1
00:00:06,606 --> 00:00:09,609
I'm the luckiest old broad
on two feet.

2
00:00:09,609 --> 00:00:14,447
I feel like television for women
has always been a better place.

3
00:00:14,447 --> 00:00:18,385
I never really thought I would
ever do comedy like we did.

4
00:00:18,385 --> 00:00:22,022
♪ To carry on ♪

5
00:00:22,022 --> 00:00:24,958
♪ You light up... ♪

6
00:00:24,958 --> 00:00:27,227
Then I thought,
I like to hear the laughs.

7
00:00:27,227 --> 00:00:31,664
♪ ...life ♪

8
00:00:40,440 --> 00:00:42,742
There have always been
funny ladies.

9
00:00:42,742 --> 00:00:44,244
I've never worked in anything

10
00:00:44,244 --> 00:00:46,346
where I didn't give everything
I have.

11
00:00:46,346 --> 00:00:49,783
Every lady on this show
is a killer.

12
00:01:01,761 --> 00:01:04,164
SEACREST: They brought a whole
new perspective

13
00:01:04,164 --> 00:01:05,632
to television comedy.

14
00:01:05,632 --> 00:01:09,636
I never thought I was going to
be paving any way for anybody.

15
00:01:09,636 --> 00:01:11,638
<i>iAy, caramba!</i>

16
00:01:11,638 --> 00:01:13,807
[Audience applauds]

17
00:01:13,807 --> 00:01:15,275
Charo!

18
00:01:15,275 --> 00:01:19,045
You have to tell the truth,
that's what comedy's all about.

19
00:01:19,045 --> 00:01:22,148
Today, kids have drugs and sex
and nervous breakdowns.

20
00:01:22,148 --> 00:01:24,217
It was a lot different
in my day.

21
00:01:24,217 --> 00:01:27,587
We had to go out
and find our own fun.

22
00:01:27,587 --> 00:01:31,024
She didn't care about
anybody but the audience

23
00:01:31,024 --> 00:01:34,360
and making them laugh,
and it was so genius.

24
00:01:34,360 --> 00:01:36,696
Look, miss, I was just
about to have a drink

25
00:01:36,696 --> 00:01:38,531
and I wouldn't mind
some company.

26
00:01:38,531 --> 00:01:39,966
Want one?
No, thank you.

27
00:01:39,966 --> 00:01:43,036
I really wanted to be able
to express myself.

28
00:01:43,036 --> 00:01:45,438
I said I wouldn't mind
some company.

29
00:01:45,438 --> 00:01:50,076
Well, all right, I'll have
a Brandy Alexander.

30
00:01:50,076 --> 00:01:52,712
I think she was very funny.

31
00:01:56,716 --> 00:01:59,052
You know, things like
the candy factory

32
00:01:59,052 --> 00:02:00,553
and Vitameatavegamin.

33
00:02:00,553 --> 00:02:07,327
The answer to all your problems
is in this little old bottle.

34
00:02:07,327 --> 00:02:09,395
Those are precise, excellent,

35
00:02:09,395 --> 00:02:11,898
just fantastic pieces
of comedy.

36
00:02:11,898 --> 00:02:14,167
Lucy Ball, Carol Burnett --

37
00:02:14,167 --> 00:02:16,002
look at what they did
for young women.

38
00:02:16,002 --> 00:02:17,837
We have young women doing
comedy today

39
00:02:17,837 --> 00:02:20,173
that wouldn't have done it
without those two women.

40
00:02:22,475 --> 00:02:25,812
SEACREST: They opened doors
for women everywhere.

41
00:02:25,812 --> 00:02:28,548
You can get laughs
while making a point.

42
00:02:28,548 --> 00:02:30,183
Can I get you
a drink?

43
00:02:30,183 --> 00:02:32,585
Yes, thank you.
A Scotch. Neat.

44
00:02:32,585 --> 00:02:35,922
Don't worry,
you'll get a clean glass.

45
00:02:35,922 --> 00:02:38,424
But sometimes you're doing
something

46
00:02:38,424 --> 00:02:41,628
you never dreamed you'd do
in our silly business.

47
00:02:41,628 --> 00:02:45,298
Come sit beside me.

48
00:02:45,298 --> 00:02:50,570
<i>[ Romantic music plays ]</i>

49
00:02:52,772 --> 00:02:56,276
SEACREST: More than anything,
they entertained us.

50
00:02:56,276 --> 00:03:00,079
We never broke up on purpose.
Never.

51
00:03:00,079 --> 00:03:02,248
I was at this freak show
one time and I,

52
00:03:02,248 --> 00:03:05,652
I saw
these Siamese elephants.

53
00:03:14,327 --> 00:03:16,329
I'm not a funny person.

54
00:03:16,329 --> 00:03:19,866
I'm silly as hell, but...

55
00:03:19,866 --> 00:03:22,168
I'm sorry, but this is
a very critical time.

56
00:03:22,168 --> 00:03:24,003
Well, I'm sorry, this Is

57
00:03:24,003 --> 00:03:28,007
a very critical time
for me, too!

58
00:03:28,007 --> 00:03:31,878
SEACREST: Together,
they redefined the role

59
00:03:31,878 --> 00:03:33,179
of women in comedy.

60
00:03:33,179 --> 00:03:36,950
Isn't it exciting work we do?
Hot-diggity-dog!

61
00:03:36,950 --> 00:03:40,753
SEACREST: They are
the pioneers of television.

62
00:03:49,629 --> 00:03:51,965
SEACREST: From a very early age,

63
00:03:51,965 --> 00:03:56,502
all of television's funny ladies
imagined a journey to stardom.

64
00:03:56,502 --> 00:04:01,241
But no one came
further than Carol Burnett.

65
00:04:01,241 --> 00:04:04,777
Raised by her grandmother
in a tiny one-room apartment

66
00:04:04,777 --> 00:04:07,313
in this Hollywood
tenement building,

67
00:04:07,313 --> 00:04:11,117
her hopes of fame seemed like
an impossible dream.

68
00:04:11,117 --> 00:04:14,153
BURNETT: We used to climb
the Hollywood sign.

69
00:04:14,153 --> 00:04:15,922
The "O"s were my favorite.

70
00:04:15,922 --> 00:04:19,192
I would climb up on the "O"s
and go,

71
00:04:19,192 --> 00:04:22,095
"Hollywood,
I'll beat you yet!"

72
00:04:22,095 --> 00:04:23,696
Oh, we
had more fun.

73
00:04:25,198 --> 00:04:26,899
SEACREST: In her early 20s,

74
00:04:26,899 --> 00:04:29,335
Carol followed her dream
to New York.

75
00:04:29,335 --> 00:04:35,108
But her fantasy of singing
on Broadway wasn't coming true.

76
00:04:35,108 --> 00:04:38,244
I remember once I was
at an audition

77
00:04:38,244 --> 00:04:43,983
and it was narrowed down
to another girl and me.

78
00:04:43,983 --> 00:04:46,886
And she got the part.

79
00:04:46,886 --> 00:04:51,291
And I just said to myself,
it was her time.

80
00:04:51,291 --> 00:04:56,262
It wasn't my time,
it was her time to get that job.

81
00:04:56,262 --> 00:04:58,031
My time will come.

82
00:04:58,031 --> 00:05:01,734
SEACREST: Carol Burnett's time
finally did come,

83
00:05:01,734 --> 00:05:05,305
thanks partly to this man,
John Foster Dulles.

84
00:05:05,305 --> 00:05:08,174
As the U.S. Secretary of State,
Dulles was perceived

85
00:05:08,174 --> 00:05:09,676
as a serious policy expert,

86
00:05:09,676 --> 00:05:12,145
and perhaps the most boring man
in America.

87
00:05:12,145 --> 00:05:14,614
<i>We worked out a declaration</i>
<i>that the treaty</i>

88
00:05:14,614 --> 00:05:17,617
<i>does not in any way give effect</i>
<i>to the Yalta agreement,</i>

89
00:05:17,617 --> 00:05:20,086
<i>which some people feared</i>
<i>might be the case.</i>

90
00:05:20,086 --> 00:05:22,121
SEACREST: So, when Carol
sang a song

91
00:05:22,121 --> 00:05:23,690
idolizing John Foster Dulles,

92
00:05:23,690 --> 00:05:25,591
it caught the nation's
attention.

93
00:05:25,591 --> 00:05:28,761
♪ I made a fool of myself ♪

94
00:05:28,761 --> 00:05:33,933
♪ Over John Foster Dulles ♪

95
00:05:33,933 --> 00:05:35,735
He was really dull.

96
00:05:35,735 --> 00:05:37,904
And so, it became
a funny song

97
00:05:37,904 --> 00:05:41,441
because it was a takeoff
on all the girls at that time

98
00:05:41,441 --> 00:05:43,242
who were crazy about Elvis.

99
00:05:43,242 --> 00:05:46,646
♪ The third time I saw him
'twas at the UN ♪

100
00:05:46,646 --> 00:05:49,582
♪ Oh, I never had been one
to swoon over men ♪

101
00:05:49,582 --> 00:05:53,286
♪ But I swooned and the drums
started pounding and then ♪

102
00:05:53,286 --> 00:05:55,688
♪ I made a fool of myself ♪

103
00:05:55,688 --> 00:05:58,958
♪ Over John ♪

104
00:05:58,958 --> 00:06:02,295
♪ Foster Dulles ♪

105
00:06:02,295 --> 00:06:05,298
SEACREST: Over the course
of a few days,

106
00:06:05,298 --> 00:06:09,168
Carol sang the song on
network television three times.

107
00:06:09,168 --> 00:06:14,173
Within a week, Carol Burnett
was a household name.

108
00:06:14,173 --> 00:06:18,111
"I'm in Love
with John Foster Dulles."

109
00:06:18,111 --> 00:06:20,246
She made <i>Life</i> magazine
with it,

110
00:06:20,246 --> 00:06:22,315
and she
became a known person.

111
00:06:22,315 --> 00:06:25,985
John Foster Dulles, which got
everybody's attention.

112
00:06:25,985 --> 00:06:29,055
She had a natural,
great contralto voice

113
00:06:29,055 --> 00:06:33,126
and the face and the body
and the everything for comedy.

114
00:06:33,126 --> 00:06:34,560
I mean we all knew

115
00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:37,997
that something was going
to happen with Carol.

116
00:06:40,266 --> 00:06:42,935
SEACREST: Like Carol Burnett,
Joan Rivers

117
00:06:42,935 --> 00:06:46,205
also had dreams of stardom,
from the very beginning.

118
00:06:46,205 --> 00:06:49,175
From the time I was
3 years old

119
00:06:49,175 --> 00:06:53,146
and could put thoughts together,
that was it.

120
00:06:53,146 --> 00:06:55,715
I sat in a movie theater
in Brooklyn

121
00:06:55,715 --> 00:06:57,984
and I'm sitting there
thinking,

122
00:06:57,984 --> 00:06:59,619
"This is a mistake.

123
00:06:59,619 --> 00:07:03,656
I should be up there --
she should be watching me.

124
00:07:03,656 --> 00:07:06,359
Let her eat the goo-goos."

125
00:07:06,359 --> 00:07:09,328
SEACREST: Young Joan Rivers
fought her way

126
00:07:09,328 --> 00:07:11,431
into
obscure amateur plays,

127
00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:13,733
but paying acting jobs
eluded her.

128
00:07:13,733 --> 00:07:17,170
When she learned about a comic
who had made $6 a night,

129
00:07:17,170 --> 00:07:18,838
she was intrigued.

130
00:07:18,838 --> 00:07:22,108
Six dollars a night
doing comedy.

131
00:07:22,108 --> 00:07:24,710
That's more than I was making
as a Kelly Girl.

