“Can you bump up the lights so I can see?” is what Carol Burnett used to ask her tech people at the start of every episode of The Carol Burnett Show. This meant it was time for her audience to pry her with questions, the bland and bizarre, and Burnett would always find a way to make her off-the-cuff answers super-funny.

Over 30 years after her landmark TV show (23 Emmys, first female-fronted variety show) ended its 11-year run, Burnett will be (at age 76) bumping up the lights to chit chat with her audience at the Paramount theater in Oakland tonight.

“Laughter and Reflection with Carol Burnett: A Conversation with Carol where the Audience Asks the Questions”, is the one-night only opportunity for fans to ask their burning question to this, dare I say it, I don't wan't to jinx it – living legend.

Such as:  How do you get to the ladies room? Do you and Cher use the same clothes designer? What kind of soap do they use to clean the floor? Are you as foxy as Farrah Fawcett?

Yup, these are some of the real questions the studio audience has asked Carol during the show. A well-assembled montage on youTube can give you a peak of her questions and answers.

And, if you miss tonight’s show, here’s list of the must queue-up Carol DVDs:


Once Upon a Mattress:
Carol Burnett is brilliantly villainous as the meddling Queen mother-in law in this musical retelling of the princess and the pea starring a likewise hysterical Tracy Ullman.

Horton Hears a Who!:
Carol Burnett is brilliantly villainous as the meddling mama kangaroo in this terrific version of the Dr. Seuss classic, starring a likewise wonderful Steve Carrell

Annie: Carol Burnett is brilliantly villainous as the evil orphanage matron who makes life miserable for Little Orphan Annie, annoyingly played by Aileen Quinn

The Carol Burnett Show: Let's Bump Up the Lights!


This show is a reunion special in which the cast discuss the Q&A format of the series. Amazingly, Netflix doesn't have the original series itself: You have to buy it:

The Carol Burnett Show Collector's Edition

Or you can watch some of the most beloved clips on YouTube:

Carol Burnett - Bust Ups, Bloopers & Blunders

Carol, Tim Conway, Valerie Lawrence and especially Harvey Korman were known for their fits of laughter.


Carol Burnett Show- Went With the Wind
, (the memorable spoof of gone with the wind)

Carol Burnett - Funniest Moments