Carol Burnett & Company
| Carol Burnett & Company | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Comedy-variety |
| Written by |
Ann Elder Bob Arnott Kenny Solms Tim Conway Arnie Kogen Bill Richmond Gene Perret Dick Clair Jenna McMahon |
| Directed by | Roger Beatty |
| Starring |
Carol Burnett Tim Conway Vicki Lawrence Craig Richard Nelson Kenneth Mars |
| Theme music composer | Peter Matz |
| Composer(s) |
Peter Matz Artie Malvin Billy Barnes |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 1 |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Joe Hamilton |
| Production location(s) |
CBS Television City Hollywood, California |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Production company(s) | Joe Hamilton Productions |
| Release | |
| Original network | ABC |
| Original release | August 18 – September 8, 1979 |
| Chronology | |
| Followed by | Eunice |
| Related shows | The Carol Burnett Show |
Carol Burnett & Company is an American four-episode summer variety/sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Craig Richard Nelson and Kenneth Mars. The series was a continuation of The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1978) and aired on ABC for four consecutive weeks on Saturdays from August 18 to September 8, 1979.
Production background
In the spring of 1979, a year after The Carol Burnett Show had completed its eleven-season run on CBS, Carol Burnett and her then husband-manager Joe Hamilton were dining in a restaurant with friends (including Tim Conway from The Carol Burnett Show). At that gathering, Burnett started reminiscing about the old show and making suggestions to Conway of future comedy sketches that she wished they could create if the show was still running. Hamilton suggested to Burnett that she do a summer series; Conway immediately agreed.
Taking that idea, Burnett and Hamilton then approached CBS about doing a four-week program in the summer of 1979, but CBS already had their schedule filled for the summer months and rejected the idea. However, ABC was interested and as a result, four postscript episodes of The Carol Burnett Show were produced and most of Burnett's former staff and crew were on board for the new series.
Overview
Under the title Carol Burnett & Company, the new series continued the same format of The Carol Burnett Show which combined comedy sketches and musical numbers including favorite characters/sketches such as "Mrs. Wiggins", "The Family", "As the Stomach Turns", "The Oldest Man", "The Charwoman" and Burnett's impersonation of Queen Elizabeth II.
The series also featured Conway and Vicki Lawrence back as regulars; due to the unavailability of Harvey Korman, comic actors Craig Richard Nelson and Kenneth Mars were added to the supporting cast; Ernie Flatt, who had been the choreographer on The Carol Burnett Show during its entire run, was replaced by the show's lead dancer Don Crichton. The guest stars during the four-week period were chronologically Cheryl Ladd, Alan Arkin, Penny Marshall and Sally Field. The show also introduced new sketches and characters, including another one of Conway's creations: a preacher named "Rolly D. Tucker" who gave humorously misguided sermons about life, with shouts of "It don't matter!" interspersed throughout his dissertation (Conway would later use this character on his own variety show when it premiered in March 1980).
Episode list
| Episode | Guest Star | Sketches & Songs | Director | Airdate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.1 | Cheryl Ladd |
|
Roger Beatty | August 18, 1979 [1] |
| 1.2 | Alan Arkin |
|
Roger Beatty | August 25, 1979 [2] |
| 1.3 | Penny Marshall |
|
Roger Beatty | September 1, 1979 [3] |
| 1.4 | Sally Field |
|
Roger Beatty | September 8, 1979 [4] |