132
00:07:24,710 --> 00:07:27,814
I went to see him and
I thought, "I can do that.

133
00:07:27,814 --> 00:07:30,850
This is stupid.
That's nothing, I can do that."

134
00:07:30,850 --> 00:07:34,120
And that's how I started --
little did I know.

135
00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,623
SEACREST: Before long,
Joan was in Chicago,

136
00:07:37,623 --> 00:07:39,559
on stage at Second City,

137
00:07:39,559 --> 00:07:42,862
building her comic repertoire,
honing the skills

138
00:07:42,862 --> 00:07:45,598
that would make her
a television star.

139
00:07:45,598 --> 00:07:47,433
A lot of people get into bed
and watch television.

140
00:07:47,433 --> 00:07:49,502
Edgar always takes a book
to bed,

141
00:07:49,502 --> 00:07:51,838
which is terrific
on my wedding night.

142
00:07:51,838 --> 00:07:54,240
Are you ready for that one?

143
00:07:54,240 --> 00:07:57,410
RIVERS: Second City
changed my life.

144
00:07:57,410 --> 00:08:00,480
To this day, everything I do
on stage is out of Second City.

145
00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:02,849
It's a great way to spend
your 20s.

146
00:08:02,849 --> 00:08:06,352
It's just really fun, and it
opens people up creatively.

147
00:08:06,352 --> 00:08:08,955
It makes you a better
risk taker in general.

148
00:08:08,955 --> 00:08:13,392
SEACREST: Eventually Joan Rivers
found herself in Los Angeles,

149
00:08:13,392 --> 00:08:16,829
working the comedy clubs,
hoping for that one shot

150
00:08:16,829 --> 00:08:18,965
on Johnny Carson's
"Tonight Show"

151
00:08:18,965 --> 00:08:21,300
that could make her
a star overnight.

152
00:08:21,300 --> 00:08:25,605
For seven years, the
"Tonight Show" bookers passed.

153
00:08:25,605 --> 00:08:28,441
Seven years and they would
come and they would say things

154
00:08:28,441 --> 00:08:29,909
like, they would always say,

155
00:08:29,909 --> 00:08:32,845
"There's a very funny girl down
there, you should see her."

156
00:08:32,845 --> 00:08:34,881
Then they'd say,
"Too rough, too wild,

157
00:08:34,881 --> 00:08:37,483
talking about things a woman
shouldn't talk about."

158
00:08:40,386 --> 00:08:42,755
SEACREST: Finally,
Johnny Carson opened

159
00:08:42,755 --> 00:08:44,123
his door to Joan Rivers

160
00:08:44,123 --> 00:08:48,027
and gave her a shot
on the "Tonight Show."

161
00:08:48,027 --> 00:08:52,298
Carson and I clicked.
He got me immediately.

162
00:08:52,298 --> 00:08:56,469
Immediately. And on the air,
he said to me,

163
00:08:56,469 --> 00:09:01,207
"You're going to be a star,"
and it still gets me.

164
00:09:01,207 --> 00:09:03,876
WOMAN: 1, 2...

165
00:09:03,876 --> 00:09:06,646
SEACREST: Mary Tyler Moore's
plans for stardom

166
00:09:06,646 --> 00:09:08,481
began in a dance studio.

167
00:09:08,481 --> 00:09:12,018
As a teen,
she practiced every day.

168
00:09:12,018 --> 00:09:16,289
But in Hollywood, her dreams
faced a major obstacle.

169
00:09:16,289 --> 00:09:18,224
I was a chorus dancer.

170
00:09:18,224 --> 00:09:22,128
I wanted to be a star dancer,
but they weren't

171
00:09:22,128 --> 00:09:24,530
making
that many musicals anymore.

172
00:09:24,530 --> 00:09:27,633
SEACREST: But Mary Tyler Moore
had a combination

173
00:09:27,633 --> 00:09:29,402
that was rare in Hollywood.

174
00:09:29,402 --> 00:09:32,004
She was
both beautiful and vulnerable,

175
00:09:32,004 --> 00:09:34,540
the idealized, fresh-faced
"girl next door."

176
00:09:34,540 --> 00:09:36,742
MOORE: I was very lucky
because I had

177
00:09:36,742 --> 00:09:40,246
kind of an All-American face
and demeanor.

178
00:09:40,246 --> 00:09:43,382
And I was easily cast
in small roles,

179
00:09:43,382 --> 00:09:46,018
but then that's where I
got my experience.

180
00:09:46,018 --> 00:09:50,556
SEACREST: Small acting jobs came
quickly for Mary Tyler Moore,

181
00:09:50,556 --> 00:09:54,093
but they didn't bring fame.

182
00:09:54,093 --> 00:09:56,395
Stuck in supporting roles,
Mary Tyler Moore

183
00:09:56,395 --> 00:09:58,764
considered leaving
show business altogether.

184
00:09:58,764 --> 00:10:00,433
At one point,
she took a test

185
00:10:00,433 --> 00:10:03,436
to determine what other jobs
she might be good at.

186
00:10:03,436 --> 00:10:06,672
And it was three days
of testing.

187
00:10:06,672 --> 00:10:09,742
And at the end of it,
the result was

188
00:10:09,742 --> 00:10:14,981
that I would be best suited for
work either as a model

189
00:10:14,981 --> 00:10:18,317
or a member
of the armed forces.

190
00:10:18,317 --> 00:10:21,854
[Chuckles]

191
00:10:21,854 --> 00:10:26,392
SEACREST:
When she heard Carl Reiner was casting a new sitcom,

192
00:10:26,392 --> 00:10:28,894
Mary Tyler Moore didn't even
want to try for the part.

193
00:10:28,894 --> 00:10:30,596
After all, Reiner was
interviewing

194
00:10:30,596 --> 00:10:34,900
dozens of more experienced
actresses for the role

195
00:10:34,900 --> 00:10:37,870
of Laura Petrie,
like Pat Crowley.

196
00:10:37,870 --> 00:10:41,807
I did meet with Carl Reiner
at his house.

197
00:10:41,807 --> 00:10:44,644
That was something I would love
to have done.

198
00:10:44,644 --> 00:10:47,880
I would love to have done
"The Dick Van Dyke Show."

199
00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:50,416
SEACREST:
Carl Reiner's staff called Mary,

200
00:10:50,416 --> 00:10:53,719
but she still didn't think
it was even worth auditioning.

201
00:10:53,719 --> 00:10:56,288
And I was feeling very sorry
for myself.

202
00:10:56,288 --> 00:10:58,924
And I was having coffee
with a girlfriend.

203
00:10:58,924 --> 00:11:01,427
And she said,
"Well, that's ridiculous,

204
00:11:01,427 --> 00:11:04,263
you just put that cup down
and get in the car

205
00:11:04,263 --> 00:11:06,599
and go over
and interview for this,"

206
00:11:06,599 --> 00:11:08,167
'The Dick Van Dyke Show.'

207
00:11:08,167 --> 00:11:09,402
And I did.

208
00:11:09,402 --> 00:11:13,339
And Carl Reiner just looked
at me

209
00:11:13,339 --> 00:11:15,841
with a kind of a look
of awe on his face.

210
00:11:15,841 --> 00:11:18,277
He communicated to me
right away

211
00:11:18,277 --> 00:11:20,813
that I was going to get
that role.

212
00:11:20,813 --> 00:11:23,549
SEACREST: Getting that first
big role,

213
00:11:23,549 --> 00:11:25,818
it wasn't easy
for Mary Tyler Moore

214
00:11:25,818 --> 00:11:27,920
or Carol Burnett
or Joan Rivers.

215
00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,357
But the obstacles were even
larger for a woman of color.

216
00:11:31,357 --> 00:11:36,128
Throughout the 1930s,
'40s and '50s,

217
00:11:36,128 --> 00:11:39,365
one of the highest-paid
standup comics in America

218
00:11:39,365 --> 00:11:42,368
was an African-American
woman, Jackie Mabley,

219
00:11:42,368 --> 00:11:46,672
but no TV show would book her
until the late 1960s,

220
00:11:46,672 --> 00:11:48,808
near the end of her career.

221
00:11:48,808 --> 00:11:51,944
And ugly...

222
00:11:58,017 --> 00:12:04,123
He was so ugly, honest to
goodness, he hurt my feelings.

223
00:12:04,123 --> 00:12:06,025
[Applause]

224
00:12:08,861 --> 00:12:11,130
SEACREST: Even in the 1970s,
women of color

225
00:12:11,130 --> 00:12:13,599
still faced challenges breaking
into television.

226
00:12:13,599 --> 00:12:17,036
Nearly everyone on TV was
white and young.

227
00:12:17,036 --> 00:12:20,372
Anyone who didn't fit
the mold faced skepticism.

228
00:12:20,372 --> 00:12:22,575
When I first started,
they said,

229
00:12:22,575 --> 00:12:25,344
"Well, what makes you think
you can do it?

230
00:12:25,344 --> 00:12:27,913
You're not beautiful,
you're not young.

231
00:12:27,913 --> 00:12:29,849
Young girls are having
a hard time."

232
00:12:29,849 --> 00:12:31,917
I said, "Somebody's got
to be the aunt,

233
00:12:31,917 --> 00:12:34,253
somebody's got to be the mother,
why not me?"

234
00:12:34,253 --> 00:12:37,123
SEACREST: After years
of rejections,

235
00:12:37,123 --> 00:12:40,926
Marla Gibbs landed a small role
in a single episode

236
00:12:40,926 --> 00:12:42,528
of "The Jeffersons."

237
00:12:42,528 --> 00:12:44,597
She had just one
big line,

238
00:12:44,597 --> 00:12:48,033
and how she delivered it
would change her career.

239
00:12:48,033 --> 00:12:50,002
You live in this apartment,
right? Uh-huh.

240
00:12:50,002 --> 00:12:52,138
And you've got an apartment
in this building, too?

241
00:12:52,138 --> 00:12:53,372
Yes,
that's right.

242
00:12:53,372 --> 00:12:57,977
Well, how come we overcame
and nobody told me?

243
00:13:08,187 --> 00:13:11,557
The role reminded me so much of
my grandmother and my aunt,

244
00:13:11,557 --> 00:13:14,059
so I delivered it the way
they would have.

245
00:13:14,059 --> 00:13:16,028
And it just
went over very big.

246
00:13:16,028 --> 00:13:18,731
SEACREST: Marla Gibbs parlayed
that one appearance

247
00:13:18,731 --> 00:13:21,100
into a regular starring role
on one of TV's

248
00:13:21,100 --> 00:13:25,037
longest running sitcoms,
"The Jeffersons."

249
00:13:25,037 --> 00:13:26,172
[Doorbell rings]

250
00:13:26,172 --> 00:13:27,606
Florence, get the door.

251
00:13:27,606 --> 00:13:29,375
You told me to stay
in the kitchen.

252
00:13:29,375 --> 00:13:30,976
Get the door!

253
00:13:32,711 --> 00:13:35,281
Just because you're a boss

254
00:13:35,281 --> 00:13:37,449
don't mean you've got to be
so lazy.

255
00:13:37,449 --> 00:13:39,618
You're closer to the door
than I am.

256
00:13:39,618 --> 00:13:42,388
You could have it opened,
answered, and shut

257
00:13:42,388 --> 00:13:44,456
before I even got near it!

258
00:13:44,456 --> 00:13:47,426
SEACREST: Eventually
Marla Gibbs became

259
00:13:47,426 --> 00:13:51,497
the first African-American woman
to have creative control

260
00:13:51,497 --> 00:13:53,666
over her own sitcom, "227."

261
00:13:53,666 --> 00:13:55,835
She wasn't afraid to
take charge.

