Status
Available
Publication
Random House (1986), Edition: 1st, 359 pages
Description
The comedienne and actress reveals how her financially desperate childhood gave her the strength and determination to enter and become a success in the difficult world of show business.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member cpprpnny770
Charming and often heart rending bio of the stars early beginnings growing up in a humble apartment raised by her grandmother. Daughter wrote broadway play based on book, Hollywood Arms.
LibraryThing member sunfi
I usually don't read memiors or biographies but I really enjoyed this one. Ms Burnett is one funny lady and I loved her show. This is the story from her childhood in a very dysfunctional but loving family to her in New York as a young woman trying to break into show business. I loved how there were
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pictures included so you could really match the stories of Nanny and Goggy to what they looked like. It was an interesting story all around. Show Less
LibraryThing member bgknighton
Well written, Carol does not hold much back. It seems to be true -- that to be a comedian you must have an unhappy/unusual childhood. It certainly holds true for her!
LibraryThing member Whisper1
Tossed around and finally sent to her grandmother, Carol's early childhood was anything but pleasant and normal.
A severe hypchondriac, her grandmother tried as best as possible, still, even this resource was limited in "normalcy."
Despite incredible odds, Carol Burnett not only overcame her tragic
A severe hypchondriac, her grandmother tried as best as possible, still, even this resource was limited in "normalcy."
Despite incredible odds, Carol Burnett not only overcame her tragic
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upbringing, surmounting almost impossible odds, but she flourished and made the very best of a childhood none should have to experience. Show Less
LibraryThing member SABC
Carol Burnett has written a touching and powerful biography of a determined and miraculous spirit who insisted on life and joy, regardless of life around her......and she found it......Enjoy!
LibraryThing member LyndaInOregon
Carol Burnett’s television show was a huge hit from 1967 through 1978. And like millions of Americans, I watched it regularly, enjoying the inspired insanity of the skits, laughing until I cried at the classic spoofs of “Gone With the Wind”, “Star Trek”, “As the World Turns”, and
But there was one regular feature of the show’s later run, that I was never comfortable with – the “Mama’s Family” routines. The underlying spirit of the segments always seemed to me to be mean-spirited. There was generally an argument, hurtful words were hurled, and Carol Burnett’s character ended up humiliated and in tears. I never understood where that rage was coming from.
Burnett doesn’t admit it, but she reveals the roots of that anger in her 1986 memoir “One More Time”. Written as a letter to her then young adult children, the book relates Burnett’s childhood and the early years of her career.
Reared by her grandmother because her mother’s and father’s alcoholism prevented them from being effective parents, Burnett spent most of her childhood in a one-room apartment, scraping by on welfare and rejecting the occasional advances of the mother she felt had abandoned her. Burnett’s mother and grandmother spent 30 years tearing at each other, often both in alcohol-fueled rages. The echoes of that horribly destructive relationship, which none of them could resolve or escape, play out painfully in the “Mama’s Family” vignettes.
Astonishingly, Burnett neither casts blame on her dysfunctional family nor takes on a pity-poor-me tone when recalling the events. They happened; she acknowledges them; she moves on.
There are happy memories here, too. Burnett recalls hanging out with neighborhood kids, finding herself in musical comedy, and receiving an amazing gift which allowed her to relocate to New York, where her career ultimately took off.
This is not a kiss-and-tell book, or a behind the scenes exposé of the often cutthroat business of television. It’s just an entertaining read that throws some light on one woman’s path to adulthood, and reflects her desire to light the path for her daughters.
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other satire-worthy targets.But there was one regular feature of the show’s later run, that I was never comfortable with – the “Mama’s Family” routines. The underlying spirit of the segments always seemed to me to be mean-spirited. There was generally an argument, hurtful words were hurled, and Carol Burnett’s character ended up humiliated and in tears. I never understood where that rage was coming from.
Burnett doesn’t admit it, but she reveals the roots of that anger in her 1986 memoir “One More Time”. Written as a letter to her then young adult children, the book relates Burnett’s childhood and the early years of her career.
Reared by her grandmother because her mother’s and father’s alcoholism prevented them from being effective parents, Burnett spent most of her childhood in a one-room apartment, scraping by on welfare and rejecting the occasional advances of the mother she felt had abandoned her. Burnett’s mother and grandmother spent 30 years tearing at each other, often both in alcohol-fueled rages. The echoes of that horribly destructive relationship, which none of them could resolve or escape, play out painfully in the “Mama’s Family” vignettes.
Astonishingly, Burnett neither casts blame on her dysfunctional family nor takes on a pity-poor-me tone when recalling the events. They happened; she acknowledges them; she moves on.
There are happy memories here, too. Burnett recalls hanging out with neighborhood kids, finding herself in musical comedy, and receiving an amazing gift which allowed her to relocate to New York, where her career ultimately took off.
This is not a kiss-and-tell book, or a behind the scenes exposé of the often cutthroat business of television. It’s just an entertaining read that throws some light on one woman’s path to adulthood, and reflects her desire to light the path for her daughters.
Show Less
LibraryThing member BONS
While reading her story, you can just forget Carol Burnett's celebrity status. She is just a young child who over came much of her childhood with the view on life that brought her into all of our homes and lives.
LibraryThing member br77rino
A very unique upbringing, down and out but right in the middle of L.A. and Hollywood. She visits Santa Monica, Sunset Blvd., Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood High, Warner Bros., the Pantages and the Egyptian, works as a movie usher and as a cleaner for the Warner Bros. studio artists. Very blunt
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appraisal of herself and all her family. Openly honest and LOLish. Show Less
LibraryThing member DVerdecia
his was an interesting read. It was interesting in that it had quite a few good little factoids about Carol Burnett's life. I read it as part of our book club's review. What I liked about Carol Burnett's book is how she described getting into show business and what her life was like growing up. She
What I didnt' like about the book is her portrayal of men, and the inconsistency in which she wrote. Getting specifics on how she started in show biz and what her big breaks were, were missing. It seemed that she did not appreciate men very much, even the one that bailed her out by loaning her $2,000 to go to New York.
I consider this a middle of the road book. Interesting enough to keep reading but some of the content was not very flattering and the style of writing was somewhat disjointed.
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did have a tough life.What I didnt' like about the book is her portrayal of men, and the inconsistency in which she wrote. Getting specifics on how she started in show biz and what her big breaks were, were missing. It seemed that she did not appreciate men very much, even the one that bailed her out by loaning her $2,000 to go to New York.
I consider this a middle of the road book. Interesting enough to keep reading but some of the content was not very flattering and the style of writing was somewhat disjointed.
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LibraryThing member bnbookgirl
#unreadshelfproject2019. A very eye-opening book about Carol’s childhood in a poorer Hollywood neighborhood. So interesting reading about her young years and how she rose above it. I have always loved her, and this book makes her even more special.
LibraryThing member c_why
Read this. Carol triumphed over insurmountable odds. The grimmest years growing up you can imagine.
Subjects
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1986-09-16
Physical description
359 p.
ISBN
9780394552545