Carol Burnett (b. 1933) is a comedian, actress, and singer who has made several appearances with the Muppets.
Burnett started her career on Broadway, earning a Tony Award nomination for Once Upon a Mattress. From 1967 to 1978, she hosted The Carol Burnett Show, a variety show co-starring Harvey Korman and Tim Conway. She has been recognized for her work several times over including accolades from the Emmy Awards, Grammy Awards, and the Golden Globe Awards; she was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Hall of Fame in 1985, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2013.
On film, she has appeared in Pete 'n' Tillie (with Walter Matthau), 1982's Annie (with Tim Curry), The Front Page (with Austin Pendleton), The Four Seasons (with The Four Seasons), and Noises Off (with Michael Caine and Christopher Reeve). Her voice credits include Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!, the English dub of The Secret World of Arrietty from Disney and Studio Ghibli, and Toy Story 4.
She is good friends with Julie Andrews, another Muppet Show guest, and referenced her during her episode.
Appearances[]
| Picture | Date | Production/Notes |
|---|---|---|
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1967 | Appeared alongside Rowlf in summer replacement series Our Place on CBS. |
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1969 (First: Episode 0001) |
Appeared in a brief insert commenting on Wanda the Witch in the first episode of Sesame Street. This made Burnett the first celebrity guest to appear on a Sesame Street telecast (James Earl Jones recorded several segments that were used in pre-broadcast test versions of the show, but these segments were not actually telecast nationally until after Burnett's appearance). |
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1969 (First: Episode 0057) |
Another brief insert aired in episode 0057 of Sesame Street. Carol makes a comment after a "rocket countdown" cartoon. This segment previously appeared in the first Sesame Street test show. |
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1970 (First: Episode 0131) |
Burnett appeared in season 2 to talk to the viewers about what a nose can do. |
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1970 (First: Episode 0132) |
Burnett counts to 20. |
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1970 (First: Episode 0156) |
Burnett talks about her rubber duckie.
According to the booklet included with the Old School: Volume 1 DVD release in 2006, Burnett taped her inserts in Hollywood where she was filming The Carol Burnett Show at the time. |
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1974 | Appeared in the ABC primetime special Out to Lunch featuring the Sesame Street Muppets. As with her Sesame Street segments, Burnett does not appear on screen with the Muppets, instead highlighted in a series of segments in which she tries to explain that she doesn't have time to perform on her lunch hour. Grover and Herry Monster are nonetheless impressed by her performance. |
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1980 | Guest star on The Muppet Show in episode 515. |
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1983 | Burnett wrote in to Muppet Magazine to share a story with Robin the Frog about her school days in the Fall 1983 issue. |
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1990 | Cameo appearance in TV special The Muppets Celebrate Jim Henson. |
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2017 | Guest stars on Julie's Greenroom alongside Julie Andrews and puppets made by Jim Henson's Creature Shop. |