Friendship goals! Julie Andrews was right by Carol Burnett’s side during the Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love TV special to support her lifelong friend. In a rare public appearance, the Sound of Music star, 87, got all glammed up for the star-studded event, which commemorated Carol on her 90th birthday and paid tribute to her groundbreaking contributions to television. As the legendary actresses had worked together on three of their own televised specials over the years, they became quite close and Julie was ready to celebrate her old pal. “I cannot believe it’s been 62 years since we first met, chum,” Julie told Carol. “We’ve gone from land lines to cell phones to text… and oh how we’ve laughed!”
Carol and Julie’s decades-old bond was introduced with a video montage of their hilarious sketches and joyous duets from 1962’s Julie and Carol at Carnegie Hall, 1971’s, Julie and Carol at Lincoln Center and 1989’s Julie & Carol: Together Again. “Julie and I never shut up talking to each other, it’s like we knew each other from the get go, so the idea was born that Julie and I should do a special together. So we wound up doing three,” Carol hilariously explained in a pre-recorded clip.
The montage showed how the two actresses were in total sync with each other and turned that rare friendship into gold, including an Emmy for their very first special. “We’ve shared confidences so many times,” Julie told Carol following the montage. “I’ve called you when times were rough and I needed a shoulder to cry on and I couldn’t imagine anywhere else I’d rather be tonight. And I love you very much.”
Broadway babies Kristin Chenoweth and Bernadette Peters were also on hand to help celebrate by singing their own versions of Julie and Carol’s ditties. And that was just the start of a smorgasbord of stars paying tribute to Carol, who changed the landscape of television by becoming the first female to lead a comedy variety show with the debut of The Carol Burnett Show in 1967, which collected 25 Emmys over its 11-year run.
Cher, Kristin Wigg, Charlize Theron and more took over the microphone to let Carol know how much she inspired them in their own careers. Dolly Parton even wished Carol a ‘happy birthday’ from a remote location.
And to make the evening that much more special and official, President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden sent their love with a pre-recorded message as well. “You’ve inspired a generation,” they said. “We love you, kid, you are a national treasure.”