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Joy

This blooper from 'The Carol Burnett Show' is still one of the funniest outtakes in TV history

Vicki Lawrence dropped a perfectly timed a-bomb.

The Carol Burnett Show Official/YouTube

"The Carol Burnett Show" had one of the funniest outtakes in TV history.

"The Carol Burnett Show" ran from 1967 to 1978 and has been touted as one of the best television series of all time. The cast and guest stars of the show included comedic greats such as Tim Conway, Betty White, Steve Martin, Vicki Lawrence, Dick Van Dyke, Lyle Waggoner, Harvey Korman and others who went on to have long, successful comedy careers.

One firm rule Carol Burnett had on her show was that the actors stay in character. She felt it was especially important not to break character during the "Family" scenes, in which the characters Ed and Eunice Higgins (a married couple) and Mama (Eunice's mother) would play host to various colorful characters in their home.

"I never wanted to stop and do a retake, because I like our show to be ‘live,’" she wrote in her memoir, as reported by Showbiz Cheat Sheet. "So when the ‘Family’ sketches came along, I was adamant that we never break up in those scenes, because Eunice, Ed, and Mama were, in an odd way, sacred to me. They were real people in real situations, some of which were as sad and pitiful as they were funny, and I didn’t want any of us to break the fourth wall and be out of character.”

It was a noble goal, and one that went right out the window—with Burnett leading the way—in a "Family" sketch during the show's final season that ended with the entire cast rolling with laughter.


In the scene, Eunice, Mama, Dan (an old friend of Ed's) and Mickey (Ed's employee at the hardware store) are playing "Password" and the word they're trying to get their partners to guess is "ridiculous." Eunice (played by Carol Burnett) gives Mickey (played by Tim Conway) the clue word "laughable," and after pondering for a bit, he says "elephant."

Eunice scolds him for his bizarre answer, then Conway launches into a wild ad-libbed story about a circus elephant that goes on and on and on.

Burnett is the first one to lose it. The cast barely keeps it together through the sketch.

But that was just one take. Between takes, the director gave the actors a note: The elephant story would be different in the next filming—and good luck.

The next elephant story was even wilder than the first, and Burnett and Dick Van Dyke couldn't stop themselves from laughing. Conway himself breaks a couple of times, and even Vicki Lawrence (playing Mama), who famously never broke character, had to hide her face for a moment.

Then, just when they finally got themselves composed and Burnett was able to deliver her line, "Go on, Mama," Lawrence delivered the most perfectly timed a-bomb and the whole cast exploded:

So delightful. And for an added bonus, watch Vicki Lawrence tell the story about how that scene came about:

See the full interview at https://emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/vicki-l...


This article originally appeared on 9.14.22

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Heroes

95-year-old Hollywood legend Dick Van Dyke spotted handing out cash to job seeking strangers

via Gage Skidmore / Flickr

Dick Van Dyke has always been known for being an affable, warm-hearted man in a business that's often defined by the difficult and self-absorbed. Lately, he's developed quite the reputation of being incredibly youthful for the ripe old age of 95.

Recently, he was captured singing "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" from his film of the same name at a deli.


Two years ago, he was captured dancing in a department store.

Here's Van Dyke dancing to "Step in Time" from "Mary Poppins" at 90.


Dick Van Dyke Dancing age 90www.youtube.com


Van Dyke is best known for playing Burt the chimney sweep in Disney's 1965 classic "Mary Poppins" but has had a long, storied career which includes his groundbreaking '60s sitcom "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and the films "Bye Bye Birdie" and "A Night at the Museum."

In his memoir "Keep Moving" he says that the love of dance has kept him young. "If I am out shopping and hear music playing in a store, I start to dance," he writes. "If I want to sing, I sing. I read books and get excited about new ideas. I enjoy myself. I don't think about the way I am supposed to act at my age — or at any age."

Van Dyke is impressing people again, this time with his generosity, although he probably didn't want anyone to know. On Tuesday afternoon he was caught by a cameraman handing out wads of cash to job seekers at the Malibu Community Labor Exchange in Los Angeles.

According to its website, The Malibu Community Labor Exchange is "a community-created nonprofit organization that provides an organized and supportive place for the people of Malibu to hire and be hired, creating opportunities for the unemployed to build independence and self-sufficiency through work."

Malibu is an extremely affluent beachside community that's known for being a laid-back enclave that caters to celebrities.

Van Dyke stunned the job seekers by pulling up in his car and passing out cash to the people waiting in line.

The actor's generosity comes at a time when many are experiencing hard times due to the COVID-19 virus.

It's unknown how much money that he handed out, but photos taken at the Labor Exchange showed the recipients were excited to see him. The actor wore track pants, sneakers, a green fleece jacket, and a kiss-patterned face mask for protection.

Van Dyke is no stranger to giving back to the community. For over 20 years he has worked as a volunteer at Los Angeles' century-old shelter, The Midnight Mission. He has also been a spokesperson for the National Reye's Syndrome Foundation and the Cell therapy Foundation.

Recently, Van Dyke has worked as a consultant on Disney's "Wandavision" which plays homage to "The Dick Van Dyke Show." He's also recently appeared in "Mary Poppins Returns" and the TV series "Kidding," alongside Jim Carrey.

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