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Carol Burnett Returns to the 'Mattress'

This Sunday night, Carol Burnett returns to the nation's televisions in a version of Once Upon a Mattress, in which she'll play Queen Aggravian. The role comes more than 40 years after Burnett launched her career with the role of Princess in the Broadway version of Mattress. She won a Tony award for her work.

After that milestone, Burnett earned wide critical and popular acclaim and an Emmy for her work on The Garry Moore Show (from 1959-62). Her variety show The Carol Burnett Show, which debuted in 1967, was popular until it went off the air in 1978. In the years it was on the air, the show won 22 Emmys.

In addition, Burnett has starred or appeared in a number of TV movies and specials. In 2003, she was one of the Kennedy Center Honorees. She is also the author of a memoir One More Time. There s also a DVD collection of The Carol Burnett Show (Paramount collection). This interview originally aired on Oct. 13, 2003.

Copyright 2022 Fresh Air. To see more, visit Fresh Air.

Combine an intelligent interviewer with a roster of guests that, according to the Chicago Tribune, would be prized by any talk-show host, and you're bound to get an interesting conversation. Fresh Air interviews, though, are in a category by themselves, distinguished by the unique approach of host and executive producer Terry Gross. "A remarkable blend of empathy and warmth, genuine curiosity and sharp intelligence," says the San Francisco Chronicle.