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Carol Burnett: The Fresh Air Interview

Carol Burnett arrives for the 16th Annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor on Oct. 20 in Washington, D.C.
Kris Connor
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Carol Burnett arrives for the 16th Annual Mark Twain Prize For American Humor on Oct. 20 in Washington, D.C.

Carol Burnett won the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in October. The award ceremony — including tributes from Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Martin Short and Vicki Lawrence — will be broadcast on PBS Sunday, Nov. 24.

Burnett was among the first women to host a TV variety show. The Carol Burnett Show ran on CBS from 1967 to '78, and won 22 Emmys. It was famous for its movie parodies, the soap opera spoof "As The Stomach Churns" and its sketches about a bickering family. For most of the show's run, Burnett shared the stage with Vicki Lawrence, Harvey Korman and Tim Conway.

Early in Burnett's career, she starred in the original production of the musical comedy Once Upon A Mattress. Her movies include A Wedding, The Four Seasons and Annie.

Fresh Air's Terry Gross interviewed Burnett in 2003, after a new edition of her 1986 memoir, One More Time, was published.

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