Transcript

CAROL BURNETT: The Honorary Robinson Shares Her Life Philosophy and Legacy | IMO

From Michelle Obama · Episode page · Watch on YouTube

· 1 h 14 min · 10,482 words · 95 timestamped sections

This is the full, timestamped transcript of "CAROL BURNETT: The Honorary Robinson Shares Her Life Philosophy and Legacy | IMO", an episode of Michelle Obama published January 14, 2026 (1 h 14 min, about 10,482 words). It mentions 32 people, works and ideas, including Carol Burnett, The Carol Burnett Show, Lucille Ball, The Gary Moore Show, Gary Moore.

What this episode is about

Carol Burnett reflects on her influential career, sharing insights into her life philosophy shaped by icons like Lucille Ball, and discusses the profound impact her work has had on generations, particularly through her unique approach to engaging with audiences and celebrating humor. Her anecdotes highlight the personal connections she has fostered with fans and the lasting legacy of her groundbreaking television show.

Key takeaways

  • Carol Burnett's Q&A segment proved spontaneity can outshine scripted dialogue, revealing authenticity is the heart of comedy.
  • Climbing Hollywood's sign as a child, Burnett learned risk-taking—both in stunts and humor—fuels creativity and connection.
  • The humble beginnings of living in a one-room apartment shaped Burnett's comedic perspective, proving resilience breeds wit.
  • Burnett's 'screw-up' moment on stage became iconic, demonstrating that mistakes can be the most memorable part of a performance.
  • Lucille Ball's influence showed that embracing the unexpected—like audience questions—can turn nerves into comedy gold.

Who speaks in this episode?

What is discussed, and when

  1. – 10:00: Carol Burnett, Terry McCann, The Carol Burnett Show, Lucille Ball
  2. – 20:00: Theraflu, Joel McCrea, Mickey and Judy, KFF
  3. – 30:00: Acorns, Mickey and Judy, The New Yorker, Ted
  4. – 40:00: Gary Moore, Once Upon a Mattress, Dr. Jack Abbott, The Gary Moore Show
  5. – 50:00: Lucille Ball, The Gary Moore Show, Gary Moore, Desi Arnaz
  6. – 1:00:00: Palm Royale, Carol Burnett, Lucille Ball, The Gary Moore Show
  7. – 1:10:00: Allison Janney

Notable quotes from "CAROL BURNETT: The Honorary Robinson Shares Her Life Philosophy and Legacy | IMO"

  • Yeah, we have Carol Burnett here and...
    about Carol Burnett · at
  • So I said, let me interview Joel McCrae.
    about Joel McCrea · at
  • Again, Mickey and Judy, I'm going to put on a show. I'm gonna be a rocker. Right, right.
    about Mickey and Judy · at
  • And then there was a wonderful man called, named Gary Moore, who had a major variety show at the time.
    about Gary Moore · at
  • Within the five years he had it in the contract, that if I wanted to do an hour long comedy variety show.
    about The Carol Burnett Show · at
  • When I was doing Once Upon a Mattress. -huh.
    about Once Upon a Mattress · at
  • That's when they put the S on the end of my last name.
    about Lucille Ball · at
  • He said, well, in the first few episodes, you're in a coma.
    about Palm Royale · at

Who and what is mentioned in this episode?

People

  • Carol Burnett — Person · Main guest · 4 mentions · first at
    Central subject of the episode; she recounts her upbringing, early career path (UCLA, New York, Broadway), and the creation of her TV variety career, plus mentorship from Lucille Ball and later-life work.
  • Lucille Ball — Person · Referenced mentor / core topic · 4 mentions · first at
    Presented as Burnett’s key mentor and friend; Burnett describes Ball’s leadership style, lessons about being assertive in production, and their professional collaboration.
  • Gary Moore — Person · Referenced mentor / career catalyst · 6 mentions · first at
    Described as kind and supportive; he gave Burnett a major TV opportunity when another guest fell ill and then brought her on weekly, shaping her variety-TV path.
  • Joel McCrea — Person · Referenced figure (early journalism story) · 2 mentions · first at
    Subject of Burnett’s teenage interview for her high school paper, illustrating her early ambition, initiative, and proximity to the studio system.
  • Dr. Jack Abbott — Person · Referenced career goal / director · 2 mentions · first at
    Burnett cites him as her aspirational Broadway director and later as the person she auditioned for on Once Upon a Mattress, reinforcing her “manifestation” theme.
    I said, I'm going to be on Broadway and it's going to directed by George Abbott.
  • Desi Arnaz — Person · Referenced figure (production/mentor context) · 2 mentions · first at
    Discussed through Lucille Ball’s story about relying on him during their marriage; credited with technical/production innovations and operational leadership.
    Because when I was married to the Cuban...
  • John Foster Dulles — Person · Referenced public figure (comedy subject) · 1 mention · first at
    Subject of Burnett’s comedic song written by Ken Welch; the bit’s cultural impact is emphasized by Dulles being asked about it on a news program.
    Nightclub and then the special material writer Ken Welch wrote a song called I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles.
  • Terry McCann — Person · Anecdotal audience participant · 2 mentions · first at
    Audience member in Burnett’s Q&A segment who sang with her and humorously told her “you screwed it up,” illustrating the spontaneity of the show’s opening Q&A.
    What's your name? And I remember to this Terry McCann I said, okay, Terry now we had a band over on the yeah 28 piece orchestra Wow,.
  • Kristen Wiig — Person · Referenced co-star (current work) · 2 mentions · first at
    Named as a key cast member of Palm Royale; Burnett describes trying not to laugh during Wiig/Janney scenes while Burnett’s character is in a coma.
    And Abe Silvia, who is the creator, said, Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Rick, I said stop.
  • Allison Janney — Person · Referenced co-star (current work) · 2 mentions · first at
    Named as Palm Royale cast; Burnett notes they are buddies and play Wordle together, illustrating Burnett’s present-day social/work life.
    And Abe Silvia, who is the creator, said, Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Rick, I said stop.
  • Eartha Kitt — Person · Referenced performer (inspiration for a bit) · 1 mention · first at
    Burnett describes modeling a comedic performance on Kitt’s song “Monotonous,” contrasting glamour with Burnett’s comedic staging.
    There was a Broadway show called New Faces of 1952, and one of the songs in it was Eartha Kitt.
  • Chester A. Arthur — Person · Referenced comparison · 2 mentions · first at
    Used as a visual comparison for an audience member (“looked like B. Arthur when... Maude”), anchoring the anecdote in recognizable TV imagery.
  • Jack Parr — Person · Referenced TV host (career step) · 1 mention · first at
    Burnett cites performing her John Foster Dulles song on “the Jack Parr show,” marking early national TV exposure.
    Secretary of State, and so I did it on the Jack Parr show, I did it on the itself huh.
  • Milton Berle — Person · Referenced comparator (gender dynamics) · 1 mention · first at
    Named among male comedy-variety stars used by a CBS executive to argue “comedy variety is a man’s game,” highlighting sexism Burnett faced.
    So he said, it's Cesar, it was Milton Berle, now it's Gene Martin.
  • Julius Caesar — Person · Referenced comparator (gender dynamics) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as an example of male comedy-variety power dynamics where men could be blunt without being labeled negatively, contrasting with Burnett’s experience.
    Okay, if a sketch wasn't working for Jackie Gleason, or Sid Caesar, they'd call the writer, they'd say, you guys, this sucks.
  • Laura Dern — Person · Referenced co-star (current work) · 1 mention · first at
    Named among the cast that convinced Burnett to join Palm Royale immediately, signaling the project’s prestige.
    And Abe Silvia, who is the creator, said, Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Rick, I said stop.
  • Hedda Hopper — Person · Referenced figure (journalism aspiration context) · 1 mention · first at
    Named as an example of a Hollywood columnist/radio/press figure, contextualizing Burnett’s mother’s ambition to interview movie stars.
    Like Luella Parsons and Hedda Hopper.
  • Bob Hope — Person · Referenced celebrity (mother’s interviews) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as one of the stars Burnett’s mother interviewed while freelancing, illustrating her mother’s partial success in entertainment journalism.
    So she did get to interview Bob Hope, Rita Hayworth. That's big stuff.
  • Rita Hayworth — Person · Referenced celebrity (mother’s interviews) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned as another major star Burnett’s mother interviewed, reinforcing the Hollywood proximity of Burnett’s early life.
    So she did get to interview Bob Hope, Rita Hayworth. That's big stuff.
  • Ted — Person · Referenced person in anecdote (unclear identity) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned briefly during the San Diego party story (“I thought, oh, this is Ted...”), but not identified; likely a known person to Burnett in that moment.
    And I thought, oh, this is Ted, oh my God, I'm busted.

