 |
| I was lucky enough to find her for $20 at Big Lots years ago. I've resisted opening her because she displays so well in her box. |
 |
| She's part of the Barbie Pink Label series. That's the cartoon version of Carol from The Carol Burnett Show. |
Yes,that's spelled right. 'Starlet' was the Carol Burnett Show incarnation of Scarlet O'Hara from "Gone With the Wind".
The Carol Burnett Show did some really great old movie parodies over the years. It was one of the things they were known for,and inspired by Carol's love of classic movies. One of the all time most popular movie parodies they did on the show, was their "Gone With the Wind" parody,entitled "Went With the Wind".
In one of "Gone With the Wind"s most well known scenes,Scarlett,desperately needing money,shows up at Rhett Butler's business to con him into a loan. Wanting to appear well off,she arrives wearing a green velvet dress she made from the drapes from Tara,since, in actuality, she had nothing left and no money for a new dress. The Carol Burnett Show took the dress-from-drapes idea one step further, and when 'Starlet' makes her dress from the drapes, it's complete with curtain rod.
 |
| A good,if cartoony likeness of Carol Burnett. Ivy thinks she looks more like Ziegfeld Follies star and old movie actress Fanny Brice. (Fanny was known for her radio character 'Baby Snooks', and her life was the basis for the movies "Funny Girl" and "Funny Lady",starring Barbra Streisand.) She has a point. |
The famous curtain rod dress from "Went With the Wind" was designed by the legendary Bob Mackie, who designed all the clothes and costumes for 'The Carol Burnett Show'. He also designed the doll dress.
The dress under the curtain rod dress is a replica of the dress Scarlet wears in several scenes of "Gone With the Wind",including the scenes where Scarlett is helping with the wounded in Atlanta, and the scene where she shoots the Yankee soldier on the staircase at Tara.
A lot of people bought the Carol Burnett doll to steal the regular dress for their Scarlet O'Hara dolls. The print isn't really the same, but it is a representation of the colours and the general look of it. I suppose they couldn't get too close to the original for copyright reasons.
Carol Burnett was born in San Antonio, Texas in 1933. Her parents were alcoholics,and by the late 1930's she had moved into an apartment in Hollywood California with her grandmother. Her grandmother was a movie fan, and took young Carol to the movies often. Carol came to love the movies too, and as a young lady she worked as an usherette at a theatre on Hollywood and Wilcox. She was fired when she stopped a couple from entering a showing of Hitchcock's "Strangers on a Train" in the last few minutes, suggesting they wait until the next showing started and not ruin the ending for themselves. Years later, when asked where she wanted her star on the Walk of Fame,Carol requested that it be placed in front of that theatre.
After some stage work,including a Tony nominated performance in "Once Upon a Mattress", an Emmy winning three year run as a regular on The Garry Moore Show,and another Emmy for "Carol and Julie (Andrews) at Carnegie Hall",Carol began an eleven year run in "The Carol Burnett Show" in 1967. You can see at least some of the classic "Went With the Wind" sketch and hear Carol talk about it in a brief clip HERE.
Carol is still going strong today,and the "Carol Burnett 50th Anniversary Special" aired earlier this month on CBS.
See you tomorrow for another doll.
I love Carol Burnett and have watched re-runs of her show with my Mom. Of course she always has to tell me she watched the original!
ReplyDeleteUmm... So did I! Nyah nyah!
Delete