- On the morning of her 56th birthday, her good friend Lucille Ball died - April 26, 1989. That afternoon, Burnett received the flowers that Ball had ordered for her birthday.
- In 1981, she successfully sued the "National Enquirer" for libel, prompted by its article describing her alleged public drunkenness during an altercation with then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger while in a Washington restaurant, in 1976. The case remains a landmark in the study of libel cases involving celebrities, even though the unprecedented $1.6 million verdict (including $300,000 in personal damages and $1.3 million in "punitive" damages) was later reduced on appeal and the case was eventually settled out of court. Burnett donated the money to charity. She said she pursued the lawsuit because, as the daughter of two deceased alcoholics, the gossip paper's fabrication wounded her emotionally and that they should be punished for their irresponsibility when writing lies about celebrities.
- Was forced to drop out of the 1964 Broadway musical "Fade Out, Fade In" after sustaining a neck injury in a taxi accident. The show's producers sued her for breach of contract, but the suit was later dropped.
- Considered Jim Nabors to be her good luck charm. He appeared as a guest on the first episode of The Carol Burnett Show (1967), and when the show took off, she had him back on the first episode of every season.
- Bob Mackie is her favorite designer. He designed all of the costumes for The Carol Burnett Show (1967).
- Lost her daughter, Carrie Hamilton, on January 20, 2002 to lung and brain cancer.
- Once worked as an usherette at the Warner (now Pacific) Theater on Hollywood Boulevard. One night, the movie playing was Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951), a film Carol had seen and loved. She advised a late arriving couple to wait until the next show, because the film was so good, it should be seen from beginning to end. The manager overheard her, rudely fired her on the spot, and humiliated her by ripping the epaulets off her usherette uniform. Decades later, when she was to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, she was asked by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce where she would like it placed. Carol asked that her star be placed in front of the Pacific Theater. In her memoir "One More Time", she states the name of the manager who so rudely fired her, followed by an epithet that won't be repeated here.
- Has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
- Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush on 9 November 2005. Other recipients were Frank Robinson, Muhammad Ali, General Richard Myers, Paul Rusesabagina, Andy Griffith, Aretha Franklin, Vint Cerf and his Internet co-developer Robert Kahn, Jack Nicklaus, Alan Greenspan, and former congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery.
- Godmother of Emma Walton Hamilton, daughter of best friend Dame Julie Andrews.
- Most familiar to children as the show-stealing Miss Hannigan in Annie (1982).
- When asked, on her show, who her favorite actor was, she replied, "Anthony Hopkins - you know, the little English guy?" [Hopkins is Welsh].
- Attended and graduated from Hollywood High School in Hollywood, California (1951).
- Named recipient of the 2013 "Mark Twain Prize for American Humor" by the Kennedy Center [May 21, 2013].
- Mother, with ex-husband Joe Hamilton, of actress Carrie Hamilton (born 1963, died 2002), daughter Jody Hamilton (born 1967), and singer Erin Hamilton (born 1968).
- One of five recipients of the 2003 Kennedy Center Honors; other recipients were James Brown, Loretta Lynn, Mike Nichols and Itzhak Perlman.
- Daughter Erin Hamilton was Miss Golden Globe 1993.
- In 2007, she sued 20th Century Fox for copyright infringement, trademark violation, invasion of privacy, and misappropriation of name and likeness over the use of an altered version of her signature closing song and the portrayal of her cleaning lady "charwoman" character in an episode of Family Guy (1999). The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge. The judge used Hustler Magazine v. Falwell as the general basis for the decision, ruling that the cartoon was a permissible parody of a public figure.
- Received a Special Tony Award in 1969. She was also twice nominated for the Tony Award - in 1960, as Best Actress (Musical) for "Once Upon a Mattress" and in 1996, as Best Actress (Play) for "Moon Over Buffalo".
- Has appeared in three different television adaptations of "Once Upon a Mattress", the Broadway version of the fairy tale "The Princess and the Pea". In the 1964 and 1972 versions, she played Princess Winnifred. 33 years later, she played Queen Aggravain in the 2005 Disney adaptation.
- Older sister of Chrissie Burnett.
- Attended but did not complete her degree from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television (1954).
- In 1965, Carol broke her right leg playing softball.
- Born at 4:00 AM (CST).
- Biography in: "Who's Who in Comedy", by Ronald L. Smith, pg. 74-76. New York: Facts on File (1992). ISBN 0816023387.
- Mother-in-law of Kurt West.
- Former stepmother of Jeffrey Hamilton.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content