Few people have made an impact on television like Carol Burnett. Not only did she star in the hit television program, The Carol Burnett Show, but she has also been involved in far too many programs to count. She continues to mentor the new talent of the next generation and inspire people to create good television that can entertain Americans and lead to a better quality of life.
Although Carol Burnett was recently featured at the Golden Globes where she received the first annual Carol Burnett Award, she has been involved in the industry for decades. And at 85-years-old, she is still as young and spry as she was when her hit show was on CBS.
Although her show was extremely popular in its heyday, a lot of its funny moments have been forgotten in time. Because not as many people watch it nowadays, so many funny moments have been forgotten. It is our goal today to remind you about how funny the show was. And this clip can do just that because it was one of the best moments on the show.
The Carol Burnett Show was a sketch comedy program that continues to make people laugh. Besides Burnett, other featured actors were Harvey Korman, Vicki Lawrence, and Tim Conway. The clip below centers around Conway, in what has become the most iconic fall in television history. If you never saw this clip, you’re going to see how he could make millions of people laugh without uttering a single word. If that isn’t talent, then I don’t know what is.
Conway is playing Carol’s grandfather. He has on makeup and prosthetics so he can look the part. And as he steps down the stairs into the scene, he starts falling in slow motion. And as you watch, you won’t be able to hold back your laughter.
The scene proves to be so funny that Carol and Harvey Korman cannot hold back the laughter. They have to look away from the camera to avoid breaking character too much.
Early in 2019, Carol Burnett received the television award in her namesake at the Golden Globes. When accepting it, she said:
“Sometimes I catch myself daydreaming about being young again and doing it all over,” said Burnett, “then I bring myself up short” realizing that “what we did then couldn’t be done today.”
Although modern television has so many computer wizzes ready to create pretend scenes, back in Burnett’s time, television studios hired a full orchestra, dancers, many costumes, co-stars and guest stars. And she created her show every week. Networks are cheap nowadays.
“Networks just wouldn’t spend the money,” she told the Globes audience. “Sad to say today’s audiences might never know what they’re missing, so here’s to reruns and YouTube.”
If you’re eager to see what Burnett was talking about while receiving her namesake award, you can see it in the video below. And when you watch Conway fall down the stairs, you won’t be able to prevent laughter from slipping through your lips.