Memories From The Set: Vicki Lawrence
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THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW
When she was 17, Lawrence wrote comedian Carol Burnett a letter pointing out how much they looked alike. That note led to the teen getting an audition, and then a steady gig, on the CBS sketch show. "It was a pretty incredible place to land, to even be invited to play with those people. I was terrible!" Lawrence says, laughing as she credits one of her co-stars with teaching her what she needed to learn. "I was just awful. Honestly, Harvey [Korman] took me under his wing. I think it was either kill me or train me for Harvey. He was just such a team player." That tutelage included work on dialects and timing, " and he would explain to me who I was in the movie take-offs," she recalls. For instance, in a Marx Brothers sketch, "I was Harpo. 'How come he doesn't speak?' He said, 'Just go watch an old Marx Brothers movie. Harpo never spoke!'"
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LAVERNE & SHIRLEY
Lawrence had a recurring role as Sgt. Alvinia T. Plout, whom the title characters met during a short stint in the Army. And after one appearance, executive producer Garry Marshall got an idea. "He said, 'Have you ever thought of doing your own show?" Lawrence recalls. The pair wound up doing a few pilots together; alas, none were ordered to series.
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MAMA'S FAMILY
Lawrence's helmet-haired signature sitcom role grew out of a sketch that originated on The Carol Burnett Show; the series ran fro 1983-1984 on NBC before getting picked up for first-run syndication, where it continued for four more seasons. "Betty [White] and Rue McClanahan were both on the first season," Lawrence notes, "but before we got picked up in first-run syndication, I lost both of them to The Golden Girls." She adds that, at the time, White said that she thought her new series could be a giant success. "She said, 'I think this could be the one,'" Lawrence recalls. "She was right."
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MURDER, SHE WROTE
Lawrence made two appearances in Cabot Cove — one alongside Laugh-In's Jo Anne Worley — and remembers two thing about the experiences: Star Angela Lansbury "was a consummate professional," and single-camera series really aren't Lawrence's thing. "It's 'Come on in, let's show them the scene,' they put the marks down, you go back and sit in your trailer for an hour-and-a-half while they do the lights," she says, crossing her eyes. "It's just so boring to me... I hate doing it."
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ROSEANNE
"I only did one episode" of the ABC comedy, Lawrence says, but what a role: She played Dan's old flame, Phyllis Zimmer. "It was when I was having a lot of problems and they were rather public" — aka being fired from her eponymous, syndicated talk show — "and I think Roseanne thought she was going to take me aside and really help talk me through it," Lawrence says. "So she invited me to do a little guest spot on her show."
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THE LOVE BOAT
Five of the Pacific Princess' voyages included Lawrence as a passenger; she played a different character each episode. "I remember always being intimidated by all the girls in the bikinis around the pool, always looking so perfect," she says. She recalls that when her storyline involved a kiss, producers usually had her shoot it first ("It's like, why do they do that? Why can't can you get to know each other and do the kissing scene on the last day, maybe?") and that she made a great friend while guest-starring on an episode that featured Hee Haw's Misty Rowe, who taught her how to play backgammon ("I thought, 'I'm going to kick her ass every time, because she's just so stupid.' She's not stupid at all! I never did beat her, but we became really good friends.")
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THE COOL KIDS
Margaret's look — black clothes, lots of jewelry — came directly from Lawrence's discussions with her new show's wardrobe wrangler. "She said, 'Here's what I think about Margaret. I think she might've been a Banger Sister.' I said, 'Really? So she's hung out in Vegas... and on buses... and with the rockers?' She said, 'Yeah.' I like it!" Though Lawrence says she hasn't gotten much of a backstory for her troublemaking alter ego, "in my mind, she's a rocker. She's been around the block a few times."
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HANNAH MONTANA
When Lawrence signed on as the title character's grandma, Mamaw Ruthie, producers mentioned that any acting wisdom she could impart to the Disney Channel series' young star would be appreciated. So, during a kitchen scene, Lawrence mentioned how working with what was on set really helped her learn her lines. "I said, 'It's just a really good thing to learn to make your props your friends, Miley,'" she recalls. Four years later, in Lawrence's final episode, Mamaw and Miley were attending high tea at a fancy restaurant when Lawrence stopped the scene because she'd placed her purse somewhere it would block camera shots. "I said, 'Where'd you put your purse, Miley?' She said, 'I hung it on the back of my chair — make your props your friends, Vicki.'" Lawrence laughs. "It came full circle."
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GREAT NEWS
When executive producer Tina Fey called and asked if Lawrence could recur as Carol's friend Angie, "I'm not saying no to Tina," Lawrence says, laughing. "I love Tina."
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THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW (cont'd.)
While most modern TV soundstages feature lavish craft service (aka food) tables, "On the Burnett Show, we would sit down to read the script, and there would be a jar of pistachio nuts which Carol would dump on the table, and we'd all have a few," Lawrence says — that was it, in terms of a workday feast. "And about midway through the 11-year run, the associate producer came down and said, 'No more. We don't have the budget.'!"