Carol Burnett = one of the smartest, most influential, widely admired and hard working women in popular entertainment (or any business). Her Mrs Wiggins character = the exact opposite!
Carol credits costume designer Bob Mackie for creating the Wiggins walk. When she first tried on the skirt, the seat was too baggy, so Mackie told her to walk with her butt stuck out.
For some reason, as a kid, I didn't care for CBS... (One of only 3 or 4 channels we got back then) I didnt catch on to this show till near it's end... All i can say now is, as an adult, thank gawd for RU-vid!!
3:32 "Are you going to memorize this?" 5:38 "ComeOnRightInHereNowMissisAWhi...--HelloHello? 9:15 "Dis is a-gettin-a almost comical... Ima beginnin to laugh at you myself on dis ONE!"
Carol Burnett looked so beautiful in that wig she wore when she played the character Mrs. Wiggins on ''The Carol Burnett Show''. Of course she was and is beautiful without wearing that wig.
Carol Burnett has always had class and continues to have class. I cannot say enough good things about her. In real life, she brokered a liver transplant for Jim Nabors. She was friends with Lucille Ball. What can you say about such a wonderful human being?
One of my favs....Carol Burnett proved you do not have to have dirty language and sexual themes to be funny. I think those are too easy....stuff like this is hard.
Today's "Offended Culture" wouldn't be able to handle these great shows. Everyone was a target back then and we all laughed at each other. No offense was ever taken. We need to get back to that again. Offended Culture, you are not safe here.
In the 1970s, EVERY girl had a pair of black high heels. There were restaurants that wouldn't allow you in without them. It was part of the "Proper Dress Required" signs that were hung on the entrances of all good restaurants back then. Those are history now.
Carol was not ok here, she was doing the minimal, and being a pro she was doing her part, but U can feel she was somehow very sad... These people have my deepest respect, their work is so hard considering they have a life to live like all of us, with good and bad.
This wasn't the first one. You can find the dress rehearsal footage of the sketch in which she was hired. It's easily found by doing a search for "Father Duffy."
actually, thanks to the Antenna network, I have been watching a lot of those old shows... I can't believe that our parents let us watch this stuff. Re-Watch Good Times for example - Oh my WORD!!! all they talked about was hooking up with this girl or that. Wilona was the first Ghetto-Fabulous woman on TV!
She was a very hot redhead! She could dance and sing, do everything. Super-talented. Being funny is probably the sexiest overall trait a woman can have. Madeline Kahn is up there too, as far as talent + looks go.
How can this be the first? There's the episode where Tudball hires Mrs. Wiggins...BTW one of the funniest RU-vid is the outtake "Father Duffy" version... Conway pronounced her name "Wiggins" instead of the "Whiggins" he evolved the accent into. Plus his hair is completely different from the obvious toupe the character has in later incarnations.
I think when the writing died is when they went to reality TV shows like Survivor. That's all that dominated the new millennium along with talent shows. Pretty pathetic signs of the times for television. But television is dead anyways. Who would wait for a network to air something when you can go online and watch what you want, when you want. Hulu, Netflix, RU-vid. Nobody alive today has seen anything like this technology we enjoy today. Now let's find some comedy writers ...
Funny you should use Robin Williams as an example because he is signed on to a tv show "The Crazy Ones" starting this season. (I do agree, though, that so called 'reality tv' sucks)
@@MaskedMan66agreed... if it wasn't funny, it wouldn't have been on the air for so long. Funny though, how relatability affects humor. Without commonness or understanding of the times/ingredients, those with a more naturally serious disposition won't pick up on WHY it's funny. My niece, while attending college between 2008 and 2011, had a professor that was impressed that she even knew who Laurel and Hardy were, let alone enjoy them. Together, they made a special day of having her entire class watch "Way Out West". She said nobody in her class thought it was funny at all, just dumb. Again, subtleties mixing with an audience that has no knowledge of understanding the times or why those things make it humorous. My niece didn't realize until later that even though she thought she understood, she came to realize she understood because grandpa used to explain a lot of things to her when she was little, about how things were back then, "so watch what happens!" and she'd know why it was funny and laugh her little butt off. I raised my kids the same way.... let them experience through a little teaching, what made Laurel and Hardy, the Three Stooges, Abbott and Costello, Harold Lloyd, Looney Tunes, and countless classic TV shows so timelessly funny. They still like some of the modern programming that I could care less about, but they still talk about the classics and wonder if anything like that will ever be recreated? I have my doubts.... genius is seldom allowed to shine these days, it is certainly unappreciated.
@@MaskedMan66 Very good and honest question.... one to which I would say, if there is, they're being stifled. The last person I would've allowed this title was Robin Williams. Granted his last efforts didn't showcase that much but I really do think his depression was taking over by the time he did his last show. But in all honesty, there's nothing he wasn't capable of and no generation he didn't do applicable work for. All the big names now take the easy, predictable roads and they're nowhere near the level of the old greats. Nothing compares to the old variety skits, sitcoms, comic stars. I dabble in writing so I have to admit, I'm impressed from time to time with the writing that gets used on Big Bang Theory, but not always. Science and humor can be a tough mix and they created a respectable ensemble that again, shows in its results of longevity, but none of the actors/actresses made that show or created the magic of it. You know who was a comic genius but is rarely mentioned in any article or conversation? Maurey (Morey?) Amsterdam! His exchanges with "Mel" on the Dick Van Dyke show were stellar and if you find him on old episodes of "Match Game", his ad-lib, off-the-cuff interactive commentary is to die for! Heard one the other day after someone said something stupid and he goes, "I know there's a joke in there but we haven't got time for a scavenger hunt." He's always quick if he's got anything and it's always out of left field awesome!
@Kenneth Goin Morey was his name, and yes, he was brilliant, especially when paired with Rose Marie. There may be something in your idea of real smart and funny comics being stifled. America began to develop a love affair with mediocrity in the 1990's which has descended into a mania for banality and even talentlessness. It's a real "Harrison Bergeron" situation.
Such and underrated gem. I wasn’t fortunate enough to be alive when this was on tv but I’m so glad the series is on dvd. New generations getting to enjoy this masterclass series in comedy.
I remember watching this skit when it was on TV. Some of us grew up with good programming on TV. Nowadays TV is ruined by reality shows. Unfortunately, good TV programs are a thing of the past. I feel sorry for todays generation.
As can be seen by the various comments, great humor is wasted on the young. This cast had the best working chemistry of any variety show bar none. Nothing like it since.
My family watched this show every Saturday evening, from its first season to its last.I was in my teens when the last episode aired, and felt like crying.I knew I was gonna miss it.It is on Antenna TV now days.The show is still hilarious, I always liked the parodies of old movies...Korman sure did Rhett Butler perfect.Also liked As the Stomach Turns.
Once upon a time long, long ago in the great state of Indiana I was blessed to have a Mrs. Wiggins-type gal working for me. It/she caused me to attempt to kill my cat!
I watched this when I was a kid, when it originally aired. Laughed my butt off, like I did every week watching Carol's show. But it's funny how humor tastes change over time...
Humor tastes haven't really changed. It's just the newer writers and comedians have.....and clearly demonstrate they have less talent than these masters.
Does anyone know the name of the Tudball and Wiggins sketch in which Tim went off the script saying to Carol (as Wiggins) that "she had the same-a shape as Africa"? I'd love to see that full sketch.
