Carol Burnett: 'I'm very grateful'

From NewsStand Correspondent Perri Peltz

	VIDEO
Carol Burnett on the challenge of performing Stephen Sondheim songs [780k QuickTime]
	AUDIO
Burnett talks with NewsStand Correspondent Perri Peltz about ... ... working with her daughter [290k WAV] ... her mother's thoughts on comedy [155k WAV]

(CNN) -- Long before Carol Burnett was crowned America's favorite funny woman, she was just a child of a troubled family who had dreams of stardom.

She grew up in downtown Hollywood. Her parents were alcoholics, but Burnett had a loving grandmother who raised her, took her to "eight movies a week," Burnett recalls.

"She raised me," Burnett told CNN NewsStand. "She had six husbands, she was Southern belle. And when she died she was 81 and she had a 40-year-old boyfriend who was a jazz musician. I thought, more power to her."

And more power to Burnett -- she eventually became the host of her own music variety program. "The Carol Burnett Show" began in 1967, and reigned TV airwaves for 11 years.

Today, Burnett's show business career is still going strong. She's currently starring in the Broadway musical "Putting It Together," composed by Stephen Sondheim.

"Every song of his is a three-act play, so every time you get up there to do something it has a beginning, middle and end," she says. "You have to approach it from an acting standpoint. And I love that challenge."

Burnett is also spending time writing a play with her daughter about growing up in Hollywood, and the grandmother who raised her.

"I'm very grateful," says Burnett of her career.

CNN NewsStand

Carol Burnett link site

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