262
00:13:55,835 --> 00:13:58,103
GIBBS: They have a joke,
they said,

263
00:13:58,103 --> 00:13:59,805
"Marla, you picked this joke

264
00:13:59,805 --> 00:14:02,374
and we like
this joke better."

265
00:14:02,374 --> 00:14:04,343
I said, "Do you? You know
what we're going to do?

266
00:14:04,343 --> 00:14:05,778
We're going to take some
scissors

267
00:14:05,778 --> 00:14:07,980
and we're going to cut that
joke out and give it to you

268
00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:09,849
and you can take it home
and keep it forever."

269
00:14:09,849 --> 00:14:11,584
At first they'd say...

270
00:14:11,584 --> 00:14:13,752
And just where do you think
you're going, young lady?

271
00:14:13,752 --> 00:14:15,087
Just over to the park, Mama.

272
00:14:15,087 --> 00:14:16,956
Calvin wants to show me
where he goes

273
00:14:16,956 --> 00:14:18,757
when he wants to think
about things.

274
00:14:18,757 --> 00:14:22,228
Huh. Must be
a very small place.

275
00:14:26,832 --> 00:14:30,870
SEACREST: America's most beloved
funny lady came to television

276
00:14:30,870 --> 00:14:35,007
with more comedy experience than
almost anyone before, or since.

277
00:14:35,007 --> 00:14:40,179
Lucille Ball was nearly 40
when "I Love Lucy" premiered,

278
00:14:40,179 --> 00:14:44,483
with two decades of comic roles
on her resumé, playing opposite

279
00:14:44,483 --> 00:14:46,986
The Marx Brothers,
Abbott and Costello,

280
00:14:46,986 --> 00:14:49,788
Red Skelton, the Three Stooges,
and Bob Hope.

281
00:14:49,788 --> 00:14:52,591
Oh, I'll never forget
Lady Cunningham's hair.

282
00:14:52,591 --> 00:14:55,961
She had me comb it in a huge bun
on the top of her head.

283
00:14:55,961 --> 00:14:57,363
It was very striking.

284
00:14:57,363 --> 00:14:59,899
How uninteresting.
Everywhere she went, people would say,

285
00:14:59,899 --> 00:15:02,401
"There goes Lady Cunningham,
she's the one with the bun on."

286
00:15:02,401 --> 00:15:07,106
Ha ha!
They were quaint folk.

287
00:15:09,508 --> 00:15:12,478
SEACREST: Lucy's skill for
getting laughs was no accident.

288
00:15:12,478 --> 00:15:13,913
She was formally trained

289
00:15:13,913 --> 00:15:19,685
in the precise art of physical
comedy in her early days at MGM.

290
00:15:19,685 --> 00:15:23,856
CARROLL: As Lucy told it,
Rags Ragland and Buster Keaton

291
00:15:23,856 --> 00:15:25,925
were under contract to MGM.

292
00:15:25,925 --> 00:15:29,662
Their job really was to take
the young contract players

293
00:15:29,662 --> 00:15:31,230
and teach them comedy.

294
00:15:31,230 --> 00:15:34,400
And the first things that
those gentlemen would do

295
00:15:34,400 --> 00:15:36,402
was tell them
to take a prop.

296
00:15:36,402 --> 00:15:39,505
Learn that prop so it's
an extension of your body.

297
00:15:39,505 --> 00:15:41,006
And Lucy was

298
00:15:41,006 --> 00:15:45,411
the most excellent example of
someone who could handle a prop

299
00:15:45,411 --> 00:15:47,079
and made it artistry.

300
00:15:47,079 --> 00:15:48,380
She was amazing.

301
00:15:48,380 --> 00:15:51,684
So she learned her lessons
very, very well,

302
00:15:51,684 --> 00:15:54,520
from two masters
of physical comedy.

303
00:15:54,520 --> 00:15:56,021
She would say something like,

304
00:15:56,021 --> 00:15:57,890
"Okay, the punch line
is gonna be,

305
00:15:57,890 --> 00:15:59,525
I'm going to say, 'Eat the pie.'

306
00:15:59,525 --> 00:16:02,361
Count to three
before you answer me,

307
00:16:02,361 --> 00:16:04,496
because that's
how long the applause will take,

308
00:16:04,496 --> 00:16:06,231
or that's how long the laugh
will take."

309
00:16:06,231 --> 00:16:07,399
She was right!

310
00:16:07,399 --> 00:16:10,803
SEACREST: In the '30s and '40s,

311
00:16:10,803 --> 00:16:13,305
Hollywood presumed
that for a woman to be funny,

312
00:16:13,305 --> 00:16:15,441
she'd have to make herself
unattractive.

313
00:16:15,441 --> 00:16:21,113
But Lucille Ball rejected that
stereotype from the beginning.

314
00:16:21,113 --> 00:16:25,084
Lucille Ball was beautiful.
Nobody remembers that.

315
00:16:25,084 --> 00:16:28,587
If you look at the early films
of Lucy Ball,

316
00:16:28,587 --> 00:16:32,391
she was always a knock-down-
drag-out-gorgeous lady.

317
00:16:32,391 --> 00:16:34,994
Sometimes she was dramatic,
sometimes she was comedic,

318
00:16:34,994 --> 00:16:37,329
but she could have done
anything she wanted to.

319
00:16:37,329 --> 00:16:40,366
SEACREST: What Lucy wanted to do
in 1950

320
00:16:40,366 --> 00:16:43,068
was keep her husband
close to home.

321
00:16:43,068 --> 00:16:47,272
A bandleader, Desi Arnaz
traveled the country to perform.

322
00:16:47,272 --> 00:16:49,742
But if he starred
with Lucy in a weekly TV show,

323
00:16:49,742 --> 00:16:52,578
the couple could spend
more time together.

324
00:16:52,578 --> 00:16:56,348
On October 15th, 1951,
"I Love Lucy" premiered.

325
00:16:56,348 --> 00:16:58,984
Look, Lucy, Monday's Fred's
anniversary

326
00:16:58,984 --> 00:17:01,320
and he wants to go
to the fights.

327
00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:03,122
Well, Monday's Ethel's
anniversary, too,

328
00:17:03,122 --> 00:17:04,757
and she wants to go
to a night club.

329
00:17:04,757 --> 00:17:08,594
Fred is not going to go
to any stuffy night club.

330
00:17:08,594 --> 00:17:11,096
Well, Ethel's not going
to any stale fight.

331
00:17:11,096 --> 00:17:13,098
Lucy, don't push me
too far.

332
00:17:13,098 --> 00:17:15,034
It's the fights
or nothing.

333
00:17:15,034 --> 00:17:17,136
Well, is that final?
Final.

334
00:17:17,136 --> 00:17:19,004
You brought this on
yourself.

335
00:17:19,004 --> 00:17:20,472
Ethel wants            Good.
a divorce!

336
00:17:20,472 --> 00:17:23,842
No, she doesn't!

337
00:17:23,842 --> 00:17:26,779
SEACREST: Before "I Love Lucy"
premiered,

338
00:17:26,779 --> 00:17:30,315
Betty White was already
on the air with her sitcom,

339
00:17:30,315 --> 00:17:33,385
"Life with Elizabeth,"
premiering in 1951.

340
00:17:33,385 --> 00:17:35,421
Let's try it again.
1...

341
00:17:35,421 --> 00:17:36,955
That's pretty.
1, 2...

342
00:17:41,226 --> 00:17:43,028
Must be a cheap lens.

343
00:17:43,028 --> 00:17:45,697
Well, let's take it
once more.

344
00:17:45,697 --> 00:17:47,066
All rightie.
Nice and pretty.

345
00:17:47,066 --> 00:17:49,168
1, 2...

346
00:17:49,168 --> 00:17:51,737
Oh, Elizabeth,
for goodness' sake.

347
00:17:51,737 --> 00:17:55,374
Honey, that's not nice.
Jiminy crickets.

348
00:17:55,374 --> 00:17:58,310
"I Love Lucy" started
shortly after we started,

349
00:17:58,310 --> 00:18:03,749
and we had about $1.95
for a budget for each show.

350
00:18:03,749 --> 00:18:06,685
We played against sort of
a flat background.

351
00:18:06,685 --> 00:18:10,022
We had a couch and a couple
of living room chairs.

352
00:18:10,022 --> 00:18:12,825
And Lucy came in
and all of a sudden,

353
00:18:12,825 --> 00:18:15,761
they knew how to do it.

354
00:18:15,761 --> 00:18:18,163
SEACREST: Unlike
her contemporaries,

355
00:18:18,163 --> 00:18:21,333
Betty White's career actually
began in television,

356
00:18:21,333 --> 00:18:22,568
in the 1940s.

357
00:18:22,568 --> 00:18:26,371
Her first job was a local show
in Los Angeles.

358
00:18:26,371 --> 00:18:30,342
We were on six days a week,
five and a half hours a day.

359
00:18:30,342 --> 00:18:31,844
No script, no anything.

360
00:18:31,844 --> 00:18:35,481
It was like going to television
college; it was wonderful.

361
00:18:35,481 --> 00:18:38,484
SEACREST:
At ease in front of the camera,

362
00:18:38,484 --> 00:18:41,253
Betty quickly developed skills
behind the scenes as well,

363
00:18:41,253 --> 00:18:43,055
emerging as one
of the first women

364
00:18:43,055 --> 00:18:46,792
to produce a national
television show.

365
00:18:46,792 --> 00:18:49,428
That was so, so before
the women's movement

366
00:18:49,428 --> 00:18:51,997
that I don't think we even
thought of it.

367
00:18:51,997 --> 00:18:54,733
I never even thought
of it being a different,

368
00:18:54,733 --> 00:18:57,202
a different gender,
it was just you did

369
00:18:57,202 --> 00:19:00,305
whatever the job was
and whatever job you could get.

370
00:19:00,305 --> 00:19:03,742
SEACREST: In addition to
starring in two sitcoms,

371
00:19:03,742 --> 00:19:05,744
Betty White hosted talk shows,

372
00:19:05,744 --> 00:19:08,447
produced an "American Idol"
style amateur hour,

373
00:19:08,447 --> 00:19:10,983
appeared on game shows,
and regularly guested

374
00:19:10,983 --> 00:19:13,418
on Jack Paar's
"Tonight Show,"

375
00:19:13,418 --> 00:19:17,456
and this was all
before 1960.

376
00:19:17,456 --> 00:19:20,859
I'm the luckiest old broad
on two feet to get chances

377
00:19:20,859 --> 00:19:23,629
to do that,
and I treasure them.

378
00:19:23,629 --> 00:19:27,766
SEACREST: The funny ladies of
television weren't satisfied

379
00:19:27,766 --> 00:19:30,569
with their first
15 minutes of fame.

380
00:19:30,569 --> 00:19:32,871
After capturing
the nation's attention,

381
00:19:32,871 --> 00:19:34,406
they all honed their skills

382
00:19:34,406 --> 00:19:38,110
in front of a national audience,
week after week.

383
00:19:38,110 --> 00:19:40,779
The training ground for
Carol Burnett

384
00:19:40,779 --> 00:19:42,648
was "The Garry Moore Show."

385
00:19:42,648 --> 00:19:44,049
Isn't it natural?

386
00:19:44,049 --> 00:19:46,718
It looks so real, you can
almost reach out and touch it.

387
00:19:46,718 --> 00:19:48,554
Watch it!     Watch what?

388
00:19:48,554 --> 00:19:50,789
"The Garry Moore Show,"
naturally,

389
00:19:50,789 --> 00:19:52,925
over most
of these CBS stations.

390
00:19:52,925 --> 00:19:55,027
I learned so much
from Garry Moore.

391
00:19:55,027 --> 00:19:58,297
Carol, I would like you
to meet Robert Goulet.

392
00:19:58,297 --> 00:20:00,332
Must I?

