Top 129 Quotes & Sayings by Carol Burnett

Explore popular quotes and sayings by an American actress Carol Burnett.
Last updated on December 23, 2024.
Carol Burnett

Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. She is best known for her groundbreaking comedy variety show The Carol Burnett Show, which originally aired on CBS. It was one of the first of its kind to be hosted by a woman. She has achieved success on stage, television and film in varying genres including dramatic and comedic roles. She has also appeared on various talk shows and as a panellist on game shows.

Kristin Wiig I think is brilliant.
It's also selfish because it makes you feel good when you help others. I've been helped by acts of kindness from strangers. That's why we're here, after all, to help others.
Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own. — © Carol Burnett
Words, once they are printed, have a life of their own.
I'm into 'House of Cards.' 'Breaking Bad' - my God, did I binge on that!
I do think there are some great female comics: Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph. They're the whole ball of wax.
Giving birth is like taking your lower lip and forcing it over your head.
My preference is for people who can do sketch comedy or situational comedy, where it's not a joke, but it's telling a story.
We don't stop going to school when we graduate.
In '57, I got a job at the Blue Angel nightclub, and a gentleman named Ken Welch wrote all my material for me. I lived at a place called the Rehearsal Club that was actually the basis for a play called Stage Door.
I love Maya Rudolph. She's very multitalented herself.
Celebrity was a long time in coming; it will go away. Everything goes away.
I liked myself better when I wasn't me.
I love the writing. I love the idea of typing and seeing it on the computer and printing it out myself and, you know, moving sentences around. I like that. — © Carol Burnett
I love the writing. I love the idea of typing and seeing it on the computer and printing it out myself and, you know, moving sentences around. I like that.
But I didn't ask to have somebody nose around in my private life. I didn't even ask to be famous. All I asked was to be able to earn a living making people laugh.
I'm glad I was born when I was. My time was the golden age of variety. If I were starting out again now, maybe things would happen for me, but it certainly would not be on a variety show with 28 musicians, 12 dancers, two major guest stars, 50 costumes a week by Bob Mackie. The networks just wouldn't spend the money today.
I am not a person who yells at all, but I realized that I have always felt so good after doing the Tarzan yell, after doing Charo, or screaming as Eunice.
I was once asked to do my Tarzan yell at Bergdorf Goodman, and a guard burst in with a gun! Now I only do it under controlled circumstances.
It's not a bad thing to be able to do many things onstage. If you're an entertainer, you should be able to entertain. I'm proud to say that I'm not a one-trick pony.
I have a great memory.
Just scream! You vent, and the body just feels good after a good old yell.
Well, I don't know how astute I am, but I did want to be a journalist when I was growing up.
On the good days, my mother would haul out the ukulele and we'd sit around the kitchen table - it was a cardboard table with a linoleum top - and sing.
I don't have false teeth. Do you think I'd buy teeth like these?
Comedy is tragedy - plus time.
When things are a disappointment, try not to be so discouraged.
When you have a dream, you've got to grab it and never let go.
I do the 'New York Times' crossword puzzle every morning to keep the old grey matter ticking.
I never regretted turning down anything, I never regretted losing a job because I always felt something else was out there.
I wish my mother had left me something about how she felt growing up. I wish my grandmother had done the same. I wanted my girls to know me.
I wanted to be on Broadway, but in musical comedy.
I had a good loud voice and I wasn't afraid to be goofy or zany.
Funny is funny. I dare anyone to look at Tim Conway and Harvey Korman doing the dentist sketch, which is more than 40 years old, and not scream with laughter.
My childhood was rough, we were poor and my parents were alcoholics, but nobody was mean. I knew I was loved. We were on welfare, but I never felt abandoned or unloved.
I loved the Kennedy Center Honors because you just sit there, smile, wave, and cry.
Jimmy Stewart and Lucille Ball were so unique.
I can't tell a joke to save my soul. It's just not my thing, though I love to listen to jokes.
We all get where we're going by circuitous journeys, and some of the setbacks are warranted.
I don't eat much meat, fish, or poultry. — © Carol Burnett
I don't eat much meat, fish, or poultry.
Edgy is fine - I'm not a prude by any stretch of the imagination - but what's wrong with a good ol' belly laugh? I miss that.
I come from Texas, and my grandmother and mother were born in Arkansas.
But I don't begrudge anybody, because I know how hard it is to have that dream and to make it happen, whether or not it's just to put a roof over your head and food on the table.
My favorite is doing the television show, as a variety show, every week. If the show wasn't that great one week, we could always come back and apologize, you know?
I think the hardest thing to do in the world, show-business-wise, is write comedy.
My interesting diet tips are eat early and don't nosh between meals. I mean, I can pack it away.
Adolescence is just one big walking pimple.
You have to go through the falling down in order to learn to walk. It helps to know that you can survive it. That's an education in itself.
I'm hooked on Glenn Close in 'Damages.'
I loved doing 'The Family' with Eunice and Mama. They were very interesting because there were no jokes written into those sketches. It was all character-driven. And sometimes it got a little heavy.
Everybody I know who is funny, it's in them. You can teach timing, or some people are able to tell a joke, though I don't like to tell jokes. But I think you have to be born with a sense of humor and a sense of timing.
Because nobody goes through life without a scar. — © Carol Burnett
Because nobody goes through life without a scar.
As far as sitcoms go, I thought Jenna Elfman in 'Dharma and Greg' was a wonderful physical comedienne who had great timing.
It's almost impossible to be funnier than the people in Washington.
You have to really want it, and don't take it personally if you don't get a job. Because sometimes you're not the type. And sometimes it's somebody else's turn.
It costs a lot to sue a magazine, and it's too bad that we don't have a system where the losing team has to pay the winning team's lawyers.
My grandmother and I saw an average of eight movies a week, double features, second run.
Only I can change my life. No one can do it for me.
When I was in college at UCLA, I took a playwriting course. I was all set to be a writer. But I had to take this acting class as a theater arts major. I had to do this scene in a one-act comedy. I just said this line, and then... this laugh happened. I thought, 'Whoa. This is a really good feeling. What have I been missing?'
You know, one wonderful thing that came out of my Enquirer experience is that, in my case, it was ruled tabloids are magazines. Which means they didn't have the protection that a newspaper has.
My grandmother and I followed my mother here, to a house a block north of Hollywood Boulevard but a million miles away from Hollywood, if you know what I mean. We would hang out behind the ropes and look at the movie stars arriving at the premieres.
Originally, I came from Texas, and we lived on - I guess you'd call it welfare, what we called relief.
This site uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience. More info...
Got it!