Companies & orgs

  • KFF — Company · Referenced expert organization (in ad) · 1 mention · first at
    Cited in the Theraflu sponsorship segment as the source of a statistic about working parents losing pay when caring for sick children.
    The health policy organization KFF reported that about half of working parents.

Concepts & topics

  • Mickey and Judy — Concept · Referenced concept / framing device · 3 mentions · first at
    Used as Burnett’s recurring metaphor for youthful show-business optimism—"let’s put on a show"—that shaped her initiative in New York and beyond.

Media & podcasts

  • The Carol Burnett Show — Media · Core topic (guest’s signature work) · 1 mention · first at
    Central reference point for the hosts’ admiration and for Burnett’s discussion of the opening Q&A, sketch format, and gender dynamics in comedy-variety production.
  • The Gary Moore Show — Media · Career platform (referenced media) · 4 mentions · first at
    Key TV variety show that elevated Burnett; she describes being called last-minute, becoming a weekly performer, and learning the variety format she later wanted for her own show.
    So as a result, the following September, they asked, he asked me if I'd be on every week.
  • Once Upon a Mattress — Media · Career milestone (referenced media) · 3 mentions · first at
    Broadway breakthrough that led to major visibility; directly connected to Lucille Ball seeing Burnett and to Gary Moore recruiting her after a guest cancellation.
  • Palm Royale — Media · Current work (referenced media) · 3 mentions · first at
    Modern project highlighting Burnett’s continued acting at 92 and her relationships with co-stars (Wiig, Janney, Dern) and creator Abe Sylvia.
  • Fame — Media · Referenced media (family/career) · 1 mention · first at
    Used to describe Burnett’s daughter Carrie’s acting career after sobriety; Burnett also appeared as a guest on the show.
    On Fame, she had a regular role on Fame.
  • The Lucy Show — Media · Referenced media (mentor context) · 1 mention · first at
    Mentioned in Lucille Ball’s account of post-divorce production challenges, illustrating the need for strong leadership and assertiveness.
    And she said so I'm sitting there, and remember she had another one called The Lucy Show, Different Incarnation.
  • The New Yorker — Media · Referenced media (magazine) · 1 mention · first at
    Burnett mentions reading it on the plane to New York; an ad in it led her to the Algonquin Hotel, illustrating her early NYC arrival story.
  • Brady Bunch — Media · Referenced media (hosts’ childhood TV) · 1 mention · first at
    Used by a host to contrast their childhood viewing habits with their parents watching The Carol Burnett Show.
    So we spent our hour on cartoons and my sister spent her hour on the Brady Bunch and things of that nature.

Sponsors

  • Acorns — Company · Sponsor (advertised product/company) · 5 mentions · first at
    Presented as episode sponsor; promoted as a financial wellness/investing app with automated investing and a signup bonus.
    Plus, Acorns will boost your new account with a $20 bonus investment.
  • Theraflu — Company · Sponsor (advertised product/company) · 2 mentions · first at
    Presented as episode sponsor; ad discusses the Rest and Recover Fund and caregiving/sick leave challenges.
    This episode of IMO is brought to you by Theraflu.

Full transcript with timestamps

What was one of the best things you learned from Lucille Ball? She w- now she- Mm-hmm. Wouldn't say, hi guys, she was more. She was like, she was ready to be a bitch. Oh, now here's the story. How you doing? Hi Craig. I am, I am Terry. I'm excited. I'm honored because we have one of my heroines here with us today and we're just going to get right into it. I want you to introduce our, our next guest. Yeah, we have Carol Burnett here and... Wow. I'm speechless already and we just got started. You're not the only one.

I am speechless and as I said before I'm gobsmacked. I'm so happy to be here and to meet you and to see you again. We are happy to have you, and just so our audience can understand why Meesh and I are so awestruck, excited, whatever words, it's because you were such a big part of our growing up. Wow. So I want to tell you the story. Okay. When we were kids, school-aged, we could only watch one hour of TV. Yes, my parents were ahead of the curve and we, like you, were cartoon fans. So we spent our hour on cartoons and my sister spent her hour on the Brady Bunch and things of that nature.

But in the evenings when you were on, my parent's watched the Carol Burnett show. And I just want to tell you, one of the things that I really was awestruck about your show. And I didn't understand it because again, I was like 10 years old, I can't even remember how old I was. When you would come out at the beginning of the show and take questions from people, my 10-year-old brain was like, this woman is the smartest, funniest woman I've ever seen because she doesn't know what these people are going to ask. So that was one thing, but it always struck me that every now and then there was a list.

