NBC to Celebrate Carol Burnett’s 90th Birthday with Two-Hour Special
by Denise Petski
January 26, 2023


NBC will pay tribute to Carol Burnett on her 90th birthday with Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. The two-hour special will air on her birthday, Wednesday, April 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT and will also stream the next day on Peacock.

Filmed at Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles, the special will feature an A-list lineup of musical performances from Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry, Kristin Chenoweth and more.

Musical tributes will pay homage to Burnett’s renowned career performances, including: “Old Friends,” dedicated to her 60-year friendship with Julie Andrews; “Only an Octave Apart,” which Burnett sang alongside Beverly Sills in the 1976 television special Sills and Burnett at the Met; songs from the film Annie; and a tribute to her classic theme song, “I’m So Glad We Had This Time Together” from "The Carol Burnett Show".




Special guests include Aileen Quinn, Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Bob Mackie, Cher, Ellen DeGeneres, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Lily Tomlin, Marisa Tomei, Sofia Vergara, Steve Carell, Susan Lucci, Tracee Ellis Ross, Vicki Lawrence, among others.

“I’m so excited NBC decided to throw me a birthday party and invited all of my closest friends,” Burnett said. “I can’t wait to look back at so many wonderful moments throughout my career, I feel so lucky to share this night with everyone.”

https://deadline.com/2023/01/nbc-carol-burnetts-90th-birthday-two-hour-special-1235241963/

Carol Burnett Toasted by Star-Studded Guest List at 90th Birthday Special: “She’s Exactly the Person That You Hope She Would Be”
by Kristen Chuba
April 26, 2023


Carol Burnett is turning 90 in star-studded style.

In honor of the comedy icon’s big birthday, NBC is hosting "Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter and Love", a special featuring music, comedy and video highlights from Burnett’s one-of-a-kind career.




Julie Andrews, Cher, Amy Poehler, Lily Tomlin, Steve Carell, Laura Dern, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Charlize Theron, Bob Odenkirk, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Bernadette Peters, Katy Perry and Billy Porter are just some of the many celebrity friends and fans taking part in the show.

Though airing on Wednesday, the special was taped in early March, where Burnett expressed her thrill at celebrating her birthday in this way.




“Unbelievable, I’m gobsmacked by it,” Burnett told The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s going to be a wonderful evening — it’s not a birthday party and it’s not a roast, it’s going to be a variety show. There’s going to be live entertainment, 19-piece orchestra, I mean it’s so exciting.”







On the red carpet ahead of the taping, Burnett’s friends reflected on their relationships with the star and what makes her so worth celebrating. Close pal Andrews joked, “She brings out in the best in me and I think I bring out the worst in her, I don’t know why. It’s the opposite of what you would imagine.”

The two first met at a Chinese restaurant in New York City when they were invited by separate friends and promised they would adore each other: “When we met, no one else got a word in edgewise. We bonded like that and it has never changed,” Andrews continued, noting that today they catch up at dinners and “whatever comes up for us and whenever we can get together, which is not as often as I would like. But it’s a never-ending friendship, it just picks up where it left off.”




Cher told reporters about when she appeared on "The Carol Burnett Show", remembering being at the CBS studio and “I would sneak out through the fence to go to the farmer’s market and we played practical jokes on each other. It was just easy and fun and that’s all we wanted to do.”




Jane Lynch recalled how she and Burnett first worked together on an independent film and later on "Glee", saying upon first meeting, “I was firmly in love, she’s exactly the person that you hope she would be.”

The two now live in the same town and regularly get together, as Lynch said she learned from Burnett that, “The heart stays open, and the generosity stays active and you’re happy that way. Then you’re not on the dark side of stuff, she just doesn’t even go there.”




Kristen Chenoweth remembered meeting Burnett for the first time backstage at the Hollywood Bowl, where Burnett had come to see her perform.

“I just immediately pratfalled because I knew I had to do something to impress her,” the singer joked. “And I said, ‘I had to do something to impress you’ and she said, ‘After that two-hour show?’ And I said, ‘Yes!’ She said, ‘You’re mine, you’re mine,’ and that’s how we became friends.” As for the lesson Chenoweth has taken from Burnett, it’s that “making people laugh is not easy, but when it happens it’s like lightning in a bottle, so special.”

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/carol-burnett-90th-birthday-special-julie-andrews-cher-1235342199/

NBC's Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love is an old-school special for an old-school talent (https://www.dailynews.com/2023/04/26/review-carol-burnett-90-years-of-laughter-love-is-an-old-school-nbc-special-for-an-old-school-talent/amp/)

Review: 'Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love' is an old-school (https://www.gwinnettdailypost.com/entertainment/tv/review-carol-burnett-90-years-of-laughter-love-is-an-old-school-nbc-special-for/article_ebb3b5b6-2e78-5f7e-b197-41cf6ff6749b.html) NBC special (https://www.cnn.com/2023/04/26/entertainment/carol-burnett-90-birthday-special-nbc/index.html) for an old-school talent.

When it comes down to it when it comes to great comediennes there are some with talent and some who add flair and pizzazz. Carol Burnett is one of those ladies who knows how to turn smiles around with her quick wit and wonderful personality into a delicious soup filled with comedy and laughter. It's hard to believe that at 90 Carol Burnett still knows how to make people laugh joke and be merry with her amazing talent. And it's no wonder why The Carol Burnett Show was such a hit because there's something about Carol that really brings the laughs to the table. I think in time she will someday break Betty White's record of being the longest running star and I think when she turns 100 Carol Burnett will still bring laughter to fans worldwide
Bestie

Really enjoyed the special. I read that Peacock will have the unedited version which runs 30 or more minutes longer. Happy birthday Carol.

Really enjoyed the special. I read that Peacock will have the unedited version which runs 30 or more minutes longer. Happy birthday Carol.That makes me angry. NBC could have easily aired the unedited version last night. :mad:

Were there new comedy sketches?

No

Katy Perry is so overrated. Kristen Chenoweth should have been brought back for the closing theme song instead.