Long time no see. Welcome back to my party! I’m so glad that you could make it. It’s been a very long time (about 8 months ago now!! :o) since I’ve posted here at my “get-together.” If you’ve been following me on my social media accounts, A LOT has happened on and off-screen since I’ve last spoken with you here. I’ve been working on a lot of fun projects lately that I can’t wait to share with you but today’s blog post is dedicated to a woman I’ve admired and have been inspired by for years. It’s the one and only Carol Burnett’s 90th birthday!!! In honor of her 90th birthday, I thought I’d tell you a story of how one simple act of kindness changed my life forever. So, let’s get this party started!
*Melanie standing on Carol Burnett's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Once upon a time, a long time ago, lived a young girl from a small town in southwestern Pennsylvania named Melanie Gillott. Melanie was obsessed with the show Full House especially because her parents had told her a story about how when she was two years old on vacation at the Outer Banks, a family came up to her parents table at a restaurant because they thought that she looked like she was related to the Olsen twins. Anyway, in her recommended videos appeared a video titled: The Carol Burnett Show with Steve Martin and Betty White. The video looked interesting to her and she knew who Betty White was so out of pure curiosity, she clicked on the video. Well, she loved the show so much she kept wanting to watch more and more. She especially loved “The Family” sketches and would spend her time researching about the many iconic guests that had been on the show and the movies that they would make parodies of. Melanie was in awe of the cast and especially Carol Burnett. She could sing, dance, act, do accents, was funny, and had such amazing stage presence. Melanie who was already a singer soon would discover that she had the desire to learn everything that she could about the entertainment industry and dreamed of the day that she could go to Hollywood. She would spend hours in the mirror making faces, imitating characters that she had watched, and attempting to do accents and dialects. She had never acted on stage a day in her life but she knew that this was what she was going to do for the rest of her life. Melanie one day told her parents that she wanted to be an actress and her father said to her, “You haven’t even ever acted so how are you going to be an actress?” To which she said “I just am” and he said “Well, go audition for a show.” So, without hesitation she did and she even got a part. (She had one line, but hey she got cast. Haha) The stage would become her home and she craved more. Her parents could see that she was really serious about her career so they would drive her to her rehearsals and go to all her shows and they even got her tickets to see both Vicki Lawrence and Carol Burnett in-person!! She was the youngest in the audience but she didn’t care. When people would ask her about why she wanted to go see them perform, she would always say that she wanted to be an actress and be on TV just like them. The people in the audiences were always so kind to her and always said how they couldn’t wait to watch her someday which she would remember as she got older. When she went to see Carol Burnett, Carol would let people in the audience ask her questions just like she would on her show. Melanie was very shy so she didn’t ask her a question even though everybody in her section of the audience wanted her to meet her.
A couple days later, she was kind of disappointed that she didn’t take a chance and raise her hand at the show so she decided to write to her. A couple weeks had gone by, and on a gloomy rainy September day, Melanie’s mother came rushing into the house. “Melanie, you have mail!,” she said excitedly. When Melanie grabbed the letter she noticed that the mailing address said it was from Los Angeles, California. Melanie ripped open the letter and couldn’t believe what she was seeing with her eyes-- a letter from Carol Burnett herself on her own personal stationary. She also must have been drinking coffee when she wrote to her because a coffee cup stain was on the stationary. Melanie had told Carol Burnett that she aspired to become an actress one day and asked where she should go. Carol Burnett answered her and said that she should someday move to Los Angeles if she wanted to pursue a career in television/film. She was so encouraging to young Melanie and even said she loved Melanie’s photo because Melanie thought she’d send her a picture of herself because why not. Throughout the ups and downs that Melanie would face as she got older but especially when she was in high school, that letter symbolized hope for her that she could someday make her dreams come true.
Well, nearly 10 years later, at 23 years old, I can say to young Melanie that you did get
to move to Hollywood. You are a professional actress and singer. You are trained in dialects. You got to go to acting school and met some amazing people throughout the way. You got to go to Television City at CBS Studios where Carol Burnett filmed for 11 years. You even live really close to where Carol Burnett’s 90th birthday celebration was filmed.
*In the distance, you can see where the red-carpet was for Carol Burnett's 90th Birthday Celebration airing on NBC.
I have never personally met Carol Burnett but anybody that I have ever met who either knows her or has met her has all said the same thing: Carol Burnett is one in a million. I hope that as I get older, I not only grow into a performer like her but a woman like her as well. Carol Burnett paved the way for so many women in this industry and I am so grateful for that. So, thank you Carol. I’m so glad we’ve had this time together. <3
*Melanie poses outside of CBS Studios where The Carol Burnett Show filmed for 11 seasons.
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