Oh, to be as cool as Carol Burnett…
She’s always been a comedy heroine of mine. When I was a small child, her variety show invariably was on at my parents’ home, a television staple when network television reigned supreme. I remember laughing, mostly because Carol and friends had to contain their mirth by suppressing their own laughter over their incredible antics and skits. Like John Ritter and Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett is a legend who shaped my ideas about what made for great comedy as I got older. So much of their genius, in these three examples and others, was born from physical comedy, but I also guessed their comedic prowess was fueled by love. Love for what they did, love towards the people with whom they worked, and, most especially, love and gratitude for the ability to entertain and delight so many people all over the world.
I wanted to write the kind of comedy I saw, so I looked to the examples in the television set early on before streaming on my laptop was even a possibility. Carol Burnett was the quintessential California girl who inspired my creativity. I liked to think I, too, could lay claim to my golden fortune in the entertainment industry like a prospector during a gold rush. A lot of that started with education for me and I dreamt of completing my studies at UCLA.
Apparently, Carol Burnett had the same aspiration as she has shared a story about how she wanted to attend the same institution. We were both born to be Bruins. I attended both undergraduate and graduate studies on that gorgeous Westwood campus. The fees at UCLA were markedly different during her college years, but even at approximately 43 dollars a year in tuition, that seemed out of reach for her family. The gods must have been shining down on Carol and her aspirations as she recounted publicly that she received an anonymous donation of fifty dollars in the mail. That gesture (she never found out who her benefactor was) facilitated her academic pursuits and the world’s collective good fortune of knowing her talent. UCLA paved the way for us both. She studied theater and musical comedy while I got my MFA in Screenwriting after a BA in Political Science.
I pursued film studies thinking I wanted to write movies. In fact, I wrestled with the idea of going to film school versus law school because I didn’t think there was any value in the former as I didn’t know what kind of a job I could get with a Masters of Fine Arts. I was banking on my stellar education to provide all of the necessary tools to be a successful screenwriter, thereby giving me a chance to take Hollywood by storm. And for the most part, I was successful. I was handsomely paid to write. Until I wasn’t. A series of personal tragedies derailed my career for several years and suddenly I found myself scared to continue pursuing my dreams in the world of delicious make believe. Reality wasn’t something I had embraced for much of my life, the tedious commitment to a nine to five job I didn’t love was not something I endured. I’m so grateful for that as most people aren’t so lucky. Pursuing a passion can be scary and most people opt for job security. I didn’t. I had created an entire career based on my imagination and what it was capable of generating. And when I felt spent and insecure about my talents after my setbacks, I took a very steep step back from screenwriting and went for a safer route. I would teach others creative writing and similar subjects, basking in my students’ success while waxing lyrically about my past ones.
It was in this period of my life that I came across an opportunity to teach English at an online university called Anaheim University. Although not initially familiar with the school, I learned that they had been successfully matriculating student since 1997. In my initial job interview, one of the directors of the program asked me why I had opted to teach English versus teaching what I knew so well as a screenwriter. I explained I had taught on occasion, even at UCLA. but that this wasn’t something I pursued. But you have an MFA, he pressed. Yes, I retorted, but I didn’t obtain that thinking I would be a professor. He told me I should rethink that and there was a possibility of me teaching screenwriting at their esteemed university. Hmm, I thought, that could be interesting…
They made me an offer, which I gladly accepted. And then they told me about a special program that was in the process of accreditation and asked if I might be interested. The late Carrie Hamilton, Carol Burnett’s daughter, had made huge strides in her short career that sadly ended when she died in her 30s from cancer. She, especially, had a huge following in Japan where her movie, Tokyo Pop, was considered a cult classic. The inimitable Carol Burnett had bequeathed money to create The Carrie Hamilton Entertainment Institute at Anaheim University. And I am fortunate enough to be included int he magic. I am humbled to be part of the faculty there and to contribute even a small amount to the genius that was Carrie and continues to be the ageless wonder, Carol.