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| re: Carol Burnett: 'If I had stayed in New York, doing Broadway ...' | |
| Last Edit: keikekaze 03:32 pm EDT 06/01/23 | |
| Posted by: keikekaze 03:31 pm EDT 06/01/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Carol Burnett: 'If I had stayed in New York, doing Broadway ...' - BroadwayTonyJ 12:39 pm EDT 06/01/23 | |
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| I can add that the TV stuff Burnett was taping during the daytime in 1964 was the weekly variety series The Entertainers, which ran for 26 weeks during the 1964-65 TV season, and in which Burnett, Caterina Valente, John Davidson, and others were all weekly regulars. The mystery, to me, is why Burnett ever agreed to do eight a week in a Broadway musical and try to rehearse and tape a weekly TV variety show at the same time. Did she somehow not realize that they were going to conflict? Anyway, the impression I've gathered from various sources is that Fade Out--Fade In was doing hit business during the first six months of its run, from May of 1964 until the fall. Then Burnett became exhausted, was hospitalized, and sought out of her contract with the musical. The producers refused, and the show closed temporarily while the case went to arbitration. The arbitration ruled for the producers and Burnett went back into the musical, which re-opened early in 1965. But it closed just eight weeks later. That temporary closing apparently proved fatal to the box office, causing a lot of people to believe the show had closed permanently, and in such a bountiful year as 1964 there were plenty of other new hits (Dolly, Funny Girl, Fiddler, etc) to distract people's attention from Fade Out--Fade In. I agree that if Burnett could have remained in the show for a solid year without problems, Fade Out--Fade In would have been a profitable hit. |
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| re: Carol Burnett: 'If I had stayed in New York, doing Broadway ...' | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 01:52 am EDT 06/02/23 | |
| In reply to: re: Carol Burnett: 'If I had stayed in New York, doing Broadway ...' - keikekaze 03:31 pm EDT 06/01/23 | |
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| I would have to read the chapter in Suskin's book to get the rest of the story. I left out some really nasty stuff because there's no need to open old wounds. The show was supposed to open a year earlier but Burnett's pregnancy delayed it. I'm pretty sure Carol committed to the show before The Entertainers happened. Fade Out - Fade In was a smash hit as long as she showed up for every performance. When she started missing shows, her lawyers tried to buy out her contract but the producers refused. I remember they brought in Betty Hutton for a time, but that didn't work out. Audiences didn't want to see the show without Burnett. | |
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