Person to children and being a child and seeing that I'm getting choked up just talking about it. Thank you. It really meant a lot. And we were just talking, we wish our mom was here. She would have loved to have been here for this. Your biggest fan. You told me that the first time and I think I sent some videos and I got the loveliest letter from you. Yeah yeah. Well, you know, the Q&A, I didn't want to do it. Really? No. Yeah, I bet. When we were going to do our show. That feels risky. The producer came to me and said, you, know, Carol, before you get into sketches with you black out your teeth and you have a fright wig on and a fat suit and all that, people should really get to know you first.

And so, go out and deal with that. What if they don't want to ask me anything? Or what if they do and I don't have a snappy answer? And he said, well, so we'll put some plants in the audience. And then I thought, no, it's got to be real. It was real. If they stump me with something and I have egg on my face, at least they know we're being honest. And so I said, let's try it for three weeks in a row when we were just going to start. And if it doesn't work, let's tank the idea. The first show I was a little nervous and some kind person said, who's the guest tonight?

And I went, well, I can answer that. And then the next week, and pretty soon, I started to have fun with it. You were enjoying it. And it became one of the most fun things on my show that I love doing. And we would have, we had one woman on, raised her hand. I called on her. She looked like B. Arthur when B. Arthur did Maude. Oh yes. You know, she said I want to come up and sing. I was like, okay Yeah, and she Fearless she got up there. What's your name? And I remember to this Terry McCann I said, okay, Terry now we had a band over on the yeah 28 piece orchestra Wow, and I said what do you want to do?

And she looked at the band and she said you made me love you and the key of G. Whoa Well, of course the audience was going crazy she started singing, and she was pretty good. She'd go, you made me love. And I joined her, because I knew the song. Now, we're belting away, and we were pretty good, and the audience is clapping, and were coming to the end. And I had a different thought in my mind about the way to end the song from what she had. And then it kind of started to peter out. And she looked at me and she said, you screwed it up.

That's great. It was in his head. You can YouTube it. Oh, you can? I'm going to look that way. Well, let's start at the beginning because I want our listeners to know your journey. Where'd you grow up? We're in our studios in LA and I understand that you grew up not too far from here. Texas and we moved out. Here to be with my mother, who had come out before, it was my grandmother, and I was seven. Okay. You know, and we moved into one room in a building on Yucca and Wilcox. Right near the Hollywood sign. That's right. I used to climb the sign.

Literally the letters literally how old were you when you were doing that lemon who took you up there? Did you just wonder? Neighborhood kids would be roller skating or flying kites or something, say, I'm bored, let's go climb the sign. The O's were my favorite. For some reason, the scaffolding, and it was rickety. Oh my God, we've got splinters. It's a wonder we didn't break our necks, but I just love climbing. Then I would hang over the O and look at Hollywood. It was just- What was it like back then? There was no smog, at all.

It was clear every day. And when I'd come out from the building, the first thing I saw was the Hollywood sign up there, you know? And then I went to school here at Selma Avenue School and LeConte Junior High and Hollywood High. Okay. Yeah. And I lived with my grandmother. We had one room. Mama had a room down the hall. And my grandmother, it was a Murphy pull-down bed, so she was sleeping that. And I slept on the couch. And so, so you lived with your grandmother in San Antonio and your mom moved out here before you.

Right. She came out with my dad and then they got divorced. Okay, but did she move out here for acting or did she want us here? A rider. Okay... Like Luella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. She wanted to interview movie stars for magazines. Okay okay. She was successful a little bit freelancing. So she did get to interview Bob Hope, Rita Hayworth. That's big stuff. Yeah, so she sold a few, but unfortunately she got the disease. She became an alcoholic. And my dad was already an alcoholic. Okay and my grandmother. Uh, she was a hypochondriacal Christian scientist.

Wow. Okay. So what was that like? That's a mouthful. She would say, I'm going to know the truth. Everything's fine. There is no sickness, no nothing or other. Oh my God, get me a phenobarbital. Who was the funny one of the adults in your life? My mother had a great sense of humor. And Nanny could be funny, my grandmother, but sometimes she didn't know she was, I'd say she wasn't trying. Yeah right right. What did you want to be? A journalist. Okay even... Through high school. I was editor of my junior high school paper and editor of the Hollywood High.

What were you reporting on? What was one of your big stories? Well, I actually at Hollywood High, I went to Mr. Thorpe, our teacher, and he was an uptight old guy. He was probably 30. Yeah right. And he was very pulled together, you know. And I said, Mr. Thhorpe, I have an idea. Do you know the movie star, Joel McCray, who was a big movie star in the 30s and 40s? So I watched TCM, my sister does not. I know who Joel McCray is.

So I said, let me interview Joel McCrae. And he said, well, OK, do it on your own. So I got a hold of the studio where he had an office. And I called and I said I'm the editor of the Hollywood High School newspaper, and I would love to interview. Yeah, a lot of girls, but they thought it was a cute idea. So they. OK. Wow. He said, all right. And I took the bus and everything and got to the studio. They took me to his office. He was leaned back and he had cowboy boots on and his boots were up on the table and a cowboy hat.

And, you know, I was what 15 16. And I said, how did you get your star? Yeah. Really dumb quiz. And he couldn't have been sweeter. Wow. And so, and headlines in the Hollywood High School News. News. Of course. You're interviewing Joel McCarty. What was your personality like? Were you always outgoing? Because I mean, just to even come up with the idea and have the gumption to get on the bus and go down to the studio, I mean you must have been a Spitfire. You know what, I think it was the movies, because Nanny and I, we saved our pennies, and we would see maybe six movies a week.

Wow. Wow. With second feature, so it was like, my ticket would be a dime, and hers would be 1 quarter, and we'd get in before one o'clock or whatever, before the prices would change. But the movies were my escape. I was very quiet and I was a good student and so, but I would see Mickey and Judy up there and they wanted to put on a show and by golly, they did, you know, I would see Rosalind Russell, who that's who I pretended I was when I was going to interview Joel McCray because I saw her and his girl, so I could assume that, You know. And so I thought, gee, I'll be a journalist.

That's what mama, you know, interviewing people. And so. I wanted desperately to go to UCLA. Okay. And we didn't have the money. Our rent was $30 a month, a dollar a day. And I remember when they raised it to that, nanny had a fit, a $1 a day, just to live in it. I knew I was going to get to go. You knew in your heart. And I saw myself on campus. Uh-huh. It wasn't like I wished it or had, I just said, it's going to happen. And then he said, we don't have, you go to a secretarial school, do that and then nab the boss.

