Carol Burnett’s 90th birthday special stars Cher, Bob Mackie creations – USA TODAY

Stars come out to pay tribute to Burnett

Julie Andrews, Cher and Katy Perry were among the A-listers on hand to pay tribute to Carol Burnett at the taping of an NBC special in the actor's honor. (March 3)

AP

LOS ANGELES Carol Burnettdidn't want toblow out candlesto celebrate her 90th birthday.The pioneering host of CBS' classic"The Carol Burnett Show"wanted a blowout TV special.

Thats why Burnett, who turns 90 Wednesday, jumped at the opportunity to mark her milestone with NBC's star-studded two-hour special, "Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love (8 EDT/PDT).

Rather than a birthday bash or whatever with candles and balloons, I wanted a show like you haven't seen in a long time, with a 19-piece orchestra, singers and wonderful music. I wanted a variety show, says Burnett, who earned TV immortality with the increasingly rare format."That's why I wanted it this way."

Consider this birthday wish granted, as starsfrom Cher to Charlize Theron celebrate the icon with the special, filmed last month at the Avalon Hollywood Theater.

In an interview earlier this month,Burnett still looks ready to hit the comedy stage, even if she's having trouble comprehending how the years have gone by.

"Ninety is hard to wrap my head around, because I don't feel it. And 90 is a big number," says Burnett, who credits frequenttreadmill walks and healthy eating for her continued vibrant demeanor. "Walking is good,and I'm very careful about what I eat."

YetBurnett doesn't appear onstage for the special, instead taking a table-of-honorseat where she could be seen laughing andclutching the hand of herbest chum of 62years, Julie Andrews, 87, duringsurprise moments.

Burnett saysshe was "absolutely gobsmacked" by moments includingvideo messages from first ladyJill Biden and former first lady Michelle Obama.

"That was pretty shocking," says Burnett, who didn't mind thatformer first lady Melania Trump, who is turning 53, didn't send regards."Melania has the same birthday as me. But she doesn't have a comedy special."

Bernadette Peters, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch and Kristn Chenoweth perform songs, while other comedians, includingAmy Poehler, Ellen DeGeneres, Kristen Wiig and Lisa Kudrow, pay tribute to Burnett's trailblazing career.

"It's very sweet. They often say, 'You paved the way for me,'" she says. "But I say, 'If I'd never been born, they'd be doing exactly what they're doing.'"

"Love + Laughter" covers the breadth of Burnett's stellar career, including her performance as Miss Hannigan in the 1982 musical"Annie" (with a tribute from the actress who played Annie, Aileen Quinn) and her dark role as treacherous Marionin the final season of "Better Call Saul" (an appreciation from fan Bob Odenkirk).

But the birthday specialleans into "The Carol Burnett Show," which earned 25 Emmys during itsCBS reign from 1967-78. The special resurfaces timelessclips featuring Burnett withlate co-stars Harvey Korman,Tim Conwayand Lyle Waggoner (who died in 2008, 2019 and 2020, respectively).

"It still holds up, because we never wanted it to be topical," says Burnett. "We wanted it to be belly laughs and vaudeville." (Reruns air on MeTV.)

Remaining cast member Vicki Lawrence, 74, paidtribute to the comedy mentor, who hired the aspiring actressafter she sent a fan letter.Designer Bob Mackie, 83, showedoff the iconic costumes he designed during the show's 11-year run.

"Over 11 years, Bob Mackiedesigned 17,000 costumes. That's 65 to 70 costumes a show. Not just for me, but foreveryone," says Burnett. "And he loved doing the funny stuff."

Most memorable is the Miss Starlett curtain dress Burnett changed into during a classic"Gone With the Wind" spoof. For the new special, Maya Rudolph donned the curtain-and-rodcreation, which is part of the Smithsonian National Museum collection.

"That took only two minutes to getthat on me,because it was a quick change in a skit that was live (to tape) on TV," says Burnett. "So they just plopped it on. But it was heavy."

Fashion icon Cher wore a towering Bob Mackie gown and reminisced about her longtime friendship with Burnett, which flourished during her appearances on "The Carol Burnett Show."

"It was so sweet that Cher mentioned that she used toborrowclothes that Bob Mackie designed for me, and I love when Chersaid we were the same size," says Burnett.

Cher took a seat with Burnett and Andrews at the main table and botched her first take introducing a musicalstage act. Cher cursed comically about her own miscue before nailing the intro the second time.

"It was very funny," says Burnett, who hopes the "screw-up" is part of the extended version of the show, streaming on Peacock April 27. "We were 33 minutes over, and the network told us we had to cut some of the stuff. But it's not lost forever."

Spoiler alert, Burnett sangbriefly forthe special, when Katy Perry handed her the microphone to sing the final words of the famed "Carol Burnett Show" signoff, "So Glad We Had This Time Together." It got emotional; Burnett tearedup.

The song gets more profound "after all these years," says Burnett. "That will probably be written on my tombstone."

While "Laughter + Love" isairing, Burnett will be celebrating her birthday at dinner with her husband of 22 years, Brian Miller,near her Santa Barbara home. She won't be watching.

"We've seen it," Burnett sayswith a laugh."We're going to out to dinner with friends. Butthere will be cake."

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Carol Burnett's 90th birthday special stars Cher, Bob Mackie creations - USA TODAY