Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin

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Carol, Carl, Whoopi, and Robin
Directed by Roger Beatty
Harvey Korman
Written by Dick Clair
Jim Evering
Jenna McMahon
Ken Welch
Mitzie Welch
Produced byDick Clair
Jenna McMahon
Stephanie Sills
StarringCarol Burnett
Carl Reiner
Whoopi Goldberg
Robin Williams
Edited by Tucker Wiard
Music byPeter Matz
Production
company
ABC
Distributed byCarsey-Werner Distribution
Kalola Productions
Release date
  • February 10, 1987 (1987-02-10)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Carol, Carl, Whoopi and Robin (also billed as A Carol Burnett Special...Carol, Carl, Whoopi, and Robin) is a comedy variety television special which aired on February 10, 1987 on ABC. It starred Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams. [1] [2] Burnett served as the host of the one hour long spinoff special from her variety series The Carol Burnett Show featuring the guest stars, Reiner, Goldberg, and Williams. The special received positive reviews praising the performances of the comedians, and received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance In A Variety Or Music Program for Robin Williams' performance in the special.

Contents

Summary

The hour-long special hosted by Carol Burnett features musical and comedy routines with Carol and guest performers, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, and Robin Williams. The four comedians, Burnett, Reiner, Goldberg and Williams introduce the show from lecterns in a mock-academic recitative number, called "Laughter," in which they examine laughter's "primary root and cause."

According to the Paley Center for Media, the sketches include the following: "Carol plays a grieving widow who is accosted at her husband's funeral by an obnoxious, loudly dressed man (Williams) who, among other things, asks inappropriate questions about the details of her spouse's death and insists that Carol keen with him; Burnett and Williams repeat the same sketch — but this time Williams unleashes his formidable ad lib gifts; Reiner and Williams have a backstage talk, which leads to a parody of Shakespeare, with Reiner performing as Laurence Olivier performing Shakespeare and Williams riffing on the Bard's characters and speeches; Carol coaxes a self-conscious Goldberg into singing a duet, called "That's a Friend"; Williams portrays an uptight businessman sitting on a park bench who is joined by hipster Goldberg, whose bongo playing brings out his wilder side; Burnett and Goldberg portray mother and daughter in a comic-poignant piece that presents the evolution of their relationship from the daughter's infancy to the mother's old age." [3]

Cast

Production

The special was directed by Roger Beatty and Harvey Korman.

Reception

John O'Connor, television critic for The New York Times praised the special describing it as "For this occasion, the star shares most of the show with her guests. Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg and Robin Williams join her for the curtain raiser, a clever musical lecture on laughing, on titters and cackles, on chuckles and chortles, and especially on guffaws." He also added that the special "adds up to an affecting reminder of how one departed television format used to be surprisingly entertaining." [4]

The Los Angeles Times critic Lee Margulies gave the special a mixed review often comparing it to The Carol Burnett Show writing, "Burnett says at the outset that the show is being taped with the same crew and in the same studio where she starred in “The Carol Burnett Show” from 1967 to 1978. With one of the same scripts, too, it seems." [5]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryRecipient(s) and nominee(s)ResultRef(s)
1987 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program Robin Williams Won [6]

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References

  1. ↑ "A Carol Burnett Special... Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Robin". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ "A Carol Burnett Special: Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Robin (1987)". British Film Institute . Archived from the original on May 5, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  3. ↑ "CAROL BURNETT SPECIAL, A: CAROL, CARL, WHOOPI & ROBIN (TV)". The Paley Center for Media . Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  4. ↑ O'Connor, John J. (10 February 1987). "TV REVIEW; 'A CAROL BURNETT SPECIAL' ON ABC". The New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  5. ↑ "TV REVIEW : BURNETT AND NEW FACES, OLD FORMAT". The Los Angeles Times . 10 February 1987. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
  6. ↑ "A Carol Burnett Special: Carol, Carl, Whoopi & Rob". Emmys.com. Retrieved June 25, 2021.
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