of similarly themed anecdotes so readers can jump straight to the amazing guests (Ray Charles) or movie parodies (Went with the Wind). Burnett delivers hilarious and heartfelt stories that are full of comedy and light on drama. She stays positive even when discussing the frustrations of being a woman in the television industry and refuses to name names when it comes to her least favorite guest. VERDICT Who doesn't love Carol Burnett, and who better to tell the story of the show bearing her name? This quick trip down memory lane and great behind-the-scenes look at a truly one-of-a-kind production will have strong appeal for fans and readers who remember that era.—Terry Bosky, Madison, WI

Library Journal

Carol Burnett, a beloved figure in television comedy, offers a warm, touching, and playful romp through the part of her career associated with her highly successful CBS-TV musical variety hour, which premiered in 1967. Burnett’s audio performance is stellar and nearly perfect. She has a special skill for the type of conversational presentation so key to success in audiobooks. However, the production, when considered as a whole, has some weaknesses: Some memories are repetitive, introductions to a variety of guests seem boilerplate in structure, and the verbatim reading of several sketch and parody scripts highlights the difficulty of effectively translating material written for the visual medium to the audio experience. Nonetheless, Burnett’s devotees, as well as aficionados of television history, will be delighted they spent this time together. W.A.G. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2016 - AudioFile

2016-06-11
The TV legend reflects on her eponymous variety series.When the Carol Burnett Show premiered on CBS in 1967, it was the heyday for variety shows, which mixed sketch comedy with musical performances and were a staple on network TV. Though several shows from that era enjoyed high ratings for a few seasons, such as Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and the Glen Campbell Show, Burnett's (This Time Together: Laughter and Reflection, 2010, etc.) series remained an audience favorite for an unprecedented 11 years, winning multiple Emmy awards along the way and continuing in syndication ever since. In this light, behind-the-scenes memoir, the author pays tribute to the many talented individuals responsible for the show's enduring success, including the writers, musicians, designers, technicians, and, perhaps most significantly, her team of weekly performers and big-name celebrity guest stars. She additionally shares some of the hilarious impromptu moments on the set and sheds light on the many memorable sketches, including the movie parodies that have become classic TV. In brief, occasionally disjointed chapters, Burnett provides fascinating glimpses of the vigorous demands involved with producing her show, eventually summarizing why such shows are regretfully no longer produced on the same scale. "Sadly, variety shows like ours have gone the way of the dodo bird," she writes. "A variety show today can never duplicate what we did. Why? Money. The cost of clearing the songs and music would sink the Titanic. Sixty to seventy costumes a week? No way. A twenty-eight piece orchestra? Twelve dancers? A rep company of five? Six to eight sketches a show? Major guest stars? Block the entire show and rehearse with the orchestra in one day? The following day tape the whole shebang in two hours? Dream on." An entertaining if somewhat overly anecdotal look back at a beloved weekly variety series.

Kirkus Reviews