Copyright Variety
Carol Burnett has been brewin’ something big with the Bruins. The UCLA alum and Hollywood icon has announced two major gifts to the school: An endowment to establish a scholarship at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, as well as a donation of the more than 140 industry awards and honors that Burnett has received over her seven-decade career. Among those awards are seven Emmys — ranging from outstanding performance in a variety or music program in 1962 (“The Garry Moore Show”) to outstanding variety special—pre-recorded (“Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter+Love”) in 2023. She’s also won six Golden Globes, a Grammy, a Tony, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honor, multiple Peabody Awards, a Stephen Sondheim Award, a 1976 Creative Circle Award (shaped like a golden typewriter), the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, the Globes’ first Carol Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award for Television and much more. As part of the donation, Burnett also included ephemera such as hand drawings of her in costume from “The Carol Burnett Show,” a still-boxed doll of her in the CBS variety show’s iconic Scarlett O’Hara curtain hanger costume, and other photos and memorabilia. A rotating display of Burnett’s honors will be shown in the lobby of UCLA’s Freud Playhouse. Also included (above) is another award that is appropriate to the UCLA donation: A “Spotlight Award” from June 1952, honoring Burnett as “most outstanding newcomer” in the UCLA one-act program during the spring 1952 semester. The timing of the donation coincides with the announcement Thursday of the Carol Burnett Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship in Music Theater. Under the scholarship, one undergraduate student each year in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program will receive what’s described as a “substantial award” to help cover the cost of tuition and fees. “I am so pleased that, with this endowment of the Carol Burnett Scholarship to the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, students will be given an opportunity akin to what UCLA gave me when I enrolled fresh out of high school,” Burnett said in a statement. “I found my true passion at UCLA, and in this scholarship lies the hope that it will do the same for many others for many years to come.” This year’s grantee is first-year theater major Alexa Cruz, a member of the class of 2029. Cruz’s community theater experience includes performing songs connected to past Burnett roles, including “Little Girls” (from “Annie”) and “Shy” (from “Once Upon a Mattress”). Burnett made her Broadway debut as Princess Winnifred the Woebegone in “Once Upon a Mattress,” which landed her a Tony nom in 1960, and starred as Miss Hannigan in the 1982 film version of “Annie.” “As a first-generation college student, this scholarship will help me pursue my dreams of becoming an actress and make my goals feel more attainable,” Cruz said. “This financial assistance will greatly support my educational expenses. I’m truly humbled by this opportunity and excited to continue pursuing my degree at UCLA and my passion for musical theater.” Most recently, Burnett has been seen in “Better Call Saul,” “Hacks” and “Palm Royale,” which was created by another UCLA alum, Abe Sylvia. Burnett and Sylvia will visit UCLA on Thursday to introduce a Season 2 premiere screening of “Palm Royale” in the James Bridges Theater. “Carol Burnett has led one of the most visionary, joyful and prolific careers in the history of multiple entertainment industries,” said UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu. “She created new paths every time something blocked her way. She created new forms within the industry for herself and others to thrive. Her approach to craft is completely aligned with the spirit of what we teach our brilliant students at TFT. Carol Burnett’s voice has always been, and will always be, part of our story as we train upcoming generations to follow her bold and tenacious example.”
