Carol Burnett, 87, on Her Classic Show and the People She Loves

Her big break

When I got off unemployment. In 1959 I was on The Garry Moore Show, and at the same time I’d do eight shows a week in an off-Broadway show called Once Upon a Mattress. It was a double whammy.

Not all roses, and wouldn’t have it any other way

George Pimentel/WireImage

Carol's Credentials

Age: 87

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Accolades: 25 Emmys for The Carol Burnett Show, Kennedy Center Honors, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and the Golden Globes Carol Burnett Award (given to Burnett in 2019 and to Ellen DeGeneres in 2020)

Upcoming projects: A small, key cameo in Netflix’s All Together Now and an in-development film adaptation of her memoir about her daughter, Carrie and Me

Her binge-watching: Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Schitt’s Creek

Life motto: Have a good attitude, and be grateful.

I wouldn’t be where I am now if I hadn’t had certain setbacks. They made me open different doors and made me stronger. I auditioned one time, thought I had it, and another girl got it. What saved me was, I thought, It’s her turn. I tell young people who ask how you handle rejection, “It just wasn’t your turn yet, but if you have a fire in the belly and you keep at it, it will someday be your turn.” My turn came from Once Upon a Mattress.

Retirement? What retirement?

Before [the pandemic] I would go on the road and do 90 minutes in Carol Burnett: An Evening of Laughter and Reflection. It kept the old gray matter ticking. I’ve written four books. I may write about the Rehearsal Club [the New York women’s boarding house she lived in, which inspired Katharine Hepburn’s film Stage Door]. It was a sitcom in itself.

Pet tricks

Our Bengal kitty, Nikki, she’s a trip and makes us laugh. She’s more like a dog. When hungry, she takes the phone off the hook, and when we see it light up, she’s by her bowl waiting. It’s like room service.

Life at home, right now

I’m happily married [to Brian Miller, since 2001]. We have our routine: crossword puzzles, Scrabble and good old movies. I get on a treadmill every day, and [we] go for walks around our Santa Barbara neighborhood, wearing masks.

Getting through quarantine

When I think I’m going to get a little stir-crazy, I pull myself up short and say, “Wait a minute; we’re OK. We have food on the table and a roof over our heads.” When I think of people who have lost their jobs and the kids who can’t go school, or they’re wondering where their next meal is coming from, my heart just breaks.

Post-pandemic plan

Throw a great big party for our friends. Everybody gets back together so we can have a group hug.

Watch it

The Carol Burnett Show streams starting June 1 on ShoutFactoryTV.com; Shout! Factory TV’s Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV, and Android apps; and on Shout! Factory TV–branded channels, including Tubi, Amazon Prime channels and the Roku Channel.