Bits: a Comedy Writer's Screams of Consciousness

Actress and comedienne Carol Burnett was born on April 26th, 1933, in San Antonio, Texas. Her parents divorced in the late '30's and she moved to Hollywood, California, with her grandmother. She graduated from Hollywood High School in 1951 and won a scholarship to UCLA. She had intended to study journalism, but changed her focus to theatre arts and English, in the hopes of becoming a playwright. She was required to take an acting class in order to enter the playwright program, and experienced an immediate and lasting connection with the audience during her first performance. She left UCLA during her Junior Year to pursue a career in musical comedy in New York.

She is probably best known for The Carol Burnett Show, which aired from 1967 to 1978. At the end of each show, she would tug on her ear as a special message to her grandmother.

She has received many awards and accolades for her work on television, stage, and screen, including numerous Emmy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, a Peabody Award, the Kennedy Center Honors for 2003 and the 2013 Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.

She is the author of several books, including One More Time: A Memoir, This Time Together: Laughter, Reflection and Carrie and Me: A Mother-Daughter Love Story, and In Such Good Company: Eleven Years of Laughter, Mayhem, and Fun in the Sandbox, which became a New York Times bestseller in 2016 .

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