Carol Burnett covers People: ‘got my hips, got my knees & my brain’

Carol Burnett is on the cover of People because she turns 90 on April 26. I unapologetically adore Carol and love to see her celebrated whenever possible. She overcame a rough childhood and so many people telling her she wouldn’t/couldn’t make it in her chosen profession. We grew up watching The Carol Burnett Show, which she said she loves to hear. She also told People she can’t grasp the fact that she’s been alive for nine decades. She still feels like a little girl. It’s understandable too, because she still has all her original parts: her knees, her hips, and her brain.

Carol Burnett has been making audiences laugh for decades, picking up six Emmys, six Golden Globes, one Grammy and a Kennedy Center Honor along the way. On April 26, she’ll reach another milestone — turning 90.

“I can’t wrap my head around it,” Burnett tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “I still feel like I’m about 11, but I’m amazed. It sure went fast. But I’m glad because I’ve got all my parts — got my hips, I got my knees and I’ve got my brain, so I’m happy about that.”

As a kid growing up in Los Angeles, “I used to pretend to be on a radio show,” Burnett recalls. “I would yell out the window, ‘Now ladies and gentlemen, we have a young girl who is going to sing here without any musical accompaniment. One time, a man next door said, ‘Will you turn that goddamn thing off?’ And I thought, ‘I’m a hit. They think it’s real.'”

“I was pretty much of a quiet student all through grammar school, junior high and Hollywood High,” Burnett says. “I would kid around with my friends, the neighborhood kids, stuff like that. But I never really thought about it until I got to UCLA and I was in an acting class. A lot of the kids at the class were doing heavy, dramatic stuff and I thought, I can’t do that. So I picked something light and they laughed. That’s when the bug bit.”

Burnett simply wants her legacy to be that “I made people laugh, made them feel good when they might have been down,” she says. “In my fan mail, many say it was the only time the family would get together, to watch and laugh. And that sometimes they were lonesome and were cheered up by our show. That’s a good feeling.”

[From People]

I’m shocked that Carol has not replaced her hips or knees if that’s what she’s saying. She’s in dynamite shape. And still very sharp. She’s still working, the article said she has a new project coming out for Apple TV+ called Palm Royale. I don’t have a lot of desire to stick around past my 70s, but if I must, I want to do it like Carol or Rita Moreno or Betty White – just as active and vibrant as ever. I wouldn’t mind their bank accounts either.

The article lists many of Carol’s roles, of which there are plenty. One role I think gets largely overlooked is she was fantastic as the voice of Kangaroo in Horton Hears a Who! I realize out of all the iconic roles she’s done that’s a bizarre one to pick, but she was that good. Like I said, I like Carol in everything she does. I’ve even seen her live. Last time I wrote about her I told you some of my favorite skits so now I’ll let you tell me yours. To celebrate Carol properly, NBC is doing a two-hour special called Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. It will feature famous folks, some who appeared on her variety shows like Cher and Julie Andrews, and some who just adore her like Steve Carrell and Billy Porter. It will air at 8PM on April 26 and stream on Peacock the next day. While searching photos I saw that Vicki Lawrence and Bob Mackie will both be there. So will Bernadette Peters, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Kristin Chenoweth, Sutton Foster and Susan Lucci, among many others.

Photo credit: People and Cover Images

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20 Responses to “Carol Burnett covers People: ‘got my hips, got my knees & my brain’”

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  1. Fuzzy Crocodile says:

    I love Carol and she looks great!

    I’m turning 40 soon and it’s hard enough to wrap my head around that. I keep waiting to “feel like an adult.” I can’t really wrap my head around 9 decades.

    I still watch clips from the Carol Burnett Show and it never fails to make me laugh.

    • kirk says:

      Amazing she’s still got her original hips and knees. Hoping mine last another 20 years.

    • I'm not eating zoodles says:

      When I was about 16 or 17, I told my aunt I didn’t feel my age and I kept waiting to feel like a *real* teenager. She laughed and said “I’m in my 50s and I’m still waiting to feel like an adult.” Now that I’ve made it to my mid-30s, I think about her comment often, because I never feel my age. But that’s added a sense of whimsy and excitement to my life, so I can’t complain.

  2. DancingCorgi says:

    My favorite? “Went with the Wind”. When she comes down the staircase in her dress made from the curtains and the rod still across her shoulders, seven-year-old me peed myself. Never liked Mama’s family skits though. Too dysfunctional for me. While her co-stars cracked each other up all the time, it took a lot to make Carol break and it was usually Tim.

    • FHMom says:

      Love that skit. I did love the Mama’s family skits, though. My dad never watched Tv but he watched Carol and always laughed through Eunice and her family. I also loved Misses Hwiggins the secretary. She and Lucille Ball are my all time favorite entertainers. If Carol’s goal in life was to make people laugh, she has 100% succeeded.

      • og bella says:

        Mama’s Family was my least favorite part of the show, but it did produce my absolute, all-time favorite skit – the one with the conjoined elephants!!

        Kills me dead, even to this day, after watching it literally over a hundred times over the years

    • shanaynay says:

      Loved that skit as well. When I saw the rod still in it I laughed uncontrollably.

    • shanaynay says:

      Loved the parody of GWTW as well. When I saw the rod still in her dress I laughed uncontrollably.

  3. Well Wisher says:

    Happy 🎂 !!
    Carol is a wonderful performer. The skits stood up well.
    The still make one 😅 out loud.

  4. tamsin says:

    “Went with the wind.” Carol coming down the stairs is a vivid image in my mind still!. I also loved her Q & A at the beginning of each show.

    • DaniM says:

      “I saw it in the window and I just had to have it!”

      She’s leaving such an amazing legacy behind her. Burnett is just a loved by me as Robin Williams.

  5. Wrin says:

    Love Love Love this lady!!!

  6. T says:

    Amazing, amazing woman.

  7. Zazzoo says:

    She was absolutely savage in Better Call Saul. So great to see her brilliance introduced to new generations.

  8. SpankyB says:

    My family never missed an episode of Carol Burnett. I loved Went with the Wind but the Mrs. Wiggins/Mr. Tudball skits always got me. I would end up laughing so hard as a kid. And as an adult now watching some of the skits, it’s watching them try and keep a straight face is what makes me laugh the most.

  9. Blithe says:

    Carol Burnett is a national treasure! Like many, my favorite skits are the ones where they lose it and start laughing— which makes me laugh all the more. Laugh Fest.

  10. jferber says:

    Always loved her Tarzan yell and her Gone with the Wind parody. Also saw her in a production of Moon Over Buffalo. She IS a national treasure.

  11. Sshark_29 says:

    She’s the best

  12. bisynaptic says:

    Carol Burnett is a national treasure.