It Doesn't Only Happen In The Movies

Okay, maybe Lana Turner wasn’t discovered behind the counter at Schwab’s Drug Store. But nobody-to-star transformations do happen in real life.

Take, for example, Vicki Lawrence.

Lawrence’s path to stardom wasn’t instantaneous—she was very much the junior member of the cast on the Carol Burnett Show at the outset, and it took several seasons for her role to grow—but her fame was sudden. Lawrence had been an unidentified member of one of those rah-rah chorus groups that cheered middle-town, button-down America at one time, and went from that to suddenly being a regular player on a TV variety show.

We’ll let her tell the story. Here are two newspaper stories, the first from October 29, 1967 and the second from June 5, 1973 when she added “recording star” to her list of accomplishments (“The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” went Number One for her in 1973). She went on to take one of her Burnett characters and put it in a starring role in the occasionally-revamped sitcom Mama’s Family and hosted her own cheery talk show.

At age 71, she still performs her “Vicki Lawrence and Mama” act. Perhaps appropriately, her “older sister” is still on stage at age 87.

She Looks Like Carol—That Helps
o o o
Vicki Lawrence Cast as Miss Burnett's Sister
By STAN MAAYS
HOLLYWOOD—Vicki Lawrence hunched her shoulders and grinned impishly when she confessed, "I didn't know who Carol Burnett was until I was a sophomore in high school.
The tall (5-6 1/2), slim (115) 18-year-old-girl, who was picked to be Carol Burnett's sister on her CBS-TV show because of her amazing resemblance, has acquired many of Carol's mannerisms.
It wasn't until the kids of the Young Americans singing group (Vicki was a one-time member) started telling everybody that Vicki was really Carol's sister that she decided to catch the effervescent star on TV to see for herself.
SHE WROTE a fan letter, with picture enclosed, and that's what lead to Vicki's being on TV today.
"Gosh, it was just a year ago when it all started," exclaimed Vicki as she rolled her eyes like Carol. "I was up for 'Miss Fireball,' the annual contest staged by the Inglewood (Calif.) Fire Department, when things happened.

"Carol and her husband had sneaked in back to watch. Of course, word got around that she was there, and when I was picked the queen they got her to come up on stage and crown me.
"HER HUSBAND let out a yelp when they announced she would do the honors, because Carol was pregnant at the time. All I could think about at the time was that this sort of thing only happens in the movies."
Carol kept in touch with Vicki most of the year, telling her that they had a sister skit in the works for some time.
When the time came to test Vicki, another girl, with professional experience, also was tested. This worried Vicki.
"WHEN MY turn came, I was discouraged from the word go," Vicki admitted. "The director told me to just walk in like I did at home. And when I did, he looked at me, scratched his jaw a moment, and said, 'Hmmm, we've got a lot of work to do.' "
On her CBS publicity questionaire Vicki listed her dad, a CPA, as "business agent." Mom is down as "publicity representative." It's also noted that mom is "a frustrated comedienne who received no encouragement."
"SO MUCH has happened, " Vicki said. "Gee, my dad — he's such a goof, always teasing me — called me one day and said they're having a little party for me. So I went along with it. Wow! When I got home there it was at Rock Hudson's place. Princess Grace was there and everybody. And Carol had arranged for me to be there.
"I'm so overwhelmed by what's happened that I never think of thanking her."

Veni, Vidi Vicki Lawrence of TV's Carol Burnett Show
By CHARLES WITBECK
TV Key, Inc.
HOLLYWOOD — (KFS) — "I never like anything I do, I go by what others say, said Vicki Lawrence of the Carol Burnett Show.
The former Miss Fireball, a talent contest winner crowned by lookalike Carol Burnett at the Hollywood Park race track, suffers from insecurity problems despite her six seasons on the best variety hour in television.
Vicki's lack of confidence in herself makes sense to her. The UCLA college student, who gave up school because she was learning more about her craft by working, is surrounded by the most skillful sketch artists in town. As the neophyte compared to all the others, Vicki remains the favorite little sister on the show, a member of the family whose time will come. She must watch from the sidelines and be content with her category. After a while, the sister row becomes confining, and Vicki champs at the bit.
"If I could get one good part outside the show — something crazy—just to prove I can cut it, I would be very happy," Vicki said. She has already verified her talents to Carol, who will back her in anything she wants, but now it's time to prove it to her questioning self — outside the protective family which has provided everything.
That break is occurring these days in the record business. Vicki has a hit in "Rainy Night in Georgia," written by her song-writing husband Bobby Russell. "Rainy Night" could be another door opener, allowing Vicki to slip out of her sister Chris image, and let show bookers see the youngster in a new light.

Six years of seasoning on the Burnett Show has been invaluable to Vicki, working with and watching Carol, Harvey Korman, semi-regular Tim Conway, and such guests as Carl Reiner, Lily Tomlin, Steve Lawrence, Bernadette Peters — a training course with pay that UCLA could never match. Some years ago, a college professor told student Vicki that she should quit school, since she was already doing what all the other drama-oriented students were aiming at. Student took professor's advice, and months later bumped into the man on a CBS stage; he had taken his own advice and was starting out in the business as a stagehand.
Carol Burnett's protege is the first to acknowledge all the benefits derived from being included in the show, and she is also honest enough to explain her problems as the youngest member of the family. In the last two seasons, Vicki has begun to emerge from her protective shell. "I still need to lose my inhibitions," she said. "I am too self-conscious. Lots of times I think I'm making a total fool of myself. If somebody laughs, this encourages me to go further."
Marriage to Bobby Russell has also been a major factor in bolstering Vicki's self-confidence. She could throw in the towel, but admits she's hooked on the business of performing, and doesn't believe she would be happy just as a housewife. The Russells may live in Beverly Hills during the television season, but their true home is Bobby's farm, 300 acres in the south, where Russell does most of his composing, and Vicki plays the farm girl, getting up at 5 a.m. to cook breakfast. Raised in Los Angeles, the actress is a greenhorn about the land, yet she loves the rural life. Her eyes sparkle as she talks of selecting fat goose eggs, riding horses, cooking turnip greens, country ham and corn cakes.
The city girl who did everything well as a youngster — from cheer-leading to table tennis to tap dancing — has gone country in a big way.
Listen to "Rainy Night in Georgia," sung by a Los Angeles girl, an ex-Miss Fireball, who just discovered the land, and makes it sound like she's never been West of the Mississippi.