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Every Celebrity in Carol Burnett's 90th Birthday Special on NBC
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love — premiering April 26 on NBC — is a star-studded affair.
Carol Burnett's 90th birthday special on NBC — sweetly titled Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love — airs April 26 and will be available for your streaming pleasure after that date on Peacock.
The star-studded bash honors Burnett for her decades-long career in the entertainment industry. As an eclectic performer herself, this televised special is exactly that. It features live musical performances, comedy bits, and sweet tributes from some of pop culture's biggest players.
"It was fantastic," Carol Burnett herself told NBC's Mark Barger about the event, which filmed earlier in April. "As I have said before, I didn't want a birthday party with a cake and balloons and confetti. And I didn't want it to be a roast. I wanted it to be kind of an old time variety show with live entertainment. We had a 90-piece orchestra. We had funny clips and wonderful guests who came on and were funny."
But who, exactly, are those wonderful guests? Read, below, to find out all the celebrities who made an appearance in Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love. To see what they do in the special, you'll just have to tune in.
Every celebrity appearing in Carol Burnett's 90th birthday special on NBC
Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love will feature many A-listers, including performances from heavy-hitters like Bernadette Peters, Darren Criss, Sutton Foster, Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry, and Kristin Chenoweth.
More guest stars will appear in the special, as well. To name them: Aileen Quinn, a.k.a the original Annie from the 1982 film (which also starred Burnett as Miss Hannigan); plus Allison Janney, Amy Adams, Amy Poehler, Bob Mackie, Maya Rudolph, Bill Hader, Cher, Ellen DeGeneres, Julie Andrews, Kristen Wiig, Laura Dern, Lily Tomlin, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Oprah Winfrey (via video), Michelle Obama (via video), Vicki Lawrence, Jimmy Fallon and The Roots' Black Thought (via video), Bob Odenkirk, Lisa Kudrow, Marisa Tomei, Sofia Vergara, Dolly Parton (via video), Steve Carell, Taraji P. Henson, Tracee Ellis Ross, Steve Martin and Martin Short (via video), and Charlize Theron.
It's obvious the attendees of this event look up to Carol Burnett and view her as a trailblazer in the industry. Of course, she remains as humble as ever. "It’s very flattering [that people look up to me]," she tells Barger. "But my feeling is if I had never been born, they'd still be doing what they're doing. But I'm thrilled that they're so kind. Their words and everything. But as I say, if I hadn't been around, they'd still be doing what they're doing."
"I was thrilled to have my chum Julie Andrews [there]," Burnett said about the event's guest list. "She flew out and she was with me the whole evening by my side. We’ve got a 62-year friendship! That was lovely. And so many wonderful performers: Bernadette Peters and Kristin Chenoweth and Billy Porter, Jane Lynch, Katy Perry. Kristen Wiig and Allison Janney and Laura Dern were hysterical when they got up to pay tribute. I don't want to spoil it. I'm not gonna give it away. But they were funny."
“It’s hard to imagine anyone in television more beloved than Carol Burnett,” said Jen Neal, executive vice president of live events and specials at NBCUniversal Television and Streaming, in a press release. “To throw this wonderful birthday celebration is clearly our honor, and we can’t wait to share the love that we all have for her with all her adoring fans.”
“This special is going to be the best party ever," executive producer Mark Bracco said. "It will be an evening of music, comedy, and dozens of big stars paying tribute to the one, the only, Carol Burnett. We cannot wait for everyone at home to celebrate right along with us."
To see the funniness unfold, watch Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love Wednesday, April 26 at 8/7c on NBC and next day on Peacock.