393
00:20:03,235 --> 00:20:05,370
Robert,
this is Carol Burnett.

394
00:20:05,370 --> 00:20:06,672
Charmed.

395
00:20:06,672 --> 00:20:08,640
Tally-ho.

396
00:20:08,640 --> 00:20:12,477
Uh, I must say, I saw you
in your show, uh...

397
00:20:12,477 --> 00:20:13,946
"Camelot"?

398
00:20:13,946 --> 00:20:15,380
Did you like it?

399
00:20:15,380 --> 00:20:19,218
Oh, you were wonderful!
You were so gorgeous!

400
00:20:19,218 --> 00:20:22,354
He was beautiful!
He played Sir Lancelot.

401
00:20:22,354 --> 00:20:24,856
And he was a knight
in shining armor.

402
00:20:24,856 --> 00:20:28,527
Oh, I wish I'd had
a can opener!

403
00:20:28,527 --> 00:20:31,163
SEACREST:
Before "The Garry Moore Show,"

404
00:20:31,163 --> 00:20:33,699
Carol Burnett hadn't done
much comedy.

405
00:20:33,699 --> 00:20:36,702
She'd planned to become
a singer, but here,

406
00:20:36,702 --> 00:20:39,805
on this variety show,
she found her calling.

407
00:20:39,805 --> 00:20:41,573
Give me a chance
at this job.

408
00:20:41,573 --> 00:20:43,508
I'll do anything to get
this job.

409
00:20:43,508 --> 00:20:45,444
Anything.

410
00:20:49,748 --> 00:20:51,950
I'll even have a beer
with ya

411
00:20:51,950 --> 00:20:55,988
after we knock off work,
whaddya say?

412
00:21:06,265 --> 00:21:07,599
Ehhh!

413
00:21:07,599 --> 00:21:10,135
So I fell into
the comedic thing.

414
00:21:10,135 --> 00:21:13,438
I never really thought I would
ever do comedy,

415
00:21:13,438 --> 00:21:15,774
like we did, at all.

416
00:21:15,774 --> 00:21:18,710
Then I thought, I like
to hear the laughs.

417
00:21:18,710 --> 00:21:22,114
SEACREST: Because Garry Moore's
show was live,

418
00:21:22,114 --> 00:21:23,782
anything could happen,

419
00:21:23,782 --> 00:21:27,519
a perfect training ground for
comedy improvisation.

420
00:21:27,519 --> 00:21:30,088
I'm a queen who thinks
for herself.

421
00:21:30,088 --> 00:21:31,390
Kiss me.

422
00:21:34,092 --> 00:21:36,828
Whoa!

423
00:21:39,231 --> 00:21:40,932
Madame!

424
00:21:47,272 --> 00:21:49,441
You fell off
your throne.

425
00:21:49,441 --> 00:21:50,842
Watch it!

426
00:21:54,813 --> 00:21:57,115
SEACREST: Mary Tyler Moore
learned her craft

427
00:21:57,115 --> 00:21:59,951
on "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

428
00:21:59,951 --> 00:22:03,422
In the first episode, she hadn't
quite mastered comedy

429
00:22:03,422 --> 00:22:05,791
and was instead trying to
imitate her favorite movie star.

430
00:22:05,791 --> 00:22:07,626
VAN DYKE: The thing about
Mary Tyler Moore,

431
00:22:07,626 --> 00:22:09,995
she was 23 when she came
on the show

432
00:22:09,995 --> 00:22:12,197
and had never done any comedy.

433
00:22:12,197 --> 00:22:15,100
I think she visualized herself
as a kind of Katharine Hepburn.

434
00:22:15,100 --> 00:22:18,670
And I fancied myself
a young Katharine Hepburn

435
00:22:18,670 --> 00:22:21,940
about the time that we started
"The Dick Van Dyke Show."

436
00:22:21,940 --> 00:22:25,711
And if, in a rerun,
you watch the right episode,

437
00:22:25,711 --> 00:22:29,247
you'll catch me up on saying
things like,

438
00:22:29,247 --> 00:22:30,816
"Oh, darling!"

439
00:22:30,816 --> 00:22:32,818
[Chuckles]

440
00:22:32,818 --> 00:22:35,253
You're not going to fix me
any breakfast, are you?

441
00:22:35,253 --> 00:22:37,389
But, darling, I offered
to fix you breakfast!

442
00:22:37,389 --> 00:22:41,026
All right, have your fun.
Enjoy yourself.

443
00:22:41,026 --> 00:22:44,663
VAN DYKE: Within a few weeks,
she grabbed it.

444
00:22:44,663 --> 00:22:45,997
The timing came.

445
00:22:45,997 --> 00:22:50,402
She just got it so quickly that
I'm still fascinated

446
00:22:50,402 --> 00:22:52,437
by how fast she grew
on that show.

447
00:22:52,437 --> 00:22:54,773
SEACREST:
Early on, producer Carl Reiner

448
00:22:54,773 --> 00:22:56,341
saw Mary's talent for comedy

449
00:22:56,341 --> 00:22:58,944
and wrote an episode to bring
out her skills.

450
00:22:58,944 --> 00:23:00,512
After dyeing her hair blond,

451
00:23:00,512 --> 00:23:04,449
Mary tried to dye it back before
her husband got home.

452
00:23:04,449 --> 00:23:10,555
Rob, do you really like my hair?
I mean, really like my hair?

453
00:23:10,555 --> 00:23:12,391
Honey, I love your hair.

454
00:23:12,391 --> 00:23:14,126
Well, honey...

455
00:23:14,126 --> 00:23:15,727
what if I were a blonde?

456
00:23:15,727 --> 00:23:19,064
Would I be as attractive to you
if I were a blonde?

457
00:23:19,064 --> 00:23:20,565
Uh...

458
00:23:20,565 --> 00:23:22,434
I can't picture you
as a blonde, honey.

459
00:23:22,434 --> 00:23:23,702
No, wait a minute,
yes, I can.

460
00:23:23,702 --> 00:23:25,837
<i>You know who you'd</i>
<i>look like? Who?</i>

461
00:23:25,837 --> 00:23:27,139
Harpo Marx!

462
00:23:29,608 --> 00:23:31,843
He said I'd look like
Harpo Marx!

463
00:23:31,843 --> 00:23:35,213
And I do!

464
00:23:35,213 --> 00:23:37,883
When he does get home,
he opens the door

465
00:23:37,883 --> 00:23:41,753
and is greeted by a woman with
half blond, half brunette hair.

466
00:23:41,753 --> 00:23:44,623
It was a pretty wonderful image,
very funny.

467
00:23:52,764 --> 00:23:55,167
Why?

468
00:23:59,971 --> 00:24:01,573
What is that?

469
00:24:01,573 --> 00:24:05,444
I got to go to pieces
in front of him

470
00:24:05,444 --> 00:24:08,880
and tell him what madness
drove me to this act.

471
00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:10,916
Honey, why?

472
00:24:10,916 --> 00:24:12,451
Why?

473
00:24:12,451 --> 00:24:16,755
Well, yesterday morning,
and I kissed you,

474
00:24:16,755 --> 00:24:19,458
and you said,
"Don't do that."

475
00:24:19,458 --> 00:24:22,194
And you came down
to breakfast

476
00:24:22,194 --> 00:24:23,929
in your yucky shirt!

477
00:24:23,929 --> 00:24:26,465
How sorry I was
and how stupid I was

478
00:24:26,465 --> 00:24:30,135
but he did seem to not be
giving me very much attention,

479
00:24:30,135 --> 00:24:32,904
and so on,
and I got to cry.

480
00:24:32,904 --> 00:24:36,441
And I prepared very well
for that crying scene.

481
00:24:36,441 --> 00:24:39,144
And a gray hair!

482
00:24:39,144 --> 00:24:41,713
And Harpo Marx!

483
00:24:41,713 --> 00:24:46,117
And the general
yuckiness!

484
00:24:46,117 --> 00:24:47,853
Honey!

485
00:24:50,622 --> 00:24:52,557
SEACREST: For Joan Rivers,

486
00:24:52,557 --> 00:24:55,660
the first big break
on the "Tonight Show"

487
00:24:55,660 --> 00:24:58,263
led to dozens of opportunities
to appear on TV.

488
00:24:58,263 --> 00:25:00,465
Every time, she was breaking
new ground

489
00:25:00,465 --> 00:25:04,002
for women on television,
talking about topics

490
00:25:04,002 --> 00:25:06,104
that were previously taboo.

491
00:25:06,104 --> 00:25:08,773
I was 8 months pregnant,
and on the Sullivan show

492
00:25:08,773 --> 00:25:11,109
they said,
"you can't mention 'pregnant.'"

493
00:25:11,109 --> 00:25:14,379
I'm like, I'm a house!
I'm a tent with a bow!

494
00:25:14,379 --> 00:25:16,848
And I had to come out and say,
"Mr. Sullivan,

495
00:25:16,848 --> 00:25:21,586
pretty soon I'll be hearing the
pitter patter of little feet."

496
00:25:21,586 --> 00:25:24,589
You wanna know the truth?
You know how lousy you feel.

497
00:25:24,589 --> 00:25:26,124
At night when I'm undressed,

498
00:25:26,124 --> 00:25:28,793
my husband looks at me
and mentally dresses me.

499
00:25:28,793 --> 00:25:31,663
All the critics talked
about was,

500
00:25:31,663 --> 00:25:35,000
how dare a pregnant woman
come on stage.

501
00:25:35,000 --> 00:25:37,702
I remember saying it
on the Carson show,

502
00:25:37,702 --> 00:25:40,038
and Carson said,
"How did it go?"

503
00:25:40,038 --> 00:25:44,876
"Well, my water broke and my dog
drown, but otherwise it's fine."

504
00:25:44,876 --> 00:25:49,447
And there was a gasp,
but then a laugh.

505
00:25:49,447 --> 00:25:51,016
[Chuckles]

506
00:25:51,016 --> 00:25:54,853
SEACREST: Joan Rivers wasn't
just making America laugh,

507
00:25:54,853 --> 00:25:57,455
she was pushing the limits
of women and comedy,

508
00:25:57,455 --> 00:25:59,291
and inspiring a new
generation

509
00:25:59,291 --> 00:26:01,660
of comic talent.

510
00:26:01,660 --> 00:26:02,994
CHO: It was so genius.

511
00:26:02,994 --> 00:26:04,829
What was great about Joan Rivers

512
00:26:04,829 --> 00:26:09,367
is that she was going in this
direction that was totally new,

513
00:26:09,367 --> 00:26:12,604
totally irreverent,
that just didn't care

514
00:26:12,604 --> 00:26:14,639
about anybody but the audience.

515
00:26:14,639 --> 00:26:17,776
Her kind of approach to jokes,
which is,

516
00:26:17,776 --> 00:26:20,612
seems to me oftentimes
to be saying

517
00:26:20,612 --> 00:26:24,449
the thing that people were
thinking and not saying,

518
00:26:24,449 --> 00:26:28,386
was, at the time, was kind
of thrilling and innovative.

519
00:26:28,386 --> 00:26:31,122
She was just talking about
things that nobody would say

520
00:26:31,122 --> 00:26:33,825
but everybody was thinking,
and that's really amazing.

521
00:26:33,825 --> 00:26:37,329
SEACREST: Joan eventually began
filling in for Johnny Carson

522
00:26:37,329 --> 00:26:39,731
on the "Tonight Show,"
and soon landed

523
00:26:39,731 --> 00:26:42,934
one of the most coveted
jobs in television comedy --

524
00:26:42,934 --> 00:26:45,437
Johnny's permanent guest host.

525
00:26:45,437 --> 00:26:48,206
Rivers felt she
was no threat to Johnny.

