Acting Career
As a comedienne and actress, Lawrence is known for her work on The Carol Burnett Show, of which she was a part from 1967 to 1978. She was the only cast member, except for Burnett herself, who stayed on the show for the entire eleven seasons. Lawrence was hired for the show on the basis of a letter she sent to Burnett and the producers, with a photograph of Lawrence that showed her resemblance to Burnett.
After The Carol Burnett Show ended in 1978, Lawrence and her husband Al moved with their children to Maui, Hawaii, but after a couple of years, returned to Los Angeles where they have remained.
Her portrayal of the "Mama" character on The Carol Burnett Show's The Family sketches was so popular that NBC subsequently created the sitcom, Mama's Family, elaborating on the Mama character. (Burnett reprised the Eunice Higgins character for the sitcom from time to time). 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. She also reprised the "Mama" character on stage for Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show.
Lawrence has made appearances on other programs, such as the sitcoms Laverne & Shirley (as the girls' drill sergeant, Alvinia T. Plout), Major Dad, Roseanne, Hannah Montana and Yes, Dear. In between the NBC and syndication runs of Mama's Family, Lawrence starred in the 1985 comedy pilot Anything for Love, which aired as a special on CBS that summer and co-starred Lauren Tewes and Rebeca Arthur. Lawrence has also appeared with Burnett, Harvey Korman, and Tim Conway in the Burnett show retrospectives that were broadcast in 1993, 2001 and 2004. Lawrence played 'Sister Mary Paul aka Sister Amnesia' in the TV special based on Nunsense Jamboree which originally aired on TNN in 1998.
Lawrence played 'Mamaw Stewart' (the mother of Robby Ray Stewart and grandmother of Jackson and Miley Stewart) in the hit Disney series Hannah Montana, alongside Billy Ray Cyrus, and his daughter Miley Cyrus.
Lawrence recently played as "Mama" on an Ohio commercial, promoting a constitutional amendment that would permit casino gambling in Ohio. Lawrence played Dan's old high school flame, Phyllis, in an episode of Roseanne. She also appeared on a special celebrity edition episode of the Anne Robinson version of The Weakest Link. Playing for a charity, she made it to the final two, but ended up losing to Ed Begley Jr.
Read more about this topic: Vicki Lawrence, Life and Career
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