37THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW

Aired: CBS, 1967-1978 (1979 on ABC)

The kind of beloved series that television executives abandoned long ago comedy-variety, with an infectiously multi-talented comedian as host, aided by a small band of merry pranksters, Burnett's show was part of the era that also included Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, The Flip Wilson Show, and The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The show was loose-feeling, if not strictly loose, featuring a down-to-earth star and an ensemble of regulars, who seemed to be having so much fun they couldn't resist breaking character and laughing during sketches (see Korman, Harvey). The writers' room was a mixture of established gag men (Gene Perret, Roger Beatty, Arnie Kogen, and Gary Belkin, among them) and younger voices including the future filmmaker Barry Levinson, Tom Patchett (creator of Alf), and Jay Tarses, author of numerous off-beat sitcoms, including The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.