526
00:26:48,206 --> 00:26:51,042
She believed NBC would never
allow Carson

527
00:26:51,042 --> 00:26:53,011
to be
replaced by a woman.

528
00:26:53,011 --> 00:26:54,346
Very smart.

529
00:26:54,346 --> 00:26:56,881
It was again no competition
to him

530
00:26:56,881 --> 00:26:58,416
because he knew from
the beginning

531
00:26:58,416 --> 00:27:00,018
they would never
give it to a woman.

532
00:27:00,018 --> 00:27:02,354
Very smart of him.

533
00:27:04,956 --> 00:27:07,492
SEACREST: When Joan Rivers got
her own late night show,

534
00:27:07,492 --> 00:27:10,395
she and Johnny Carson
had a major falling out.

535
00:27:10,395 --> 00:27:12,697
I called him, he hung up;
I called him again.

536
00:27:12,697 --> 00:27:17,435
And he never spoke to me
again, ever.

537
00:27:17,435 --> 00:27:21,306
I would see him in a restaurant.
He still wouldn't talk to me.

538
00:27:21,306 --> 00:27:23,642
Mean.
What do you want?

539
00:27:23,642 --> 00:27:26,411
SEACREST:
Joan Rivers wasn't the only

540
00:27:26,411 --> 00:27:29,180
female standup appearing
on television,

541
00:27:29,180 --> 00:27:31,449
but it
was a very small group.

542
00:27:31,449 --> 00:27:34,953
Totie Fields broke through
in the early 1960s,

543
00:27:34,953 --> 00:27:38,556
with a larger-than-life,
self-deprecating style.

544
00:27:38,556 --> 00:27:41,893
Then I had to get
the stretch pants.

545
00:27:41,893 --> 00:27:43,361
Stretch pants?

546
00:27:43,361 --> 00:27:46,998
Actually, any pants I put on,
I stretch out.

547
00:27:46,998 --> 00:27:50,502
SEACREST: Perhaps the best-known
standup of the era

548
00:27:50,502 --> 00:27:51,903
was Phyllis Diller.

549
00:27:51,903 --> 00:27:55,006
I once had a peekaboo blouse.

550
00:27:55,006 --> 00:27:59,077
And people would peek,
then they'd boo.

551
00:27:59,077 --> 00:28:01,746
I was hot as a pistol
at that time,

552
00:28:01,746 --> 00:28:03,481
as you may well believe.

553
00:28:03,481 --> 00:28:05,917
And it was still
my old face.

554
00:28:08,086 --> 00:28:09,821
SEACREST:
As with previous standups,

555
00:28:09,821 --> 00:28:11,690
the logical
next step for Phyllis Diller

556
00:28:11,690 --> 00:28:13,591
was starring in a sitcom
or variety show.

557
00:28:13,591 --> 00:28:18,163
Phyllis did both,
and both failed.

558
00:28:18,163 --> 00:28:21,366
Primarily because
neither show reflected

559
00:28:21,366 --> 00:28:24,436
Phyllis Diller's unique
comic persona.

560
00:28:27,605 --> 00:28:29,207
Everything was wrong.

561
00:28:29,207 --> 00:28:33,244
They had a big dancing number
always, and I'm not a dancer,

562
00:28:33,244 --> 00:28:35,480
but the director was a dancer.

563
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:39,150
That meant a great deal to him.
I couldn't do it.

564
00:28:39,150 --> 00:28:41,252
♪ They're making music
to watch girls by ♪

565
00:28:41,252 --> 00:28:42,287
♪ Ooh ♪

566
00:28:42,287 --> 00:28:44,255
♪ Music to watch
girls by ♪

567
00:28:44,255 --> 00:28:45,323
♪ Ooh ♪

568
00:28:45,323 --> 00:28:47,192
♪ Music to watch
girls by ♪

569
00:28:47,192 --> 00:28:48,193
♪ Ooh ♪

570
00:28:48,193 --> 00:28:50,595
♪ Music to watch girls by ♪

571
00:28:50,595 --> 00:28:53,531
SEACREST: Phyllis Diller never
did find

572
00:28:53,531 --> 00:28:57,168
a weekly television format
to show off her talents.

573
00:28:57,168 --> 00:29:01,673
Lucille Ball had the opposite
situation.

574
00:29:01,673 --> 00:29:04,542
Three successful sitcoms
in a row made her

575
00:29:04,542 --> 00:29:07,946
the most popular funny lady
in America for decades.

576
00:29:07,946 --> 00:29:10,048
FEY: I think she was very funny.

577
00:29:10,048 --> 00:29:13,785
Things like the candy factory
and Vitameatavegamin.

578
00:29:13,785 --> 00:29:16,187
Those are precise,
excellent,

579
00:29:16,187 --> 00:29:18,490
just fantastic pieces of comedy.

580
00:29:18,490 --> 00:29:21,426
Speed it up a little!

581
00:29:28,833 --> 00:29:31,302
SEACREST: Lucy's attention
to detail

582
00:29:31,302 --> 00:29:33,505
was renowned
in the business --

583
00:29:33,505 --> 00:29:36,541
she never forgot
her comedic training,

584
00:29:36,541 --> 00:29:40,712
a style of performing that
required repeated rehearsals,

585
00:29:40,712 --> 00:29:42,380
until it was perfect.

586
00:29:42,380 --> 00:29:44,949
She said to the cameraman,

587
00:29:44,949 --> 00:29:48,787
literally, "Harry, that looks
like it's 2 1/2 inches off."

588
00:29:48,787 --> 00:29:52,157
And he says, "Lucy, Lucy,
it's just where it was."

589
00:29:52,157 --> 00:29:53,691
And she said --
she's tough --

590
00:29:53,691 --> 00:29:56,127
"Measure it!
It's 2 1/2 inches off."

591
00:29:56,127 --> 00:29:59,397
It was about 2 1/2 --
she knew!

592
00:29:59,397 --> 00:30:00,632
She doesn't stop
thing!

593
00:30:00,632 --> 00:30:03,201
A new doctor moved into
the neighborhood, right?

594
00:30:03,201 --> 00:30:06,104
Mama found out he was single
and an orthopedic surgeon.

595
00:30:06,104 --> 00:30:07,305
You know what she did?

596
00:30:07,305 --> 00:30:11,810
Closed the piano lid
right on my fingers.

597
00:30:11,810 --> 00:30:16,247
Sure, easy for you to laugh,
you're lucky, you're a widow!

598
00:30:19,083 --> 00:30:22,520
SEACREST: Perhaps Lucille Ball's
greatest strength

599
00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:24,389
was her comic fearlessness.

600
00:30:24,389 --> 00:30:26,825
She was all-in on every bit

601
00:30:26,825 --> 00:30:30,161
and always willing
to take the pie.

602
00:30:30,161 --> 00:30:31,629
Like Lucy says, you got to take

603
00:30:31,629 --> 00:30:33,398
the pie in the face
at some point.

604
00:30:33,398 --> 00:30:36,301
She always played the wacky,
crazy thing,

605
00:30:36,301 --> 00:30:38,770
and she took the pie --
literally.

606
00:30:38,770 --> 00:30:40,538
I let 'em have it!

607
00:30:40,538 --> 00:30:42,373
Drop it! Drop it!

608
00:30:42,373 --> 00:30:43,608
On the floor?

609
00:30:43,608 --> 00:30:44,976
No, let me have it.

610
00:30:44,976 --> 00:30:46,077
Okay.

611
00:30:51,749 --> 00:30:56,287
SEACREST: On her first sitcom,
Lucy's husband, Desi Arnaz,

612
00:30:56,287 --> 00:30:58,489
managed the production,
staff, and scripts,

613
00:30:58,489 --> 00:31:00,325
so Lucy could
focus on performing.

614
00:31:00,325 --> 00:31:02,927
But when
the couple divorced,

615
00:31:02,927 --> 00:31:06,631
Lucy, reluctantly,
had to take a larger role.

616
00:31:06,631 --> 00:31:09,500
So one morning, when a script
wasn't right,

617
00:31:09,500 --> 00:31:11,135
Lucy had to take action.

618
00:31:11,135 --> 00:31:13,671
BURNETT: Lucy did go back
after lunch

619
00:31:13,671 --> 00:31:16,140
and told them
in no uncertain terms

620
00:31:16,140 --> 00:31:18,509
how they had to fix
that script

621
00:31:18,509 --> 00:31:21,312
and it better be done
by tomorrow morning

622
00:31:21,312 --> 00:31:23,982
or you're out --
She was strong.

623
00:31:23,982 --> 00:31:27,218
And she took a sip of her drink
and she said,

624
00:31:27,218 --> 00:31:30,421
"And, kid, that's when they
put the <i>s</i>

625
00:31:30,421 --> 00:31:33,258
on the end of my name."

626
00:31:33,258 --> 00:31:36,227
[Chuckles]

627
00:31:36,227 --> 00:31:38,663
SEACREST: The only woman
on television

628
00:31:38,663 --> 00:31:41,866
whose physical comedy skills
compared to Lucille Ball

629
00:31:41,866 --> 00:31:43,067
was Carol Burnett.

630
00:31:43,067 --> 00:31:46,137
After 7 years
on Garry Moore's show,

631
00:31:46,137 --> 00:31:49,307
CBS offered Carol a sitcom,
but she declined.

632
00:31:49,307 --> 00:31:51,442
She wanted to do
a variety show.

633
00:31:51,442 --> 00:31:53,578
BURNETT:
This is what I do best.

634
00:31:53,578 --> 00:31:56,648
This is what I love.
I love music, I love sketches.

635
00:31:56,648 --> 00:31:59,784
I love having guest stars
and I wanted a rep company

636
00:31:59,784 --> 00:32:01,085
like Sid Caesar had.

637
00:32:01,085 --> 00:32:02,453
"The money would then go

638
00:32:02,453 --> 00:32:05,390
to my equally disgusting nephew,
Theo Grubber, in the event

639
00:32:05,390 --> 00:32:07,625
of Bosco's death."

640
00:32:10,528 --> 00:32:12,297
[Bang!]

641
00:32:19,237 --> 00:32:22,807
I'm sure there wasn't
much there in the first place.

642
00:32:25,710 --> 00:32:30,315
SEACREST: Carol's secret
to 11 years of success

643
00:32:30,315 --> 00:32:32,784
was letting others shine.

644
00:32:32,784 --> 00:32:35,820
One of the most important
things that I learned from Carol

645
00:32:35,820 --> 00:32:38,790
is that you are as good as
the people that surround you.

646
00:32:38,790 --> 00:32:42,193
And she just was very much,

647
00:32:42,193 --> 00:32:47,065
"Fly, baby, fly,"
and very proud of you.

648
00:32:47,065 --> 00:32:51,836
She accepted every contribution
of a line or a thought

649
00:32:51,836 --> 00:32:53,471
or a thing,
from everybody.

650
00:32:53,471 --> 00:32:55,573
Bob Mackie, I got an idea
for a dress.

651
00:33:00,111 --> 00:33:02,680
We'll put this curtain
rod in here, and you'll say,

652
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,416
"I saw it in the window
and I just couldn't refuse it."

653
00:33:05,416 --> 00:33:10,154
Scarlett, I love you.
That -- that gown is gorgeous.

654
00:33:10,154 --> 00:33:11,489
Thank you.

655
00:33:11,489 --> 00:33:14,158
I saw it in the window
and I just couldn't resist it.

656
00:33:18,262 --> 00:33:21,165
SEACREST: Because it was taped
as if it was live,

657
00:33:21,165 --> 00:33:24,435
the Carol Burnett show had
a unique sense of spontaneity.

658
00:33:24,435 --> 00:33:28,673
Tim Conway especially took
advantage of that opportunity.

659
00:33:28,673 --> 00:33:30,074
I knew what I was going to say.

