Carol Burnett will be receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award at January’s SAG Awards, and the comedian is earning praise from those who grew up watching her show and learning from her. Amy Poehler was asked to say a few words about Burnett on a new DVD that contains long-lost episodes of the Carol Burnett Show from the first five seasons, and she said that one of the things that drew her to the charismatic redhead is that she’s so versatile.
“We all hail Carol as the queen for a lot of reasons. One is because we grew up watching her, and we will always have those memories of discovering comedy with her and through her. And the other is that she’s so versatile,” Poehler said.
Carol currently has a full plate, as she’s working on her fourth book and is developing a project with CBS Films called Sunrise In Memphis. With her hit show being called a “masterpiece” by SAG president Ken Howard, it’s likely Burnett will have another couple of successes on her hands. She’s won dozens of awards over the years for her contributions to entertainment and will now join fellow trailblazing female actresses Rita Moreno, Mary Tyler Moore, and Debbie Reynolds as a recipient of the highly coveted SAG award.
“Carol Burnett is a creative dynamo and a comedic genius. She embodies the generosity and courage that the greatest actors use in creating enduring and memorable characters. From her heartbreakingly hilarious Starlet O’Hara to the adorably inept Eunice and alarmingly funny Miss Hannigan, Carol has delighted and inspired millions of viewers and thousands of comedic actors. She took risks as a performer and through her courage, encouraged fellow actors to try new things and always, always reach for the sky. Her innate love of actors led to the creation of an ensemble cast that made The Carol Burnett Show a masterpiece of variety programming,” Ken Howard said.