I said, I know, I'm going to get to go. Now, what do they call that nowadays, young people? Self-actualization? The young people call it something. Manifestation. Do you know that's a thing now? That's the thing. Well, this was 80 years ago or more, something like that. No, I was... You manifested it. I was 17 or 18. Now, that was 1951, 52. Okay. Guess what the tuition was at UCLA. Don't, you're just gonna stab me in my stomach. I know. It was like, what, $500? 43. OH! For the year. Wow. They didn't have, it was like, S-U-S-C was very expensive.

Yeah. UCLA was, but we didn't it. Mmm. Our room faced the lobby of the building we lived in. And then right across there was a desk for the manager. And then there were pigeonhole mailboxes for each room, each apartment. Yeah, like slots. Yeah, so in the morning, because I was right there, I'd peek out and see if we had any mail. And this one morning, there was this letter in our slot. So I ran out and I was in my robe. Okay, came back in to the room. The letter had my name typewritten address. It was a three cent stamp on it.

Not canceled though, they hadn't mailed it. They just, somebody put it in there. I opened it up and there was a $50 bill. And to this day, I do not know where that came from. Who do you think it was? Was it Grana? Was it Nana? Oh, she was like, are you kidding? She wanted me to go to secretary of school. Right, and nab a husband. She's like, I'm not spending $50 on that. I want to know who that was. So do I. Wow, wow. So that covered your... The people in the neighborhood, we were all poor. Right. Yeah. We were on what they called in... It was like the WPA, but it was called Relief.

Yeah, in California. And I showed this today and he said that's such a rent money we could pay. And I said, uh-uh, I'm going to UCLA. I got to UCLA and I wanted to major in journalism. There was no major in Journalism. I could take a course and join the Daily Bruin newspaper, but there was no Major. When am I going to major? So I looked at the catalog and there was Theater Arts, which had different sections. Theater arts film, theater arts theater, theater arts writing, theater art English. So I thought, I'll take theater arts English and take the playwriting courses, join the Daily Bruin, and just, well, when you're a freshman in theater arts, no matter which one you pick to choose to major in, you had to take an acting course, you had take scenery building.

Okay You had to take costume? Okay. And so now I'm in this acting course. Oh God, and all these kids, they were doing scenes. I was late in getting to the class because I hadn't known about this particular major. So I was about, they'd already been there maybe two weeks. So they were final scenes for the teacher and they were. I teamed up with a fellow student and he picked a scene from Noel Coward's, oh, I can't remember the name of it, where we sang a little bit. Okay. And I pretended, because I love the movies, to be Betty Grable with a cockney accent.

Became her, and we got a day. Then I got into a one act, the student one act and I played a hillbilly woman. So I went back to my great grandmother in Arkansas and thought about her. And I remember I had a line where I came in and you had to be there, but I said, I'm back like that. And the place exploded. They laughed and I thought, this is what I want to do. Oh He was all an accident because they didn't have a major in journalism.

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And so you have your, your epiphany of this laughter makes, makes me feel really good. This is something I want to do. And you end up now going to New York to try and chase your dream of being. With some boyfriend. Oh, he came later. Okay. He followed. What happened was, one guy came up and he said, can you sing? Can you carry a tune? I said, yeah, we sing in the kitchen with my grandmother. And he said well, we're doing a scene in the musical comedy workshop from South Pacific. And would you be in the chorus of one of the girls who sings, I'm going to wash that man right out of my hair? My hair.

Mmhmm. Okay so. I've never done it before, but I started belting. Really? And I'd never belted, but with all these other girls, so I had courage. He said, you're too loud. But, I'd like you to do a scene with one of our guys from Guys and Dolls where you would sing Adelaide's Lament, which is a very funny solo that this character has. And in it, in the song, she has a cold. So she's sneezing and sniffling and I thought, I can do that because I don't have to sound pretty. And, you know, and I did it and. And I won an award as the most outstanding newcomer in the theater arts department.

And I thought, I want to go to New York and be on Broadway in musical comedy. Had you been learning throughout this major about the stepping stones in that career, so you knew that New York was the place to be? Yeah because... I didn't look like Marilyn Monroe. I didn't look like even Tony Curtis. So you're like the movies now. Broadway. Broadway. And again. I knew I was gonna get to go. Manifestation, young people. And so. In the musical comedy department, our professor said, there were nine of us, we're going to a party next Saturday night in San Diego.

Okay. And it's a black tie formal affair. Why don't you kids come down and do your scenes as the entertainment for the party and I'll grade you. Okay. Okay. So all of us got in cars and went down. With my boyfriend, I did a scene from Annie Get Your Gun. Everybody afterwards, I'm at the hors d'oeuvres table and I have a napkin and I'm stealing hors d'reves and take home to Nanny to put in my bowl. So she can know that 50 dollars was worth something. And I thought, oh, this is Ted, oh my God, I'm busted. You know, and it turned around and there was this gentleman and his wife, black tie, beautiful gown she had.

We liked her, what do you want to do with your life? I said, someday, I want to go to New York. And he said, why aren't you there now? I said well, I am hoping to get the chance to go someday, but I'm working. I had a part-time job. He said, I'll lend you the money. Wow. And he gave me his card, and I thought that it was the champagne talking, you know. Like he's going to forget about this in the morning. And his wife said, no, he gave his card. He said, be in my office a week from Monday, 9 o'clock. Who was he? What did he do?

What happened was Don and I went down. He was a very wealthy businessman. Went into his office. He said, okay, I'm going to lend each one of you $1,000. Payable, you know, if you can pay it back in five years. Stipulations, you must use the money to go to New York. Must never reveal my name. Okay. And if you are successful, you must help others out. Wow. And he wasn't in the show business. What happened was I found out later that he had helped somebody get started in a restaurant. Okay. He just identified talent. Somebody helped staked him to a claim. Okay.

At one point. And it was like paid. Yeah yeah yeah. Well, when I got home and showed Nanny all this money, I thought she was going to have a heart attack. You can't go to New York. I have to. I bought a ticket. Now, here's how stupid I was. Well, I didn't know where I was going to stay. You just went, you literally got on a plane. You were the typical yokel off the bus. Was it a bus ticket? It was a plane ticket. Okay. Off the... Thank you. Had you ever flown before? So now I'm on a plane. I was reading The New Yorker.

And there was an ad for the Algonquin Hotel, which all the witty people would gather and exchange. And I thought, well, that's interesting. So it was raining and I love rain when it's good, not torrential. And I walked with my cardboard suitcase to the Al Gonquin, checked in $9, they said, a day. I thought for a week, no, $9 a day. Anyway, but you're loaded. Oh, yeah. Well, I had left Maybe about $500 because of the plane. Uh-huh. So I got up to the room. What am I going to do? I had one phone number. It was from a girl who had been in the South Pacific scene.

