Carol Burnett:
In solch guter Gesellschaft: Elf Jahre Lachen, Chaos und Spaß im Sandkasten - Taschenbuch
ISBN: 9781524703509
But that"s exactly what happened. When I was watching the first few episodes, the first thing I noticed was how I looked. What really stand out are the changes that evolved. The makeup wa… Mehr…
But that"s exactly what happened. When I was watching the first few episodes, the first thing I noticed was how I looked. What really stand out are the changes that evolved. The makeup was exaggerated--heavy eyeliner and large Minnie Mouse false eyelashes. . upper and lower! The Nile on eBay FREE SHIPPING UK WIDE In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett The entertainer shares behind-the-scenes anecdotes from her popular show, exploring the elements that made the series so successful and the co-stars, guests, and off-camera talent who made it memorable. FORMATPaperback LANGUAGEEnglish CONDITIONBrand New Publisher Description In this New York Timesbestseller, comedy legend Carol Burnett tells the hilarious behind-the-scenes story of her iconic weekly variety series,The Carol Burnett Show.InIn Such Good Company, Carol Burnett pulls back the curtain on the twenty-five-time Emmy-Award winning show that made television history, and she reminisces about the outrageously funny and tender moments that made working on the series as much fun as watching it.Carol delves into little-known stories of the guests, sketches and improvisations that madeThe Carol Burnett Showlegendary, as well as some favorite tales too good not to relive again. While writing this book, Carol rewatched all 276 episodes and screen-grabbed her favorite video stills from the archives to illustrate the chemistry of the actors and the improvisational magic that made the show so successful.Putting the spotlight on everyone from her costars to the impressive list of guest stars, Carol crafts a lively portrait of the talent and creativity that went into every episode. With characteristic wit and incomparable comic timing, she details hiring Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, Lyle Waggoner, and Tim Conway; shares anecdotes about guest stars and close friends, including Lucille Ball, Roddy Mcdowell, Jim Nabors, Bernadette Peters, Betty Grable, Steve Lawrence, Eydie Gorme, Gloria Swanson, Rita Hayworth, and Betty White; and gives her take on her favorite sketches and the unpredictable moments that took both the cast and viewers by surprise.This book is Carol's love letter to a golden era in television history through the lens of her brilliant show. Get the best seat in the house for "eleven years of laughter, mayhem, and fun in the sandbox." Author Biography 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. Review "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 Excerpt from Book INTRODUCTION I recently had the extreme pleasure of receiving the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, and in accepting the honor I talked about how much I loved going to the movies with my grandmother, Nanny, as a kid. My favorites were the comedies and the musicals. I think that''s when I fell in love with the idea of, someday, being a musical comedy performer. Since there wasn''t television "back in the covered wagon days," when I was growing up, I never imagined that my dream would be realized by having my own weekly musical comedy variety show on the small screen. But that''s exactly what happened. I''ve been thinking about that time a lot, and since my memory is pretty good, I decided to put my thoughts down on paper for anybody who might be interested in what we did and how we did it. In doing the research for this book, I watched all 276 shows, even though at times I felt like Norma Desmond watching herself on the screen in Sunset Boulevard! When I was watching the first few episodes, the first thing I noticed was how I looked. I laughed out loud at my various hairdos, with different shades of red, remembering that I (amateurishly) dyed my hair myself every week using Miss Clairol, because I hated to waste my time sitting in a beauty parlor. What really stand out are the changes that evolved. Of course the hairstyles, makeup, and costumes were constantly changing. Remember, this was the late sixties into the seventies . . . bell-bottoms, miniskirts, etc. The makeup was exaggerated--heavy eyeliner and large Minnie Mouse false eyelashes . . . upper and lower! Even Bob Mackie, our brilliant costume designer, who surprised us every week with his creations, both beautiful and comedic, would admit that he missed the mark on some occasions. But they were rare. One of the things I noticed was how I evolved over those eleven years. I went from the "zany, kooky, man-hungry, big-mouthed goofball," which was who I had fashioned myself into during my early years, including my time as a regular on the Garry Moore television show, into a somewhat more "mature kook." I always loved doing the physical comedy--falling down, jumping out of windows, getting pies in the face--however, around thirty-seven, thirty-eight years old, three or four years into the show, I found myself enjoying tackling more sophisticated and complex satires and some of the sketches that had a tinge of pathos. "The Family" scenes with Eunice, Mama, and Ed always touched me deeply, because as crazy as they could get, there was always an element of reality--these were people suffering disappointment and regret, raging against fate, doing the best they could. Naturally, there were a lot of sketches and musical numbers I had completely forgotten. Some of them made me laugh, and some, I admit, made me cringe! But overall, I was transported back to the most wonderful and pleasurable phase of my career. What follows are many outstanding memories of what occurred during a "regular show week." I''ll share anecdotes about our cast members, many of our guests, recurring characters, favorite movie parodies, some of the funny and off-the-cuff questions from our audience and my responses--basically how we all played together in the sandbox--hilariously--from 1967 to 1978. Some of these stories may be familiar to those of you who know me best, but they needed to be retold in order to give you the whole picture of those eleven wonderful years! But I''m getting ahead of myself. Let me start over at the very beginning . . . IN THE SANDBOX When I was growing up, theater and music were my first loves, so my original show business goals revolved around being in musical comedies on Broadway, like Ethel Merman and Mary Martin. My stage break came in the spring of 1959, when I was cast as "Winnifred the Woebegone" in the musical comedy Once Upon a Mattress, a takeoff on Hans Christian Andersen''s fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea." It was an Off-Broadway production at the Phoenix Theatre, directed by none other than the iconic George Abbott, "Mr. Broadway" himself! The show was originally scheduled for a limited run of six weeks, but it was so popular that it was moved to Broadway and ran for over a year. I got my wish; I was on Broadway! Because no one had expected the production to be so successful, there were numerous booking issues that caused our little show to be bounced from theater to theater--from the Phoenix to the Alvin to the Winter Garden to the Cort and, finally, to the St. James. There were a couple of jokes going around the business about the production during this period. I remember Neil Simon quipped, "It''s the most moving musical on Broadway! If you haven''t seen Once Upon a Mattress yet, don''t worry, it''ll soon be at your neighborhood theater." My second big break came in the fall of 1959 when I was asked to be a regular performer on The Garry Moore Show, a terrifically popular TV comedy-variety series. For almost a year, until the summer of 1960, I doubled up and did both shows. I would perform in Mattress on Tuesdays through Fridays at 8:30 p.m. and then do two shows a day on Saturdays and Sundays. I would rehearse for Garry''s show eight to nine hours a day Monday through Friday, and then we would tape his show on Friday, in the early evening, which gave me just enough time to hop the subway and head downtown to arrive at Mattress in time for the 8:30 curtain! I had no days off. Hey, I was young, I told myself--but evidently not that young, because one Sunday, during a matinee, I fell asleep . . . in front of the audience! Normally, the scene involved Princess Winnifred trying her best to get a good night''s sleep on top of twenty mattresses, but she couldn''t. The mattresses were highly uncomfortable and lumpy, resulting in a very active pantomime in which I jumped up and down, pounding on the offending lumps, and finally wound up sitting on the edge of the bed wide awake, desperately counting sheep as the scene ended. Not this Sunday. As I lay there on top of twenty mattresses, I simply drifted off to dreamland, Diversified Publishing<