660
00:33:30,074 --> 00:33:32,110
But they didn't know what
I was going to say.

661
00:33:32,110 --> 00:33:33,277
I would write a script,

662
00:33:33,277 --> 00:33:35,480
and I would put in my lines
as one thing.

663
00:33:35,480 --> 00:33:39,083
When we did the show, I did
something totally different,

664
00:33:39,083 --> 00:33:42,954
which kind of, I imagine,
threw them from time to time.

665
00:33:42,954 --> 00:33:45,923
Not so much Carol, very tough
to break her up, but Harvey,

666
00:33:45,923 --> 00:33:50,461
being a poor performer,
was very easy to destroy.

667
00:33:50,461 --> 00:33:53,297
I'll just give you
a little shot here.

668
00:34:10,515 --> 00:34:15,887
We'll be right
with you.

669
00:34:15,887 --> 00:34:18,589
And the audience
was looking forward to that

670
00:34:18,589 --> 00:34:20,058
each week, too.

671
00:34:20,058 --> 00:34:24,262
They can't wait till Tim was
going to make Harvey laugh.

672
00:34:24,262 --> 00:34:26,097
Imagine being Harvey --

673
00:34:26,097 --> 00:34:30,668
"He's not gonna make me
laugh tonight."

674
00:34:30,668 --> 00:34:32,170
[Snickers]

675
00:34:32,170 --> 00:34:34,472
[Fly buzzing]

676
00:34:35,773 --> 00:34:37,308
[Buzzing stops]

677
00:34:45,083 --> 00:34:47,752
A lot of people thought
those were staged breakups.

678
00:34:47,752 --> 00:34:49,153
They weren't.

679
00:34:49,153 --> 00:34:52,356
Harvey just had such a weak spot
for Tim's humor.

680
00:34:52,356 --> 00:34:54,659
Tim would never do it
to the ink.

681
00:34:54,659 --> 00:34:57,628
You know, he was always doing
something else.

682
00:34:57,628 --> 00:35:01,232
You know, throwing a line out.
Trying to get me to laugh.

683
00:35:01,232 --> 00:35:04,869
Uh, Dear Mr. Delmar.

684
00:35:04,869 --> 00:35:07,171
In the regards

685
00:35:07,171 --> 00:35:11,275
to your letter of the 25th...

686
00:35:11,275 --> 00:35:16,214
You'd see me as Mrs. Wiggins
sometimes doing this a lot.

687
00:35:16,214 --> 00:35:17,915
Looking at the nail.

688
00:35:17,915 --> 00:35:21,219
I was biting my finger to keep
from laughing.

689
00:35:21,219 --> 00:35:26,557
I feel that the original
reply is in keeping

690
00:35:26,557 --> 00:35:28,192
with the policy.

691
00:35:28,192 --> 00:35:32,663
The director was winging it,
and the audience knew,

692
00:35:32,663 --> 00:35:35,199
and it was gold, what he did.

693
00:35:35,199 --> 00:35:36,868
He was just brilliant.

694
00:35:36,868 --> 00:35:38,970
When I first did the old man,

695
00:35:38,970 --> 00:35:42,006
they had never seen
that old man before.

696
00:35:42,006 --> 00:35:45,776
They just said, "You'll come
through the door as an old man."

697
00:35:45,776 --> 00:35:48,246
Okay, so I just
walked naturally kind of,

698
00:35:48,246 --> 00:35:51,883
but when we taped it,
I walked that slowly.

699
00:35:51,883 --> 00:35:54,185
I'll take it
with me.

700
00:35:54,185 --> 00:35:57,622
[Tape tearing]

701
00:35:57,622 --> 00:36:00,691
[Mumbling]

702
00:36:00,691 --> 00:36:03,427
[Knock on door]
MAN: 4 minutes!

703
00:36:03,427 --> 00:36:05,630
I'll be right there.
Will you hurry up?!

704
00:36:05,630 --> 00:36:09,967
[Mumbling] ...get all excited
all the time!

705
00:36:17,308 --> 00:36:19,977
You yell at me...

706
00:36:21,779 --> 00:36:24,282
And as I was walking,
people were laughing.

707
00:36:24,282 --> 00:36:26,384
But I said, if they don't
cut this,

708
00:36:26,384 --> 00:36:28,619
this is going to go about
a half-hour.

709
00:36:28,619 --> 00:36:30,555
I'll get
a bead on you now.

710
00:36:30,555 --> 00:36:31,656
Oh, really?

711
00:36:31,656 --> 00:36:33,024
Mm-hmm.

712
00:36:33,024 --> 00:36:35,726
[Mumbling]

713
00:36:35,726 --> 00:36:37,061
Is that so?

714
00:36:37,061 --> 00:36:38,729
I see.

715
00:36:38,729 --> 00:36:40,064
Okay.

716
00:36:40,064 --> 00:36:41,899
[Mumbling]

717
00:36:46,837 --> 00:36:50,341
SEACREST: Adding to the sense
of spontaneity

718
00:36:50,341 --> 00:36:52,843
was the show's
unique opening segment --

719
00:36:52,843 --> 00:36:55,546
Carol answering questions
from the audience.

720
00:36:55,546 --> 00:36:58,382
At first, Carol wasn't sure
about the idea.

721
00:36:58,382 --> 00:36:59,850
I said, "I can't do that."

722
00:36:59,850 --> 00:37:02,954
First of all, I'd be scared
that nobody would ask anything.

723
00:37:02,954 --> 00:37:04,855
Second, I'd be scared
they would.

724
00:37:04,855 --> 00:37:07,325
How old am I?

725
00:37:07,325 --> 00:37:10,761
That's all the time
we have now.

726
00:37:10,761 --> 00:37:14,332
How old do you think I am?
And be careful.

727
00:37:14,332 --> 00:37:16,634
26, you're right.

728
00:37:16,634 --> 00:37:18,669
Right up here.

729
00:37:22,640 --> 00:37:25,376
And I'll never forget
that first taping.

730
00:37:25,376 --> 00:37:28,512
I was just all over the place.

731
00:37:28,512 --> 00:37:30,281
Gawky, scared, everything.

732
00:37:30,281 --> 00:37:32,850
Then once the show
started to air...

733
00:37:32,850 --> 00:37:35,886
I started having fun with it.

734
00:37:35,886 --> 00:37:37,888
How do you
get to the ladies' room?

735
00:37:37,888 --> 00:37:40,658
Do you have to go?
Come on up here.

736
00:37:40,658 --> 00:37:42,660
Sure, come on.

737
00:37:42,660 --> 00:37:45,196
Yeah.

738
00:37:54,071 --> 00:37:57,174
[Applause]

739
00:38:00,278 --> 00:38:03,714
SEACREST: In the series'
most enduring sketch,

740
00:38:03,714 --> 00:38:07,184
Vicki Lawrence played
the stern Mama character,

741
00:38:07,184 --> 00:38:09,086
with Carol as the more
emotional Eunice,

742
00:38:09,086 --> 00:38:13,858
characters that echoed Burnett's
difficult childhood.

743
00:38:13,858 --> 00:38:18,929
I'm an old woman with
a few short years left.

744
00:38:21,432 --> 00:38:23,100
The Mama character was written
for her,

745
00:38:23,100 --> 00:38:24,635
but it was Eunice that
spoke to her.

746
00:38:24,635 --> 00:38:28,306
Go on, go on, just tell her
what happened that night.

747
00:38:28,306 --> 00:38:30,908
That I went with you,
and then later on,

748
00:38:30,908 --> 00:38:33,444
we had to get married!

749
00:38:33,444 --> 00:38:36,113
I get your drift, Eunice.

750
00:38:36,113 --> 00:38:38,916
Welcome to the club.

751
00:38:38,916 --> 00:38:41,018
AUDIENCE: Oooh!

752
00:38:45,890 --> 00:38:49,126
Carol Burnett pointed out
that there are no jokes

753
00:38:49,126 --> 00:38:50,428
in those sketches.

754
00:38:50,428 --> 00:38:52,997
It is all just
this brittle behavior,

755
00:38:52,997 --> 00:38:56,000
and all the laughs come from
the kind of tension

756
00:38:56,000 --> 00:38:59,303
and the painfulness of the way
they treat each other,

757
00:38:59,303 --> 00:39:01,572
which is just really
good writing.

758
00:39:01,572 --> 00:39:03,974
One of these days they're
going to lock you up.

759
00:39:03,974 --> 00:39:05,576
Oh, lay off of me,
will ya?

760
00:39:05,576 --> 00:39:08,779
You ain't playin'
with a full deck, Eunice.

761
00:39:08,779 --> 00:39:13,651
I think somebody blew
your pilot light out.

762
00:39:13,651 --> 00:39:16,320
SEACREST: Good writing,
great casting,

763
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:19,023
and a beloved funny lady
at the center.

764
00:39:19,023 --> 00:39:22,460
Those were the ingredients that
made "The Carol Burnett Show"

765
00:39:22,460 --> 00:39:24,462
succeed for more than a decade.

766
00:39:24,462 --> 00:39:26,931
And the same formula worked

767
00:39:26,931 --> 00:39:29,800
for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show."

768
00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:31,602
CBS came to me and said,

769
00:39:31,602 --> 00:39:35,706
"We would like you to do
a situation comedy of your own."

770
00:39:35,706 --> 00:39:42,947
<i>♪ You might just make it</i>
<i>after all ♪</i>

771
00:39:42,947 --> 00:39:46,517
SEACREST: Mary Tyler Moore
occupied a special place

772
00:39:46,517 --> 00:39:48,052
in the American mind.

773
00:39:48,052 --> 00:39:51,055
She was the all-American girl,
the sister, daughter,

774
00:39:51,055 --> 00:39:54,058
or friend everyone wished for.

775
00:39:54,058 --> 00:39:56,293
CARROLL: She was their Mary.

776
00:39:56,293 --> 00:40:00,464
They wanted to shield her
from life's mighty arrows.

777
00:40:00,464 --> 00:40:04,168
And that's a wonderful quality
for any performer

778
00:40:04,168 --> 00:40:06,070
to get from an audience,

779
00:40:06,070 --> 00:40:10,474
their wanting to take care
of you because they love you.

780
00:40:10,474 --> 00:40:13,144
I was kind of that woman.

781
00:40:13,144 --> 00:40:15,379
You know, I was that person.

782
00:40:15,379 --> 00:40:19,250
I grew up in a very
conservative household,

783
00:40:19,250 --> 00:40:22,386
and I went
to a private girls school,

784
00:40:22,386 --> 00:40:24,488
and you behaved
in a certain way,

785
00:40:24,488 --> 00:40:26,490
and it was
second nature to me,

786
00:40:26,490 --> 00:40:28,225
so I didn't feel that separate

787
00:40:28,225 --> 00:40:30,327
from the character
I was playing.

788
00:40:30,327 --> 00:40:33,497
SEACREST: The producers
encircled Mary with a group

789
00:40:33,497 --> 00:40:35,533
of supporting players
who rank

790
00:40:35,533 --> 00:40:38,235
among the best television has
ever seen --

791
00:40:38,235 --> 00:40:39,570
Ed Asner,

792
00:40:39,570 --> 00:40:41,038
Valerie Harper,

793
00:40:41,038 --> 00:40:42,540
Ted Knight,

794
00:40:42,540 --> 00:40:43,874
Betty White,

795
00:40:43,874 --> 00:40:45,409
Gavin McCloud,

796
00:40:45,409 --> 00:40:46,877
John Amos,

797
00:40:46,877 --> 00:40:48,746
and Cloris Leachman.

798
00:40:48,746 --> 00:40:51,148
The show...
[Chuckles]

799
00:40:51,148 --> 00:40:55,986
where Valerie has lost
her job as a window dresser.