She was a year ahead of me. And she wrote, everybody said, I'm in New York, so if you're ever here, give me a call. So I called her that morning and I said, is Carol here? She said, hi, you're here. I said where are you? I said I'm at the Algonquin. What? She said get out of there and come over to where I am. Where is checked out, and I had her address, bing bong, it was a townhouse. What part of New York was it? It was West 54th Street between 5th and 6th. It was a place called the Rehearsal Club. It housed young women who wanted to be in show business, very proper, had a housemother, they had rules.

There was one cot available. And I was introduced to the house mother and she said okay you come in here you can be And it's $18 a week, room and board. It was a godsend. You had so many angels. You know, I call, I called him Clarence. He's a wonderful life. I said, there's Clarences. There he is. Yeah. Were you ever afraid? I mean, in, in this process, I mean. I was too stupid. I don't think so. I don't think so either. It was the movies. Again, Mickey and Judy, I'm going to put on a show. I'm gonna be a rocker. Right, right.

And also... Was going to leave UCLA, some friends gave me a party. And they said, what are you going to do when you get to New York? I said, I'm going to be on Broadway and it's going to directed by George Abbott. And George Abbot was Mr. Broadway. He directed the Pajama Game, Damn Yankees, all up. And that happened. And this is another one of those you saw yourself already. I just, I just. I said, oh, I was bragging. I said that. Oh okay. This wasn't one of your manifestations. A few jobs. No, but it was. Yeah. Yeah. But I finally then got a call to audition for George Abbott, and it was once upon a mattress.

Wow. But that was five years later. Okay. Did you have to get an agent at the time? I mean, how do- Go get an agency. I know. Yeah. It's like, what do you, how did you break into, how you come from nowhere with a cardboard suitcase and even sort of begin? How do you- Well- How did you know what to do? You try to get into an agent's office and you couldn't get past the reception area. They would throw your 8x10 glossy into the wastebasket. But you knew to get... Headshots you did all that because I learned that from the girls okay so you were in like your own little Broadway school.

So finally, I did get a meeting with an agent. And I showed him my scrapbook from UCLA, you know, reviews, and he said, that's nice. Well, let me know when you're in something. I said, how do I get in something if I don't have an agent? Right. And he said go put on your own show. I went back to the club called a meeting with all the girls. I said, we're going to put on a show. Spanky, we're putting on a show. And how. And how! Some of the older girls went home for about 20 of us. And we wrote and came up with the idea of how to do it.

And we showed the first act to the rich ladies who sponsored the club. They gave us $200 to rent the Carl Fischer Concert Hall on a certain night. We sent out penny postcards to every agent, director, producer in town saying, you're always saying, let us know when you're set. Well, we're in something. This is it now. This is your ticket. And these are the two nights we're performing. So please come and see us. We were packed. How many seats in the? A theater. Carl Fischer, maybe. 200 maybe. Wow. How long did it take you all to- From the time you landed in New York to the time that you put on this show.

Okay, that was 54, we put on the show in 55. So within a year. You figured out New York. The movies. Again, Mickey and Judy go put on a show. Right, right. So what was the play? Yeah, was it a comedy? Was it a musical? Everybody was gonna get to do their own thing. Okay okay. Like one of my roommates, Tinker was her name. She was British, really cute, and kind of belty and bubbly was for some unknown reason into Spanish dancing. Okay yeah. She had her cast on this. And another one was a ballerina, another one, was a soprano.

So what we did was, the first act was everybody sitting around in the parlors supposedly singing, it's a lazy afternoon, nobody can get an agent, it's just terrible, and they're singing. Did you write the music? No, let's see after. Was from a show, so then I burst in all bubbly and saying I love New York and I'm singing this there's a major song like that I said come on guys let's get I know what let's put on a show and then we all sang a little thing about that second act was the show wow so Tinker got to do her Spanish dancing Uh-huh.

Sally got to sing a song. Brilliant, brilliant. What did you do? There was a Broadway show called New Faces of 1952, and one of the songs in it was Eartha Kitt. And she was very sexy. Oh yes. And she sang a song called Monotonous. And the premise of that song was, I'm so gorgeous, I am so sexy, everybody wants me, and it is so monotonous and she did, she had all these shade slashes. And she went from one shade to the other and would slink around like a lion or a tiger. And it's all but not that. So what I thought I would do would be to be in curlers and an apron and fuzzy slippers and three broken down kitchen chairs singing about how gorgeous I am.

And it worked. Oh, man Did you naturally lean into comedy? Did you think, you know, because, you know, Tinker's seriously doing Spanish dancing and somebody's on point, you decide I'm going to go, I'm gonna go for the laugh. Yeah, because I remember the. At UCLA. And then I could sing, so I could do both. So out of that, three of us got jobs. Just from that. So you were able to get an agent from that and then got a job.

I worked with a special material writer and then I got to play. I had an act written, like a one-woman act, yeah. And I worked at the Blue Angel nightclub and then the special material writer Ken Welch wrote a song called I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles. Ha ha ha ha! It was at the height of Elvis Presley, so it was very funny for this young girl to have the hats for John Foster Delva, because he was aptly named. He wore that hat, and he was Secretary of State, and so I did it on the Jack Parr show, I did it on the itself Uh huh.

So you just took this, this act took you, you were, it was so impactful. What was funny too was. After I'd done it on Sullivan, I did it on the Blue Angel. Mr. Dulles was on the press. And they were talking about all what's going on in the world. And the very last thing. What is this between you and that young girl that has, and I'm watching the show, I go, oh my goodness, why? And he said, I make it a policy never to discuss matters of the heart in public. So yeah, he had a sense of humor. Yeah I'll see you You became you were in the zeitgeist Yeah, and it wasn't just the entertainment session, they wrote about it in the editorial department. Wow.

I'm wondering if I was a Republican or a Democrat, but who is this? Did your mom and Nana hear about this? Was that when they were like, okay, maybe she's on to something? Yeah. So now how did you, when did you parlay that success into television Hollywood your your own show? I got a chance, I was in Mattress, once upon a Mattress. And then there was a wonderful man called, named Gary Moore, who had a major variety show at the time. And he knew my work and his show was a big hit. And one of the guests that one week was Martha Ray, who was a very funny, marvelous comedian, and she got bronchitis.

And Gary called me on a Sunday and his show was going on and he said, Martha can't make it, can you come and learn her stuff and be on Tuesday night with us? I was over there like, run, run. Can I, yeah. So I learned everything and did the show and Gary, before it went off the air, he told the audience what happened and brought me out on stage, he was so kind. So as a result, the following September, they asked, he asked me if I'd be on every week. So now I'm doubling with What's Up on the Mattress and the Gary Moore Show.

