Vicki Lawrence

Vicki Lawrence Bio

Vicki Ann Axelrad Lawrence (born March 26, 1949) is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for her Mama character, Thelma Harper, on The Carol Burnett Show, and for originating many other characters on CBS’s The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1978. The Family sketches from the show led to Mama’s Family, where the Mama persona became the show’s focal point. Lawrence has continued to perform in television, film, and stage, and has hosted live shows such as Vicki and Mama: A Two Woman Show. She also charted as a recording artist in the 1970s, with the hit The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. Her career spans five decades with enduring popularity as a comedic actress.

Early Life and Background

Vicki Lawrence was born Vicki Ann Axelrad in Inglewood, California. Her paternal grandfather, Simon Axelrad, was an Austrian Jewish immigrant. Her paternal grandmother, Anna Irmas, was born in Illinois, to German Jewish parents but became an adherent of Christian Science, in which faith Vicki’s father was raised. The family surname was legally changed to Lawrence when Vicki was young.

A graduate of Morningside High School in Inglewood (class of 1967), Lawrence had originally planned on being a dental hygienist. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles while on The Carol Burnett Show, and changed her major to theater arts, but dropped out after two years. In high school, she auditioned for and got into the musical group The Young Americans. She stayed with the group almost until the end of high school. By being with the group, she gained experience from touring, performing at the Oscars, coming in contact with noteworthy performers such as Johnny Mathis and Louis Armstrong, and performing on The Andy Williams Show.

Path to Comedy

In her senior year of high school, Lawrence entered the Miss Fireball of Inglewood contest for the local firefighter’s ball. A reporter for a local newspaper wrote a story about the contest and stated that Lawrence bore a striking resemblance to a young Carol Burnett. An avid fan letter-writer, Lawrence’s mother urged her to write a letter, which Lawrence did, including the newspaper article. After receiving the letter, Burnett found Lawrence’s father’s name in the phone book, called him, and said she would go to see the Miss Fireball contest. Lawrence won the contest and Burnett was called to the stage to crown her. Burnett was looking for an actress to play her younger sister on her upcoming show. After a few months and auditions, Lawrence, aged 18, got the part, specifically to play Chrissy in the Carol and Sis sketches.

After Lawrence was given the job on The Carol Burnett Show, both Burnett and Harvey Korman took her under their wings. Korman taught her various sketch comedy skills, such as listening not just for a cue line, and also coached her in other areas, such as speaking in different accents. Lawrence has credited Korman and Burnett with being her mentors, and has referred to her experience on the show as the Harvard school of comedy. Lawrence learned show business from Burnett and looked up to her very much, and the two share a very close friendship.

Vicki Lawrence Career

Early Career (1967–1978)

Vicki Lawrence was part of CBS’s The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1978. She was the only cast member, except for Burnett herself, who stayed on the show for the entire 11 seasons. Lawrence originated many characters during this time, but none would prove more enduring than her Mama character. In the show’s seventh season, Lawrence debuted her famed Mama role on a comedy sketch called The Family. Only created as a one-off skit, The Family’s unexpected success with audiences led to it having recurring installments for the final five seasons of the program.

Her portrayal of the Mama character portrayed a cold, unaffectionate, widowed, elderly mother to the neurotic, misfortunate Eunice (played by Burnett despite Lawrence being 16 years younger). The Family bred some of The Carol Burnett Show’s most famed blooper moments. Lawrence won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1976 for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for her work on the show.

Breakthrough (1983–1990)

Her portrayal of the Mama character on The Carol Burnett Show’s The Family sketches was so popular that CBS developed the TV movie Eunice in 1982, and NBC subsequently created the sitcom Mama’s Family, elaborating on the Mama character. The series ran from 1983 to 1985 on NBC. After its cancellation from NBC, it was renewed from 1986 to 1990 in first-run syndication. The show was more successful in the renewed version. Lawrence also reprised the Mama character on stage for Vicki Lawrence and Mama: A Two-Woman Show, which she continues to tour with to this day.

Notable Works and Milestones

Lawrence has made numerous guest appearances on other television programs, including the sitcoms Laverne and Shirley, The Love Boat, Major Dad, Diagnosis: Murder, Yes Dear, and Roseanne. She appeared in two episodes of Murder, She Wrote, playing different characters. Lawrence played Mamaw Stewart in the Disney series Hannah Montana alongside Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus from 2006 to 2011. She starred in the Fox sitcom The Cool Kids along with Martin Mull, Leslie Jordan, and David Alan Grier from 2018 to 2019. She also starred in the 1985 comedy pilot Anything for Love and played Sister Mary Paul in the TV special Nunsense Jamboree in 1998.

Music Career

Lawrence also had success as a recording artist. Her number-one hit The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia was released on Bell Records in November 1972. It sold over two million copies and was awarded a gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America. During the last episode of the sixth season of The Carol Burnett Show, Burnett surprised Lawrence with the award on the air. Her follow-up He Did With Me reached number one in Australia and the top 20 of the adult contemporary charts in the United States. She followed it up with Ships in the Night in 1974. Lawrence released a disco album entitled Newborn Woman in late 1979, which produced the minor disco hit Do Not Stop the Music.

Hosting and Other Work

Lawrence hosted the daytime NBC game show Win, Lose or Draw from 1987 to 1990. She was nominated a number of times for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host for the eponymous Vicki! from 1992 to 1994, but the show ended after two seasons. In 1997, she hosted Fox After Breakfast, which was renamed The Vicki Lawrence Show, but was cancelled five weeks later due to low ratings. She appeared often as a celebrity player on game shows such as Match Game, Password, Password Plus, and various incarnations of Pyramid. She was a regular panelist on the 1998 revival of Match Game. Lawrence currently tours the country with her two-woman show, with the first half as herself and the second half done as Mama.

Vicki Lawrence Award Nominations

Vicki Lawrence has received multiple award nominations throughout her career, primarily for her work on The Carol Burnett Show. She was nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards in 1967, 1975, and 1977, and received Golden Globe Award nominations in 1973, 1975, and 1977, all for her performances on The Carol Burnett Show.

Vicki Lawrence Awards Won

Vicki Lawrence won one Primetime Emmy Award for her work on The Carol Burnett Show. The award was for Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program in 1976.

Vicki Lawrence Family

Vicki Lawrence was married to singer and songwriter Bobby Russell from 1972 to 1974. Her second husband was Hollywood make-up artist Al Schultz, whom she married on November 16, 1974. Al Schultz died on June 19, 2024. Lawrence and Al Schultz had two children together: Courtney Allison Schultz, born May 3, 1975, and Garrett Lawrence Schultz, born July 1, 1977. Lawrence and her family appeared on Celebrity Family Feud in July 2015.

Personal Life

Vicki Lawrence was a registered Republican for most of her life and a strong supporter of Elizabeth Dole. In 2000, she changed her affiliation to the Democratic Party and endorsed Al Gore. Since then, she has remained active in a variety of liberal-leaning causes including women’s rights, animal welfare, and the environment. Lawrence was diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria around 2011. She teamed with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and became the spokesperson for the campaign CIU and You. She appeared on The Doctors in 2015 to relay her story and talk about the condition.