800
00:40:55,986 --> 00:40:59,523
And she'S in Mary's apartment
day and night, night and day,

801
00:40:59,523 --> 00:41:01,959
24/7, I'm just sick of it.

802
00:41:01,959 --> 00:41:03,894
I'm just sick of it!

803
00:41:03,894 --> 00:41:06,497
Mary, you're not doing her
any favors

804
00:41:06,497 --> 00:41:09,133
encouraging her
in this life of sloth!

805
00:41:09,133 --> 00:41:11,569
Oh, come on, Phyllis,
she's not slothy!

806
00:41:11,569 --> 00:41:16,440
Mary, as her friends, we owe it
to her to straighten her out.

807
00:41:16,440 --> 00:41:19,743
We have to force her to take
a good, hard look at herself.

808
00:41:19,743 --> 00:41:23,214
We have to shake her up, we have
to slap some sense into her!

809
00:41:23,214 --> 00:41:25,683
And there she has a big
hair dryer on her head,

810
00:41:25,683 --> 00:41:28,252
a big, inflatable hair dryer
and a big long hose.

811
00:41:28,252 --> 00:41:30,955
Rhoda...

812
00:41:30,955 --> 00:41:34,291
And I pick up the hose
and I say, "RHODA!"

813
00:41:34,291 --> 00:41:35,359
I scream.

814
00:41:37,895 --> 00:41:39,797
RHODA!

815
00:41:39,797 --> 00:41:41,232
And she goes, "Ohhh!"

816
00:41:41,232 --> 00:41:44,268
[Chuckles]

817
00:41:44,268 --> 00:41:45,769
What? What?

818
00:41:48,138 --> 00:41:49,406
What?

819
00:41:49,406 --> 00:41:51,575
Everybody loved that show
and so did I, it was fun.

820
00:41:51,575 --> 00:41:53,944
SEACREST: "The Mary Tyler
Moore Show's"

821
00:41:53,944 --> 00:41:56,447
most acclaimed episode
involved the death

822
00:41:56,447 --> 00:41:57,781
of Chuckles the Clown.

823
00:41:57,781 --> 00:42:01,318
What happened, Lou?
Who died, will you tell us?

824
00:42:01,318 --> 00:42:04,054
Chuckles.

825
00:42:04,054 --> 00:42:06,924
Chuckles the Clown is dead.

826
00:42:06,924 --> 00:42:09,927
It was a freak accident.

827
00:42:09,927 --> 00:42:13,831
He went to the parade dressed
as Peter Peanut.

828
00:42:13,831 --> 00:42:16,400
And a rogue elephant tried
to shell him.

829
00:42:21,872 --> 00:42:26,377
SEACREST: On paper, the Chuckles
episode ran 5 minutes short,

830
00:42:26,377 --> 00:42:29,713
but once the story was
performed for a live audience,

831
00:42:29,713 --> 00:42:33,284
the show came out the right
length, thanks to laughter.

832
00:42:33,284 --> 00:42:37,388
So I went out there, where
the first scene was with Murray,

833
00:42:37,388 --> 00:42:40,691
and he starts telling
one-liners

834
00:42:40,691 --> 00:42:43,327
about "born in a trunk,
died in a trunk."

835
00:42:43,327 --> 00:42:44,995
Lucky more people weren't hurt.

836
00:42:44,995 --> 00:42:47,698
Lucky that elephant didn't go
after somebody else.

837
00:42:47,698 --> 00:42:49,500
That's right.

838
00:42:49,500 --> 00:42:52,269
After all, you know
how hard it is to stop

839
00:42:52,269 --> 00:42:54,071
after just one peanut.

840
00:42:54,071 --> 00:42:56,874
[Chuckles]

841
00:43:02,079 --> 00:43:05,449
And with each one,
I laughed, belly laughed,

842
00:43:05,449 --> 00:43:08,686
like I had never laughed
on camera before.

843
00:43:08,686 --> 00:43:10,854
That's not funny, Murray...

844
00:43:10,854 --> 00:43:12,623
[Laughter]

845
00:43:14,558 --> 00:43:17,394
And it infected
the audience.

846
00:43:17,394 --> 00:43:19,797
And we added a minute
in that scene.

847
00:43:19,797 --> 00:43:22,333
And that same process
just kept going,

848
00:43:22,333 --> 00:43:24,702
adding minutes throughout
the show.

849
00:43:24,702 --> 00:43:27,071
What did Chuckles ask
in return?

850
00:43:27,071 --> 00:43:29,006
Not much.

851
00:43:29,006 --> 00:43:31,342
[Giggling softly]

852
00:43:31,342 --> 00:43:34,278
In his own words,

853
00:43:34,278 --> 00:43:37,181
"A little song,
a little dance..."

854
00:43:37,181 --> 00:43:39,717
a little seltzer
down his pants.

855
00:43:39,717 --> 00:43:41,285
[Laughs]

856
00:43:45,956 --> 00:43:49,026
By the end of
the performance,

857
00:43:49,026 --> 00:43:52,630
we had amassed
our missing 5 minutes.

858
00:43:52,630 --> 00:43:55,232
SEACREST:
Because her character was

859
00:43:55,232 --> 00:43:58,168
the most popular career woman
in America,

860
00:43:58,168 --> 00:44:00,938
Mary Tyler Moore was pressured
to join

861
00:44:00,938 --> 00:44:02,873
the 1970s feminist movement.

862
00:44:02,873 --> 00:44:05,409
But when activist
Gloria Steinem tried

863
00:44:05,409 --> 00:44:08,879
to recruit Mary Tyler Moore,
the actress resisted.

864
00:44:08,879 --> 00:44:12,016
I believed that women,
and still do,

865
00:44:12,016 --> 00:44:16,120
have a very major role
to play as mothers.

866
00:44:16,120 --> 00:44:18,989
It's very necessary for
mothers

867
00:44:18,989 --> 00:44:21,225
to be involved with
their children.

868
00:44:21,225 --> 00:44:23,994
And that's not what
Gloria Steinem was saying.

869
00:44:23,994 --> 00:44:26,764
Gloria was saying, "Oh,
you can do everything.

870
00:44:26,764 --> 00:44:30,534
And you owe it to yourself
to have a career."

871
00:44:30,534 --> 00:44:32,803
And, uh...

872
00:44:32,803 --> 00:44:35,172
I didn't really believe
in that.

873
00:44:35,172 --> 00:44:37,841
SEACREST: Rather than give
public speeches,

874
00:44:37,841 --> 00:44:41,111
Mary Tyler Moore moved the
culture in more subtle ways,

875
00:44:41,111 --> 00:44:42,846
through her show.

876
00:44:42,846 --> 00:44:44,882
Her character was
an independent woman

877
00:44:44,882 --> 00:44:46,917
working in
a traditionally male field.

878
00:44:46,917 --> 00:44:49,553
Mary Richards hoped to find
a husband,

879
00:44:49,553 --> 00:44:51,922
but that quest
didn't define her.

880
00:44:51,922 --> 00:44:55,426
She was a new kind of woman
for American television,

881
00:44:55,426 --> 00:44:58,529
an important
role model for a new generation.

882
00:44:58,529 --> 00:45:00,297
What religion
are you?

883
00:45:00,297 --> 00:45:02,933
Uh, Mr. Grant, I don't
quite know how to say this,

884
00:45:02,933 --> 00:45:04,835
but you're not allowed
to ask that

885
00:45:04,835 --> 00:45:06,770
when someone's
applying for a job.

886
00:45:06,770 --> 00:45:08,038
It's against the law.

887
00:45:08,038 --> 00:45:10,774
Wanna call a cop?

888
00:45:10,774 --> 00:45:12,342
No.

889
00:45:12,342 --> 00:45:14,945
Good. Would you think I was
violating your civil rights

890
00:45:14,945 --> 00:45:16,880
if I asked if you're
married?

891
00:45:16,880 --> 00:45:19,249
Presbyterian.

892
00:45:22,152 --> 00:45:24,955
FEY: There was a night of TV
that was Mary Tyler Moore,

893
00:45:24,955 --> 00:45:27,791
and it was sacred night, and
that would be the thing that,

894
00:45:27,791 --> 00:45:29,259
if I ever did get in trouble,

895
00:45:29,259 --> 00:45:31,328
that would be what was
withheld from me.

896
00:45:31,328 --> 00:45:34,565
Like, "You're not going to be
able to watch Mary Tyler Moore."

897
00:45:34,565 --> 00:45:38,635
"What?!" I think that only
happened maybe once.

898
00:45:38,635 --> 00:45:40,738
I don't know what I did.

899
00:45:40,738 --> 00:45:43,707
But no, that show was big,
big deal, yeah.

900
00:45:43,707 --> 00:45:46,343
When she came on,
it changed America.

901
00:45:46,343 --> 00:45:49,313
So many women have told me
it changed their lives,

902
00:45:49,313 --> 00:45:51,849
made it possible for them
to work themselves.

903
00:45:51,849 --> 00:45:54,518
SEACREST: Over the show's
7-year run,

904
00:45:54,518 --> 00:45:58,655
Mary Tyler Moore solidified her
place as America's sweetheart.

905
00:45:58,655 --> 00:46:01,759
Her polite, mannered persona
made her the perfect foil

906
00:46:01,759 --> 00:46:05,229
for a wide range
of eccentric characters.

907
00:46:05,229 --> 00:46:08,899
LEACHMAN: Phyllis, when I first
read the script, was neurotic.

908
00:46:08,899 --> 00:46:11,502
Eventually it turned out,
I think, that I was

909
00:46:11,502 --> 00:46:14,338
"the sure, firm touch
on the wrong note."

910
00:46:14,338 --> 00:46:15,773
[Chuckles]

911
00:46:15,773 --> 00:46:17,508
Confident.

912
00:46:17,508 --> 00:46:19,777
Proud of all the things
you shouldn't be proud of.

913
00:46:19,777 --> 00:46:21,879
Did you know the male bee

914
00:46:21,879 --> 00:46:25,215
is nothing but the slave
of the queen,

915
00:46:25,215 --> 00:46:28,585
and once the male bee,
how should I say,

916
00:46:28,585 --> 00:46:31,555
has serviced the queen...

917
00:46:31,555 --> 00:46:35,292
the male dies?

918
00:46:35,292 --> 00:46:37,361
All in all, not a bad system.

919
00:46:43,033 --> 00:46:45,602
I was playing
a very mean character.

920
00:46:45,602 --> 00:46:49,573
It was a hospital scene where
she was having her tonsils out,

921
00:46:49,573 --> 00:46:51,809
and I was a very crusty lady,

922
00:46:51,809 --> 00:46:55,412
and I took Mary on and I
dished it out to her.

923
00:46:55,412 --> 00:46:56,647
I was horrible to her.

924
00:46:56,647 --> 00:46:59,550
Listen, I was just wondering
which bed you'd like.

925
00:46:59,550 --> 00:47:01,318
Either one
is fine with me.

926
00:47:01,318 --> 00:47:03,187
You know, if there is
anything I love,

927
00:47:03,187 --> 00:47:05,355
it is long debates
concerning bed assignments

928
00:47:05,355 --> 00:47:07,157
when I am standing here
on crutches!

929
00:47:07,157 --> 00:47:09,259
Right, yes, well, I'll take
this bed.

930
00:47:09,259 --> 00:47:10,594
Unless you'd rather --

931
00:47:10,594 --> 00:47:12,563
What difference
does it make?

932
00:47:12,563 --> 00:47:14,398
You're right, yes.

933
00:47:14,398 --> 00:47:15,833
I'm, uh, Mary Richards.

934
00:47:15,833 --> 00:47:18,068
Wonderful.

935
00:47:18,068 --> 00:47:19,736
Can I help you?

936
00:47:19,736 --> 00:47:22,239
I can do it myself.