So things are popping. Wow. Really, and my God, I was making money. So yeah, I was going to ask about that. Your lifestyle, no longer in the women's boarding? So then, it was just, I did a Gary show, and then CBS signed me to a 10-year contract where I would do a special a year and two guest shots on some of their sitcoms. But the agent, unbelievable, within the five years he had it in the contract, that if I wanted to do an hour long comedy variety show. All I have to do is push the button and they would have to give me 30 shows.

I mean, that was unheard of. Yeah. And they said, I didn't even think about it. Who wants to be on? That's not me. I want to be in Broadway. Mm-hmm. I totally forgot about it. Uh, I did another Broadway show and it was not a happy experience. I had a problem with it. I got married. I had my daughter Carrie and I was as cold as yesterday's mashed potatoes. Professionally you were. Okay, so the the heat is off now. So we said, let's move to California, go back to California. Put a down payment on a house. Beverly Hills.

But wait, did you sign the 10-year contract yet? Oh yeah. So you were in within the- It was there. Yeah, okay. You weren't thinking about it. Yeah. And now we go, oh, God, we got this house, actually turned out to be a house Betty Grable lived in. It was kind of funny. Wow. And so we said, what are we going to do? And then we said that contract, we had a week to go before that would be up. So you needed to pay for the house. So it's like, okay, let's activate this. Yeah. And it was between Christmas and New Year's.

And New Year, it would have been over the five years. Picked up the phone and I called the vice president in New York and said, Hi Carol, should I have a nice Christmas with you? Uh, Mike, I'm calling because I want to push that button. He didn't remember it. He said, what button? I said, you know, the one where I get 31 hour shows. He said yeah. Let me get the lawyers on this. That was it. Mm-hmm. And he called the next day. And they were like, nope. She's got you. They said, he called back. He said, yeah, I see that, Carl, but you know, comedy variety is a man's game.

It's not for you gals. Ah. So he said, it's Cesar, it was Milton Berle, now it's Gene Martin. You know, he said we've got this great sitcom we'd love you to do called Here's Agnes. Can I take a picture? Yeah really. Thank you. You know, they're not making Agnes's anymore. I always wonder what would have happened. I said, I don't want to be the same person every week. I want to do what I did on the Gary Moore show. Different people. Yeah. And also in doing Gary's show, I realized I really didn't want to be on Broadway all the time. Because you do the same thing overnight, after night, after night after night.

Whereas with the comedy variety show, you do that. Then maybe next week you got another challenge. You have different songs you can do. Can I ask, Carol, just to kind of fill in the blanks of support that you had, you know, who your mentors were, I mean, and what was it like being a woman in the business at that time and even before you got to Hollywood and before you pushed that button, I means, What were the challenges of being a woman in the business at the time? Gary was very supportive. So, I never had a problem there.

He was the kindest. And we had another second banana, which they call us, on the show, named Gerward Kirby, so he was the guy. Oh, yeah. Yeah, and I And there would be times we would be reading the script for that week and he'd have a joke and he would say, you know what, give this line to Carol or Gerber, they can say it funnier than I can. That's who he was.

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But you never had an issue as a woman or did you? I think it was my f- What do you mean in that era, the Betty, Betty Crocker era? Yeah. Okay, if a sketch wasn't working for Jackie Gleason, or Sid Caesar, they'd call the writer, they'd say, you guys, this sucks. Get over here. If I did it... As a woman, in that time, I would be considered a bitch. Yep. So what I would do would be, if a sketch wasn't working and we're in the rehearsal hall, I'd call the writers. I'd say... I'm having a little difficulty with it, can you come down and help me out?

Yeah, it's just like, oh, I'm so, I need, I just so helpless. I can't tie my shoes. Come down and everything would be hunky-dory, you know, so, but now it's so much better. I mean, it's not all great, but now you've got Tina Fey, you've Got Amy Poehler, you got Kristen Wiig, you got all these people who have their own production company, who are doing it. Now, the other one you asked about a mentor was Lucy. Yeah yeah. She was my pal. When did you meet her? At what time in your life did you? When I was doing Once Upon a Mattress. Uh-huh.

So you were still on Broadway. Broadway. I was on Broadway, and she came to see the second night. I was more nervous than I was opening night with all the critics. I peeked through the curtain and I saw this orange hair in the second, I went, oh, Lucy. And so after the show, we were in this off-Broadway theater and it was pretty funky. And my dressing room, it had a coil curtain up from the couch. W H A T So she knocks on the door and I open the door, she's, hi, you kid. She was 22 years older, so I'm kid. Yeah. She starts to walk, I said, look out. She says, I see it.

No. And she sat down, it was like 20 minutes. And got up, she said, kid, if you ever need me for anything, you call me. So like three years later, I had a special what I was doing for NBC. And they said, okay, we'll give you that, but you got to have a major guest star. So the producer said, call Lucy. I said, I don't want to bother you. Yeah. And you hadn't been in contact with her. And he said, give her a call. To say I'd love to, but I'm busy. Got her on the phone. I said, hey kids, you're doing great. What's happening?

And I blubbered about it a little. Lucy, I'm doing this, I didn't need it. And she interrupted me. She said, when do you want me? So we did it. And Zero Muscle was the other guys. It was just those two. And we had... What was one of the, um, best things you learned from Lucille Ball? Well, she, now she wouldn't say, hi guys, she was more like the guys. She was like, she wasn't ready to be a bitch. Oh, now here's the story. Oh yeah yeah. She was a guest on my show and we were, uh, had a break, dinner break. So we went across the street to a restaurant from CBS.

She's knocking back a whiskey sour. She says, you know, kid, you're doing really great. And it's great that Joe, my husband, Joe was producing the show. He was also a producer of the Gary Moore show. So he ran the show and she said, that's great. You got Joe to be running and you don't have. Because when I was married to the Cuban... She said, Desi did everything. Invented the three camera system. He said, put them on wheels so they can move around. It was Desi. He took care of the costumes. He took of the script so that, she said, all I had to do on a Monday is come in and be Silly Lucy.

Now we got a divorce and it's up to me. And she said so I'm sitting there, and remember she had another one called The Lucy Show, Different Incarnation. And she says, and the script was terrible. She said, oh my God, Desi's not here to fix it with me. She called lunch and she said, I went back to my office. I gotta be strong. Mm-hmm I got to be like Desi. I know. She went back and she told them, she said, I told them in no uncertain terms, this is what, you got to fix this and you got fix that. And I mean, it's no words.

That's when they put the S on the end of my last name. Lucille Balls. So she was great. She she always sent me flowers on my birthday. Wow. And I got up one morning and she had died on my birthday. Oh. And I Got flowers that afternoon. Happy birthday, kid. Oh man, now this business is so full of rejection and I read somewhere where you never took rejection personally. Can you talk about how you handled adversity in that business? Has kids today. And I can't remember when I was auditioning for, it might have been a commercial or something. This was before I got on Gary's show and all of that.

