Vicki Lawrence Net Worth

Vicki Lawrence's Quotes

• Everybody loves that character (Mama). I can go out on the streets and people will ask me 'Where's mama?' like if she's suppose to be with me.
• Life is much too serious to be taken seriously.
• [Who talked about her work with her idol, Carol Burnett]: Carol grew up on live television so that's the way we shot that show. We literally did two shows and you could set your clock by the schedule. It would take us an hour and a half to tape an hour show. There's no way that would happen nowadays. We stopped only for major costume changes or major set changes. You know, we used to tackle some pretty spectacular huge pieces. We'd get through those tapings and we rarely did pick-ups. For Carol, it was all about that audience. Keeping that audience happy, that 250-person audience that was in our studio. I think that's why everybody still watches that show and loves it so much because it was like being there live. It was really incredibly well-done. You look back at the staff, the costumes and the writing...it was just an incredible team.
• [on comedy that has been changed over the years]: We were sort of left to our own devices back then doing a live show. Now, you'd have eight gazillion suits down there telling us what to do. Telling you what you can and can't say...everything is so politically correct now. I think comedy has gotten cynical and dark. Sexual. It's hard to find for the kids those great old shows that you can sit and watch together. Where you can laugh at totally mindless shit like I did when I was young...like Green Acres or Lucy. Those shows are sort of timeless.
• [When asked if she was going back to do her Mama character in 2010, the character she created for 40 years]: No, I certainly did not. Mama was actually written for Carol as a one-time character with a guest star playing Eunice. But Eunice was the character that spoke to Carol, so she wanted to play Eunice and told the writers she wanted me to play Mama. Carol also chose to make the characters southern. The writers were worried that we would offend people in the south, but people saw themselves and people they knew in those characters and identified with them. We got so much positive feedback instead.

Interesting Facts about Vicki Lawrence

1. Her recording of then husband Bobby Russell's song "The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia" was number one on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart for two weeks in April of 1973, reached the Top 40 of Billboard's Hot Country Singles chart, and earned a Gold Record.
2. Her former husband, Bobby Russell, wrote the popular tunes, "Little Green Apples" and Bobby Goldsboro's "Honey."
3. Daughter, Courtney Allison Schultz, born May 3rd, 1975. Son, Garrett Lawrence Schultz, born July 3rd, 1977.
4. Hit #1 in Australia in 1973, with "He Did With Me", written by Harry Lloyd and Gloria Sklerov.
5. She is a huge game show fan and guest-starred on many game shows including The $10,000 Pyramid (1973), Super Password (1984), and Match Game 73 (1973). She also hosted the daytime edition of Win, Lose or Draw (1987) for NBC and on her TV show Mama's Family (1983), Mama was a contestant on Jeopardy! (1984) She did a salute to game shows and their hosts on her talk show Vicki! (1992).
6. She is the older sister of make-up artist, Joni Lawrence.
7. With the exception of Eric Brown (Buzz), Karin Argoud (Sonja), and Allan Kayser (Bubba), she was the youngest of the regularly-appearing actress and if counting the grandkids she was the 4th youngest, overall, in the cast of Mama's Family (1983), even though the character she played was the oldest. Ken Berry (Vinton), Dorothy Lyman (Naomi), Beverly Archer (Iola), Rue McClanahan (Aunt Fran), Betty White (Ellen), Carol Burnett (Eunice), late actor, Harvey Korman (Ed), were all older.
8. While a member of the singing group The Young Americans, a journalist reviewing a concert mentioned Lawrence's resemblance to Carol Burnett. Students at her high school also mentioned her resemblance to the comedian. Lawrence wrote Burnett a fan letter, at her mother urging, saying she would like to meet her someday, and sent her clippings of the contest she was in. A pregnant Burnett had a feeling about her, decided to look up Lawrence's father's number and called Vicki. Vicki asked her to attend the Miss Fireball Contest in which Lawrence was appearing in, which Lawrence won and crowned by Burnett. After a small conversation Burnett told her they will stay in touch and would discuss Lawrence career. Months later Lawrence was subsequently hired to play Burnett's kid sister in The Carol Burnett Show (1967) and became Carol Burnett's protégée.
9. Still dresses up as Mama when performing to this day.
10. Was good friends with Dick Clark, Allen Ludden, Bert Convy, and Bill Cullen.
11. Was discovered at the age of 17 by Mentor and Comedian Carol Burnett and became her protégée.
12. Her acting mentors were comedians Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman.
13. Is very close friends with actress Betty White.
14. Is best friends and very close to her mentor Carol Burnett.
15. Was good friends with actress Rue McClanahan, Barbara Billingsley, Phyllis Diller, Dorothy Van, and Richard Dawson.
16. Cites mentor Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman as her biggest influences in her career.
17. Attended UCLA while she was on The Carol Burnett Show (1967). But was forced to drop out because of missing classes due to her work on the TV show.
18. Comedian Actress Jane Lynch cites her as one of her idols.
19. Was Valedictorian of her high School Class.
20. She was a Cheerleader in high School and was voted the most likely to Succeed.