8.4 /10 1 Votes8.4
Genre Comedy-Variety Final episode date 8 September 1979 | 8.4/10 IMDb Directed by Roger Beatty First episode date 18 August 1979 Number of episodes 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Written by Ann ElderBob ArnottKenny SolmsTim ConwayArnie KogenBill RichmondGene PerretDick ClairJenna McMahon Starring Carol BurnettTim ConwayVicki LawrenceCraig Richard NelsonKenneth Mars Composer(s) Peter MatzArtie MalvinBilly Barnes Network American Broadcasting Company Writers Tim Conway, Dick Clair, Jenna McMahon, Arnie Kogen, Buz Kohan, Roger Beatty, Ann Elder, Kenny Solms, Bob Arnott Cast Similar The Carol Burnett Show, Carol Burnett and Friends, Big Jim And The Figaro Cl, Tenspeed and Brown Shoe, The Mystic Warrior | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Carol Burnett & Company is an American variety/sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Craig Richard Nelson and Kenneth Mars that aired as a four-week summer series on ABC from August 18 to September 8, 1979.
Contents
Production background
In the spring of 1979, a year after The Carol Burnett Show had completed its eleven-season run on CBS, Carol Burnett and her then husband-manager Joe Hamilton were dining in a restaurant with friends (including Tim Conway from The Carol Burnett Show). At that gathering, Burnett started reminiscing about the old show and making suggestions to Conway of future comedy sketches that she wished they could create if the show was still running. Hamilton suggested to Burnett that she do a summer series; Conway immediately agreed.
Taking that idea, Burnett and Hamilton then approached CBS about doing a four-week program in the summer of 1979, but CBS already had their schedule filled for the summer months and rejected the idea. However, ABC was interested and as a result, four postscript episodes of The Carol Burnett Show were produced and most of Burnett's former staff and crew were on board for the new series.
Overview
Under the title Carol Burnett & Company, the new series continued the same format of The Carol Burnett Show which combined comedy sketches and musical numbers including favorite characters/sketches such as "Mrs. Wiggins", "The Family", "As the Stomach Turns", "The Charwoman" and Burnett's impersonation of Queen Elizabeth II. It also featured Conway and Vicki Lawrence back as regulars; due to the unavailability of Harvey Korman, comic actors Craig Richard Nelson and Kenneth Mars were added to the supporting cast; Ernie Flatt, who had been the choreographer on The Carol Burnett Show during its entire run, was replaced by the show's lead dancer Don Crichton. The guest stars during the four-week period were chronologically Cheryl Ladd, Alan Arkin, Penny Marshall and Sally Field.
Cast
In addition to Carol Burnett, the cast consisted of:
Reception
The reviews of Carol Burnett & Company were very favorable, with several critics heartily welcoming Burnett back to weekly television, albeit on a limited basis. The ratings also were respectable and plans were announced for the program to become a yearly summer event, but this never materialized.