Carol Burnett is one of the most beloved and revered actresses and performers in America. The Carol Burnett Show was seen each week by millions of adoring fans and won twenty-five Emmys in its remarkable eleven-year run. Now, in This Time Together , Carol really lets her hair down and tells one funny or touching or memorable story after another -- reading it feels like sitting down with an old friend who has wonderful tales to tell.
In engaging anecdotes, Carol discusses her remarkable friendships with stars such at Jimmy Stewart, Lucille Ball, Cary Grant, and Julie Andrews; the background behind famous scenes, like the moment she swept down the stairs in her curtain-rod dress in the legendary "Went With the Wind" skit; and things that would happen only to Carol -- the prank with Julie Andrews that went wrong in front of the First Lady; the famous Tarzan Yell that saved her during a mugging; and the time she faked a wooden leg to get served in a famous ice cream emporium. This poignant look back allows us to cry with the actress during her sorrows, rejoice in her successes, and finally, always, to laugh.
From the Hardcover edition.
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DanniOcean
Apr 15, 2010
One of the denizens of show biz, Carol Burnett has been entertaining theatre, television and movie audiences since she got her start on New York stages as Princess Woebegone back in the 1950’s. She became a household name while appearing on the Garry Moore Show in the1960’s, with international fame following soon after – the first woman to host a television variety program, The Carol Burnett Show lasted eleven seasons, a lifetime in a notably fickle industry. Her new book, This Time Together, reads like a “Who’s Who” of Hollywood Royalty: Julie Andrews, Jimmy Stewart, Zero Mostel, Lucille Ball, Walter Matthau, Elizabeth Taylor, Bernadette Peters; Carol Burnett has known or worked with them all. And while her celebrity anecdotes are fascinating, her stories that involve more intimate friends and acquaintances are just as funny and are frequently poignant. The time she tried to make small talk with an Iranian Princess. The instant connection she felt with a little girl who was suffering from leukemia. Her flabbergasted first meeting with one of her biggest fans, Cary Grant (THE CARY GRANT – Ms. Burnett’s emphasis). Her surreal telephone conversation with Marlon Brando about her chin. The loss of her eldest daughter, actress Carrie Hamilton, age 38, to breast cancer. She does not wallow in the personal moments but tells them graciously, sometimes passionately and always matter-of-factly. Being a great comedienne, Ms. Burnett knows that brevity is the soul of wit, so there are no conventional chapters, just a series of chronologically arranged short anecdotes that start at the beginning of her career – going to the movies with Nanny – to present day – with plenty of space for laughing aloud. There are lessons to be learned from how her life has been lived, too: in the moment, with acceptance and forgiveness, and always with a breathtakingly wide sense of humour. For a real treat, check out the audio version of this book – read by Ms. Burnett herself – on DownloadLibrary.ca, and hear her account of Rumplemeyer’s Ice Cream Parlour (or the weirdest question she was ever asked) in her own voice. Laugh, cry and enjoy!
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Add a CommentThis book by Carol Burnett was very endearing. She speaks to the reader as if she were in the room with you and talking directly to you. She is very genuine and witty, in her reflections of her start in show business and her association with co-stars and people in the industry. She also reveals some of her personal hardships and family tragedies and describes how she learned to survive not only in the business world, but also in her personal life.
Very funny and easy read
9
This is a series of anecdotes rather than a proper memoir. The anecdotes are interesting and often funny, but there are a lot of gaps as the book skips across many years of Burnett's life and career. Burnett's earlier book, One More Time, about her childhood and early career, was much better.
reviewed in Stratford Gazette on April 23, 2010