937
00:47:22,239 --> 00:47:26,276
I got hate mail from that show.
I received --

938
00:47:26,276 --> 00:47:29,112
"Hey, how dare you treat
our Mary in that manner?"

939
00:47:29,112 --> 00:47:32,115
I wanted to say, "Folks,
I'm paid to say those words.

940
00:47:32,115 --> 00:47:34,518
I think Mary is wonderful.
I'm with you!"

941
00:47:34,518 --> 00:47:38,355
SEACREST:
"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" wasn't the first sitcom

942
00:47:38,355 --> 00:47:40,824
to feature an independent
career woman.

943
00:47:40,824 --> 00:47:44,294
Four years earlier, Marlo Thomas
starred in "That Girl,"

944
00:47:44,294 --> 00:47:47,297
playing an aspiring single
actress in New York.

945
00:47:47,297 --> 00:47:50,534
You have just won the privilege
of being turned down

946
00:47:50,534 --> 00:47:52,169
after you audition for me.

947
00:47:52,169 --> 00:47:53,770
Oh, I have?
Oh, Mr. Benedict!

948
00:47:53,770 --> 00:47:55,806
You mean I'm going
to audition for you?

949
00:47:55,806 --> 00:47:58,275
I mean, after I'm turned
down after the audition!

950
00:47:58,275 --> 00:48:00,177
I'm so
[Bangs table]   excited --

951
00:48:00,177 --> 00:48:02,679
You remind me
of a windup toy.

952
00:48:02,679 --> 00:48:05,148
Now take this script
with you

953
00:48:05,148 --> 00:48:07,284
and study the scene
on page 18 --

954
00:48:07,284 --> 00:48:10,354
the phone conversation
between Florence and Albert.

955
00:48:10,354 --> 00:48:12,789
You want me to play
Florence?

956
00:48:12,789 --> 00:48:15,125
Of course you want me to play
Florence, I'll be Florence.

957
00:48:15,125 --> 00:48:17,561
I was expressing how I felt
and what I thought

958
00:48:17,561 --> 00:48:19,129
young women would want to see,

959
00:48:19,129 --> 00:48:21,298
because that's what
I would want to see.

960
00:48:21,298 --> 00:48:22,733
We were the first.

961
00:48:22,733 --> 00:48:25,869
Then the shows that came after
it built beautifully on it.

962
00:48:25,869 --> 00:48:28,672
Ann Marie never really got
a good job, and Mary Richards

963
00:48:28,672 --> 00:48:30,974
was a successful reporter
at a news station.

964
00:48:30,974 --> 00:48:34,411
SEACREST: Arguably,
TV's very first funny lady

965
00:48:34,411 --> 00:48:35,846
was Gertrude Berg,

966
00:48:35,846 --> 00:48:39,583
who produced, wrote and starred
in "The Goldbergs."

967
00:48:39,583 --> 00:48:43,053
In 1951, Gertrude won
the very first Emmy award

968
00:48:43,053 --> 00:48:46,323
for best actress,
beating out fellow nominee

969
00:48:46,323 --> 00:48:49,426
Betty White.

970
00:48:49,426 --> 00:48:51,695
Betty was nominated for
a project

971
00:48:51,695 --> 00:48:53,530
called "Life with Elizabeth."

972
00:48:53,530 --> 00:48:55,565
Nobody remembers
"Life With Elizabeth."

973
00:48:55,565 --> 00:48:58,168
They weren't born when
"Life with Elizabeth" was on.

974
00:48:58,168 --> 00:48:59,703
I'm helping?

975
00:48:59,703 --> 00:49:01,104
Yes, you're helping.
Hold this, please.

976
00:49:01,104 --> 00:49:02,205
Cup your hands.

977
00:49:02,205 --> 00:49:05,242
There you are.
Put your hands together.

978
00:49:05,242 --> 00:49:06,343
Um...      Like this.

979
00:49:06,343 --> 00:49:08,312
Pose them in there
like that.

980
00:49:08,312 --> 00:49:09,980
Tighten up.
You got it?

981
00:49:09,980 --> 00:49:11,615
How's that?
All right?

982
00:49:11,615 --> 00:49:12,616
Uh-huh.

983
00:49:12,616 --> 00:49:14,017
Good.
[Chuckles]

984
00:49:14,017 --> 00:49:15,485
What are you
going to call this one?

985
00:49:15,485 --> 00:49:17,654
I think I shall
call that, ahem...

986
00:49:17,654 --> 00:49:20,090
I shall leave you
at this point, Elizabeth.

987
00:49:20,090 --> 00:49:22,993
That's
a funny name for...

988
00:49:22,993 --> 00:49:24,161
Oh, no.

989
00:49:24,161 --> 00:49:25,262
Alvin, you wouldn't!

990
00:49:25,262 --> 00:49:26,563
Good night, Elizabeth.

991
00:49:26,563 --> 00:49:30,400
Alvin, you couldn't
do a thing like this! Alvin!

992
00:49:30,400 --> 00:49:33,370
SEACREST: Of all the funny
ladies on television,

993
00:49:33,370 --> 00:49:37,641
no one has had a longer career
playing a wider variety of roles

994
00:49:37,641 --> 00:49:39,576
than Betty White.

995
00:49:39,576 --> 00:49:44,348
She's hosted talk shows and
game shows, even reality shows.

996
00:49:44,348 --> 00:49:48,518
Acted in soaps, dramas,
and sketch comedy shows.

997
00:49:48,518 --> 00:49:51,888
And starred in
a half-dozen sitcoms.

998
00:49:54,057 --> 00:49:57,027
[Chuckles]

999
00:49:57,027 --> 00:50:01,865
Somebody forgot
to plug in the oven.

1000
00:50:01,865 --> 00:50:04,334
Well, I guess that just
goes to show

1001
00:50:04,334 --> 00:50:08,038
that anybody can make a mistake,
even your happy homemaker.

1002
00:50:08,038 --> 00:50:09,673
Now, don't you go away.

1003
00:50:09,673 --> 00:50:13,143
We'll be right back
after this commercial message.

1004
00:50:13,143 --> 00:50:14,378
MAN: <i>All clear.</i>

1005
00:50:14,378 --> 00:50:16,813
All right, who the hell
is responsible for this?

1006
00:50:16,813 --> 00:50:19,049
There were several
"Betty White Shows,"

1007
00:50:19,049 --> 00:50:21,451
and finally, the last one,
I wanted to call

1008
00:50:21,451 --> 00:50:23,120
"Yet Another Betty White Show,"

1009
00:50:23,120 --> 00:50:25,288
but they wouldn't hold still
for that.

1010
00:50:25,288 --> 00:50:29,092
SEACREST: Every time her career
seemed to wane,

1011
00:50:29,092 --> 00:50:31,695
Betty would recapture
that national spotlight,

1012
00:50:31,695 --> 00:50:34,498
on Mary Tyler Moore's show
in the '70s,

1013
00:50:34,498 --> 00:50:36,767
the "Golden Girls"
in the '80s,

1014
00:50:36,767 --> 00:50:39,803
and "Saturday Night Live"
in 2010.

1015
00:50:39,803 --> 00:50:41,338
FEY: I love Betty.

1016
00:50:41,338 --> 00:50:44,441
We got to do a week at SNL
with Betty.

1017
00:50:44,441 --> 00:50:46,910
And it was inspiring just
to see, one,

1018
00:50:46,910 --> 00:50:49,613
that her timing was
just rock solid still.

1019
00:50:49,613 --> 00:50:51,481
Her ability to work.

1020
00:50:51,481 --> 00:50:53,617
She would go home every night
to the hotel,

1021
00:50:53,617 --> 00:50:56,119
and I'd say, "How was
your night last night, Betty?"

1022
00:50:56,119 --> 00:50:58,355
She was like, "Good,
I went back to the hotel.

1023
00:50:58,355 --> 00:50:59,990
I had vodka
and a cold hotdog."

1024
00:50:59,990 --> 00:51:03,093
Like that, that's the secret,
I guess.

1025
00:51:03,093 --> 00:51:06,530
SEACREST: Every funny lady
of television

1026
00:51:06,530 --> 00:51:09,533
has her own
unique secret formula,

1027
00:51:09,533 --> 00:51:13,103
a dash of comedy,
a measure of likability,

1028
00:51:13,103 --> 00:51:15,539
and an extra portion of
personality.

1029
00:51:15,539 --> 00:51:19,142
Television for women has always
been a better place.

1030
00:51:19,142 --> 00:51:21,945
We knew it was something
very good

1031
00:51:21,945 --> 00:51:24,381
and something innovative.

1032
00:51:24,381 --> 00:51:27,884
I am so happy
when I'm performing.

1033
00:51:27,884 --> 00:51:32,656
I am truly happy when I'm --
that's it.

1034
00:51:32,656 --> 00:51:35,659
I thought acting was just fun,
I still think it's just fun.

1035
00:51:35,659 --> 00:51:38,528
I'm the luckiest old broad
on two feet.

1036
00:51:38,528 --> 00:51:41,998
This is where I belong.
Done.

1037
00:51:41,998 --> 00:51:45,602
I'd like to be remembered as
being funny

1038
00:51:45,602 --> 00:51:49,239
and making people laugh
and feel better.

1039
00:51:49,239 --> 00:51:54,711
I truly believe that laughter
is the best medicine.

1040
00:51:54,711 --> 00:51:56,880
SEACREST: Together, they rank

1041
00:51:56,880 --> 00:52:00,016
among the most beloved women
in history.

1042
00:52:00,016 --> 00:52:03,453
They are
the pioneers of television.

1043
00:52:12,562 --> 00:52:15,332
<i>She says, "Always hang up</i>
<i>your costumes,</i>

1044
00:52:15,332 --> 00:52:16,733
and know your lines,

1045
00:52:16,733 --> 00:52:18,502
and stay reasonably sober."

1046
00:52:18,502 --> 00:52:20,103
Well, I did two of them.

1047
00:52:20,103 --> 00:52:22,772
I think I was
somewhat responsible

1048
00:52:22,772 --> 00:52:24,474
for the shoulder pads.

1049
00:52:24,474 --> 00:52:26,409
I think it was the first time

1050
00:52:26,409 --> 00:52:29,779
that knock-down, drag-out fights
between two women

1051
00:52:29,779 --> 00:52:31,681
had been seen on television.

1052
00:54:41,311 --> 00:54:42,512
in things like this.

1053
00:54:42,512 --> 00:54:44,314
And I think the people
who are standups remember

1054
00:54:44,314 --> 00:54:45,882
that they're always
supposed to be funny.

1055
00:54:45,882 --> 00:54:48,685
Um, and I'll just,
blah-blah-blah...

1056
00:54:48,685 --> 00:54:52,522
I think the people who have
faced the audience alone

1057
00:54:52,522 --> 00:54:54,824
so often, toured as standups,

1058
00:54:54,824 --> 00:54:58,161
just know like,
"I gotta kill every time.

1059
00:54:58,161 --> 00:55:00,130
I gotta kill every time."

1060
00:55:00,130 --> 00:55:02,565
Um...
and that's burdensome.

1061
00:55:05,935 --> 00:55:09,139
<i>For more insider features</i>
<i>about your favorite TV stars,</i>

1062
00:55:09,139 --> 00:55:11,274
<i>stories you won't hear</i>
<i>anywhere else,</i>

1063
00:55:11,274 --> 00:55:13,843
<i>visit pbs.org.</i>

1064
00:55:20,750 --> 00:55:23,553
<i>To order this program,</i>
<i>visit us online</i>

1065
00:55:23,553 --> 00:55:25,588
<i>at shopPBS.org.</i>

1066
00:55:25,588 --> 00:55:25,588
<i>Or call us at 1-800-PLAY-PBS.</i>