Carol Burnett names ‘funny’ Meryl Streep on her collaboration bucket list
Dick Van Dyke, 98, danced off the red carpet to the delight of attendees.
US actress and comedian Carol Burnett said Meryl Streep, George Clooney and Bradley Cooper are all featured on her bucket list for future collaborations.
The comments came after the 91-year-old was honoured in a hand and footprint ceremony in Hollywood, which featured a string of high-profile guests, including Dick Van Dyke, Laura Dern, Bob Odenkirk, Bill Hader and Jimmy Kimmel.
Oscar-winner Dern, who co-stars in Palm Royale alongside Burnett, was instrumental in instigating the ceremony, having been “shocked” to discover Burnett had not yet been honoured outside the TCL Chinese Theatre.
“She is an example of leading by instinct and without bitterness. She thrives on turning ‘no’s’ into challenges, which has reinvented television and everything the arts can encompass,” Dern said on-stage during the ceremony.
“That is exactly what she did producing The Carol Burnett Show, and in doing so blazed a trail for all female producers to follow.”
The veteran star’s variety programme hit television screens in 1967.
The show went on to win several Emmy awards and five Golden Globes during its 11-year run.
Burnett has also won a special Tony award, been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame and most recently won a Grammy for her book In Such Good Company.
Despite her accolades, Burnett said she still had “quite a few” names on her collaboration bucket list.
“I would say Meryl Streep because she is funny and, boy, can she sing,” Burnett said in an interview after the ceremony.
“George Clooney, for obvious reasons, Bradley Cooper, for obvious reasons,” she quipped, referencing their looks.
“I’ve had the good fortune of working with – in my career – over 200 people because of my show. Eleven years, two guest stars a week, and then all the other stuff that I’ve done. I’m just so lucky.”
During her speech, Burnett spoke about having “the time of my life” while appearing on her “favourite television series” Better Call Saul alongside Odenkirk, who stars in the lead role as Saul Goodman.
Appearing on stage, Odenkirk said: “Carol joined Better Call Saul to play an absolutely pivotal character, the humble Marion, who was overwhelmed by Saul’s charming fast-talking cleverness, and Marion is the one who wises up and turns Saul’s world inside out.
“Carol, you were heartbreaking, funny, and powerful in that role. I loved working with you; it was an honour.”
Odenkirk joked that he hoped Burnett would “leave a little of your DNA in the cement, ” hoping that SpaceX and Tesla owner Elon Musk “can make us 1000 Carol Burnett’s in a few years”.
US chat show host Kimmel, who presided over the ceremony, said Burnett “paved the way for so many of the funny people I admire”.
He added: “She is a comedy legend and a pioneer and all of those things, but I think most of all, she is a thoughtful and kind and absolutely delightful human being.”
After the ceremony, Burnett posed with 98-year-old Mary Poppins star Van Dyke who jokingly shouted for “help” when he accidentally dropped his cane, before dancing off the red carpet to the delight of attendees.
After becoming a hit on Broadway in Once Upon A Mattress in 1959, Burnett debuted on television. She regularly starred in The Garry Moore Show and became a household name with her gift for parody, scoring her first Emmy in 1962.
Most recently, she starred in Palm Royale as Norma, the grande dame of Palm Beach high society, alongside Dern, Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin and Allison Janney – who was also present at the ceremony.
