Sneak Preview: Behind the Scenes at Carol Burnett’s Upcoming 90th Birthday TV Special

Lily Tomlin was totally starstruck to meet Burnett, then transformed

When Tomlin, 83, first burst into prominence as the snarky, snorting telephone operator Ernestine on Laugh-In, she was on the CBS-TV lot — then the province of Burnett. “I’d only been on the air two or three weeks, and I was totally rigid with fear that I would run into you and you didn't know who I was,” she told Burnett from the stage. One day, as Tomlin was in the bathroom, “I was just about to leave, and I heard your voice in the hall and I didn't have time enough to fake my own death.” In the next moment, however, “You [said you] knew that I was the phone operator, and you were so kind and so generous to me. You talked to me for a long time, and you gave me all the compliments.​

“You have always been a gold standard to me and to Jane [Wagner, Tomlin’s wife and colleague] in our work,” Tomlin said. “Total commitment to characters.”

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(Left to right) Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews

Photo by: Amy Sussman/WireImage

Great pal Julie Andrews revealed an “I kissed a girl” stunt the pair pulled that went off the rails

Both women were in Washington for the 1965 inauguration of Lyndon Johnson, explained Andrews, 87. Their mutual friend, director Mike Nichols, suggested a drink in their hotel after the gala. The pair posted themselves on a couch facing the elevator bank, and as Andrews said, “I don't remember which one of us came up with it, but one of us said, 'Why don't we just pretend to be kissing?’​

“We thought this was terribly funny, by the way. The elevator at that point went ping and so I flung her across my lap and bent down in a deep embrace.​

“And that elevator was absolutely packed with Secret Service men.”​

Mortified but still game, they again faced the elevators. With the next ping, “We bent over once again.” This time, it was Mike Nichols. “And all he did was say, `Hi, girls,’ and walked on.”

Steve Martin is a lifelong fan, and Cher leaned on her for support when Sonny was gone​

Martin, 77, and comic partner Martin Short, 73, offered zealous congrats via video. Said Martin, “We’re sending our birthday greetings to you because you are 90 years old, and we have loved you for every year of our lives [pausing]... to the point where we weren't born.”

Cher, 76, appeared in a glittering gold gown with a matching headdress, saying, “I always think of just her being so kind and helping me because I wasn't really sure what I was doing … on my own. I was really frightened. [Turning to Burnett just below the stage] And you helped me, you know you did.​

“I just love her. I want her to be just like her. And I'm not just like you, but I'm my own version of you.”​

Neighbor Ellen DeGeneres called Burnett out as a porch pirate​

Fixing a warm gaze on Burnett, DeGeneres, 65, said, “She didn't just pave the way for me and female comedians everywhere, she blazed the trail.” The talk show host added, “When I watched her, growing up, I did not know I would be working in this business. I never could have imagined this. Not only do I know her, I actually get to call her my friend and we actually are neighbors, which I can’t believe.​

“Also,” she cracked, “my Ring camera caught you stealing three packages.”

Bob Odenkirk called out a dicey moment for the legend, who memorably appeared in the final episodes of 'Better Call Saul'​

Starting with a shout-out for Burnett’s upcoming Apple TV+ comedy series Mrs. American Pie (costarring Kristen Wiig, 49, and Allison Janney, 63), Odenkirk, 60, recalled what he claimed was showrunner Vince Gilligan’s initial plan for a scene in the penultimate Better Call Saul episode, in which her endangered character faces off with Saul in a hair-raisingly dark dramatic moment.

“[Gilligan’s] exact words to me were, ‘Saul ends up killing Carol Burnett,’” Odenkirk said. “He didn’t say, ‘Kill Carol's character.’” Fixing his gaze on Gilligan in the audience, he added, “He’s shaking his head. No, no, he said ‘Kill Carol Burnett!’”

After the taping, Gilligan said, “Carol is a living legend, one of the finest entertainers America has ever produced. We're just as proud as we can be that we got to work with her.”​

Gilligan’s fellow showrunner Peter Gould, who wrote and directed the finale episode, was quick to add his tribute after the taping. “She’s not just a legend in the world, she's a legend in my heart because she’s so brilliant and fast and fun, and she raised everybody's spirits. We were in the middle of the pandemic, it was a very long shoot, and people were getting very tired. And then Carol showed up and raised all our spirits. I really don't think we would have made it without her.”

Photo by: Trae Patton/NBC

And what did Carol Burnett have to say to AARP?

When asked how she’d counsel fans in the AARP constituency to sustain her brand of vitality in their own lives, she smiled and replied, “Do what you love.”

Watch it: Carol Burnett: 90 Years Of Laughter + Love (NBC, April 26, 8 p.m. ET, streaming on Peacock April 27).