So I was just starting out and it was kind of narrowed down to between me and another girl. I thought I had it, but I didn't, she got it. I don't know where this came from. But I thought, it's her turn. It's not my turn, my turn will come. It's her turn. So when I get letters or calls from people who say, how do you handle it? Just say, okay, wasn't my turn yet. And I was never. It was for her. And that didn't come from your upbringing or anything. No no no. My grandmother would have had her killed.

Oh my gosh! Now, how did you handle being a mom during all of this fame? We were on a school schedule. In other words, we were, so we, a lot of the crew from the Gary Moore show came out. So we were a well-oiled machine. I, like on Mondays, I would take the kids to school. Okay. And then I'd go to work. Okay. And we would be finished in time on a Monday for me. To come and pick the kids up. It's a perfect job. So what was Carol Burnett, the mom like? What was it like when Carol Burnet showed up in the pickup line?

Were you Carol Burnette in their lives or were you- I was mom. I was mom, yeah. How did, how did you manage that? I mean, you, it was difficult. Was difficult. And then Carrie, my darling Carrie got into drugs as a teenager. And it took a lot. But it was three rehabs and family sessions. And the last rehab we sent her to, she was so angry with me. I mean, and I said, I have to love her enough to let her Hit me! And we did, and she also was into singing and music and all of that. And the last rehab we sent her to, she had this wonderful doctor.

He was young. And she was ranting. She told me this later. She said I was rambling and raving. And I said, I want to be Janis Joplin. And he said, well, she's dead. That's not funny, but that's fu- And she's a mom. That really hit me. Wow. So she sobered up when she was 17. She became an actress on Fame. It was on Facebook. On Fame, she had a regular role on Fame. I did three things with her. I was a guest on Fame twice. And then we did a movie, television movie together. How is that working? Uh, and she started writing and she was in a movie called Tokyo Pop, which is now like a little cult film.

Uh, And she was like 24, 25 and got sensational reviews. Okay. And Marlon Brando called her. Wow. He's, he saw her in the movie. He said, I'd like to talk to you about a project. She turned him down. Why? I became Mama Rose. I went, are you crazy? Marla Brown, she's a mom. I did a movie, now I want to write. I want concentrate on my music. She wasn't after being famous or anything. We wrote a Broadway show together and it went to Broadway. Hal Prince directed it. And we were doing great. She was doing great until she got sick.

Boy, we went through it. But you got her on a straight and narrow, you know? It's like, I love that. It's, like, you didn't need her to be happy with you. You needed her to well. Exactly. You have to love them and have to let them hate you. And that's hard. That is. That's the hardest part of parenting. And I think it's a thing that people don't understand. It's like when you say you want to be a mother, it's like, well, you better not want a friend. Well, I had no examples. I had good examples. Yeah, but now so many women have you as the example.

Well, you've been paying it forward a lot. I mean, you had a lot of angels on your shoulder, but you have been an angel for a lot people. Did you ever pay that $1,000? Five years to the day. Wow. You know, whatever you're focused on right now, work, family, big goals, there's never a perfect time to feel your best. There's just right now. AG1 has honestly been the easiest, most impactful habit I've added this year. Real sustainable health isn't about perfection. It's about consistency. And AG1 keeps it simple. Multivitamin, pre and probiotics, super foods, antioxidants, all in one scoop.

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So you, you're, you are still at it. I had a great time recently doing Better Call Saul. Oh yeah, oh yeah. I just love Bob Odenkirk. How do you feel about working every day now? I don't want to work every day. What's the schedule like? I mean, because Palm Royale, I fell in love with the first season. I've saved it up season two for our next travel. It's off the wall. Yeah. Well, but I'm not a- on every day. I know, but I have it. I have that actually where I work three days a week. And no more than three in a row.

Yeah really. I mean, you know, that's where I'm trying to be now. Just say, that's what I want. Yeah. Manifest it. Exactly. How does it feel being on the show? All of a sudden. You know, I'm 92 years old. I have new girlfriends. Yeah. When they called me a couple of years ago to do Palm Royale, I said, who's in it? And Abe Silvia, who is the creator, said, Kristen Wiig, Allison Janney, Laura Dern, Rick, I said stop. I'm in it, I don't care what you want me to do. He said, well, in the first few episodes, you're in a coma.

I said that's even better. Well, so when I just started watching Palm Royale, you do so much in a coma though, but this is what I wanted to do. Because whenever they show you on there in a coma, I'd like start giggling and I'm wondering, are you doing that to me or is it just me doing It was a good gig, I have to say. Get up at five in the morning, get dressed, get undressed, get into pajamas, and go back to bed. But you weren't asleep. You weren't ever asleep. I didn't have a lot of light. No, I didn't sleep. But sometimes there were a couple of scenes where Kristen was doing stuff and Allison, it was hard for me.

Not to laugh. Not to. Yeah. We're buddies, we're really good. Alison and I, we wordle. Oh yeah. I wordle, I love to wordle every day. Every day. I have to brag. Please do. Okay. Mostly it too. You can do all of them too. I get them. Not all of the. I get done. I can solve all of. What are your starter letters? She's getting. She's getting them in tune. I know. We do different. I know, it's good. We do it different every day. She's like I solve all of them No, Brian, I'll have Brian pick the word and he'll say whatever, and then the letters come up. But we don't do the same word every day.

We have, I think, the record of getting it in one. It's only an accident. Of course. Yes. Have gotten it seven times in one. Well, then that's not an accident. It's more that manifestation stuff going on. No, it was it was audio. Oh, yeah audio bacon Clown crown you remember stash Uh stash towel and talon So this is my question, how do you stay so sharp at 92? Because you, I'm just sitting here. I can't remember what I did yesterday. I can either. But I remember when I was three. Well, maybe this is the time to do our listener question.

Hi Michelle and Craig. As a young woman starting her professional career in a traditionally male-dominated field, I have found it most intimidating to network and reach out to more established professionals. I sometimes get nervous that I am wasting someone's time, not making a good enough impression, or that I don't deserve to be in that space. I'm sure that you both have been in rooms where you were told you didn't belong. What advice do you have to overcoming that imposter syndrome feeling? Have you ever felt imposter syndrome?

Win things. Again, I was too stupid, you know, I never, again, I held, I would look at the movies and I would see strong women. Like when I said I'm going to interview Joel McCrae, I got that from watching Rosalyn Russell. Oh, you don't want to say get over it, but in a way, don't think so much of... Of yourself, I'm not good at giving advice. No, I think you. It's like, you're making. You're making yourself happen that way. Think of somebody you admire who is a woman and pretend you're that woman. Maybe lots of times when I would do the show and I would do the Tarzan yell or I would do a Charo who was my body.

