March 26: Happy Birthday Vicki Lawrence

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https://lebeauleblog.com/2020/03/26/...icki-lawrence/

Vicki Lawrence is turning 71 today. Lawrence grew up in Southern California, and in high school was part of The Young Americans, a prominent show choir. When she entered a local pageant, a reporter did a piece which noted her resemblance to Carol Burnett. As a consequence, Lawrence, just 18, was hired to play Burnett’s sister on a new sketch comedy series.

Lawrence remained with The Carol Burnett Show for its entire run. She was nominated for four Emmys and three Golden Globes over eleven seasons, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performer in a Variety or Music Program in 1976. Aside from the “Carol and Sis” sketches, Lawrence was known as Mama in “The Family.” More about that one in a bit.

Lawrence also continued her singing. In 1973, she released her debut album, The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. While the album was only a modest success, the title track was a #1 single.



Lawrence had a couple of other singles reach the Hot 100, so she may escape the “one hit wonder” label by a narrow margin.

In 1982, CBS made a TV movie titled Eunice, adapted from the “Family” sketches on The Carol Burnett Show. Lawrence received her fifth Emmy nomination for returning as Thelma “Mama” Harper. She then starred, in the same role, in the spinoff series Mama’s Family, which aired for six seasons on NBC and then in syndication.

Lawrence has been nominated for two Daytime Emmys, for hosting the game show Win, Lose or Draw, and the talk show Vicki. More recently, she made several appearances on Hannah Montana as Ruthie “Mamaw” Stewart, and was a regular on Fox’s The Cool Kids.