My, I knew what I was doing with the body. Reacts in a different way. It doesn't know you're acting in a funny way. You know, okay, I'll do the charges, but somehow your body reacts differently. And I don't know, maybe, as I say, pretend you're somebody else. And it's much better today. It's not all better, but it's much better today. And I think she. She's just got two. I can't say don't worry so much because that's not good advice. I don't know what good advice would be. No, but I think that, you know, and it's interesting that because the things that run through my head that allow me not to focus so hard on this feeling of how am I good enough? How am I showing up?

Sort of giving my power to somebody else. Right. There is a generational component because I hear what you're saying. Would be the same thing that my mother would say. I mean, it's the same, which is interesting that women of an older generation who have faced much more, you know, discrimination have had to overcome hurdles. The society was set up in a totally different way, but that there is a practicality. It's almost like no one's going to fix your problems For you. For you, but you. And so all of the work. Of feeling good enough never ever really comes from the outside in, you know, and if that's what you're waiting for, somebody to give you permission to feel good about yourself, it doesn't confidence, acceptance.

It doesn't work that way. You know, it's not somebody else's responsibility to make you feel good. And nobody's really thinking about you like that. You know, so Yeah, it's not coming from them. Yeah, It's not come from them, the work starts from inside like an improv, like acting. Your brain is in charge and if you wake up in the morning and say, I decide to have a good day, like I decide feel good about yourself, that's the beginning. That's the manifestation. It starts from within and your body will follow and life will tend to follow My advice, yes, you could feel imposter syndrome, but I know that I was raised to believe that I was in charge of how I felt about myself. Yeah.

In fact, we would get in trouble in our household if we showed up worried about what somebody else was thinking. Outside of the house. Yeah. Outside of that house. Yeah. Um Yeah, I'd agree. Our mom's saying was, you don't go outside of your home to be liked. Come home, we like you here. This is where love is. No one owes you that out in the world. No one owns you acceptance. I think we had the luxury of having that at home. And I think when you have that at home, you're starting with a foundation of Yeah, that person called me a name, they called me a jerk, but I know how the table that matters, how they feel about me.

And I choose to believe what I hear from my mother and the people who love me. Couldn't I have been... Oh, yeah, you loved it, but you were. You were there every week. No, but I mean, really. You could have really been there, but we would have been watching you. Right. But let me just add a bit on what Mish was saying because the validation part, I've never felt like I needed validation outside of our home. Because mom used to say this, she's like, if you prepare, prepare for whatever you What? Then you've done your best.

That's all you can ask of yourself. Like you said, it wasn't your turn. And, and I just wrote that down to your point. Not your turn then. If you did your best and didn't get it, it's not your turn. Don't mope about it. Go to the next one and, and it seems simplistic, but it's carried me through a lot of tough times when people have. Viewed me as where I think I should be viewed. And I was like, well, that's tough. You're missing out. And it's helped me in sports, but it's help me in life more. I mean, we came up in that kind of parenting, and I think the kind of overcorrection from the generation that felt the, well, that wasn't quite enough, I think we've gone to the other extreme.

I first had the kids, and they were old enough to... Understand what I was doing, what her father was doing. I don't know if you remember the actress Loretta Young. Very beautiful and perfect. Yes. I wanted to be perfect. They never saw me angry. They never seen me cry. I wouldn't, I didn't, because I was raised, oh, my grandmother and the brother would go at it like that in a crate. Over money and liquor and I was sitting in a corner and draw and go and zone out because they were angry a lot and yelling a lot. So I went too far the other way so that I was trying to be perfect for them.

And so when they got angry or they got, well then we're not perfect. So that was not a good thing for me to do. Bye! I wasn't, it was the first three years. I don't think I was human to them. I was. You know, mom's got a show, mom is doing this, mom doing that. Even though I take them to school, get all of that. I had that Loretta Young syndrome and I call it, and it's wrong. It was wrong. I got out of it eventually, but I had to learn my way because I never had that example. We're always trying to fix the thing that we think was broken in our childhood.

Yeah. And it's up to us. Yeah. Yeah, but I love what you said. It was just. And as far as we're concerned, you're in our family. UGH I feel that way. Carol, you really, I mean, they are just sitting here and talking about that path. I mean it, I don't think that, well, I know you must hear this all the time but um you know, we have, we, we had a happy, beautiful family. But your talent, your gifts, the structure of your show, how you showed up in it, like Craig said, your humanity before the show, your honesty throughout your career.

I mean, that kind of stuff has been as impactful to my development as my parents, right? Because that's the role modeling. You see a smart Because what is clear through this is that you've always been that woman. Smart courageous bold, and you just brought that to your show. And that came into our living rooms. As part of an important experience of seeing what you could be. You're gonna make- make me cry. Oh, thank you. You mean the world to us. And thank you. You know what I want to do?

Saying, it's so nice. We had this time together I love it! Just to have a laugh and sing a song Seems we just get started and before you know it Come The time we have to stay so long Oh All these youngsters have no idea what we're doing. Oh, thank you. I've got chills. This has been absolutely wonderful. We love you, thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you, for being in my life. Ha ha ha ha

Questions about this episode

Who speaks in "CAROL BURNETT: The Honorary Robinson Shares Her Life Philosophy and Legacy | IMO"?

Michelle Obama (Host), Carol Burnett (Guest), Craig (Guest).

What is "CAROL BURNETT: The Honorary Robinson Shares Her Life Philosophy and Legacy | IMO" about?

Carol Burnett reflects on her influential career, sharing insights into her life philosophy shaped by icons like Lucille Ball, and discusses the profound impact her work has had on generations, particularly through her unique approach to engaging with audiences and celebrating humor. Her anecdotes highlight the personal connections she has fostered with fans and the lasting legacy of her…

What is mentioned in this Michelle Obama episode?

32 people, works and ideas are mentioned, including Carol Burnett, The Carol Burnett Show, Lucille Ball, The Gary Moore Show, Gary Moore, Once Upon a Mattress. Each one on this page links to its own page with every episode that mentions it.

How long is "CAROL BURNETT: The Honorary Robinson Shares Her Life Philosophy and Legacy | IMO"?

The episode runs 1 h 14 min; the transcript is about 10,482 words in 95 timestamped sections.

More from Michelle Obama

About this transcript: the episode's spoken words as captioned on YouTube, split into timestamped sections. Reclip.Me locates every person, work and idea in the text, keeps the time it is first named, and quotes the words around it verbatim. Last updated January 24, 2026.