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Friday, June 14, 2002
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Carol Burnett on '20/20'
For the first time, Carol Burnett speaks publicly
about something extremely personal -- the untimely death of
her first born child.
America's favorite funny girl is still the reigning queen of comedy after nearly half a century of hit movies and TV shows.
But now, Carol Burnett's fans are about to get a glimpse of the beloved star as they've never seen before. Carol speaks for the first time about the tragic loss of her daughter, Carrie, in an emotional interview with Barbara Walters on tonight's "20/20."
Carrie's tumor had been under control, until a backslide forced her to go back into the hospital. But Carol says her brave daughter fought back with laughter. "She named the tumor, so she could talk to it. She called it 'Yukky Chucky,' and she had a picture of it. She'd visualize it getting smaller, and by the time she finished her first run of treatments, it had."
But just after Carol made America laugh once again with her highly rated CBS Reunion Special, she would suffer her greatest loss. Carrie finally surrendered to her deadly disease in January at age 38.
Carol recalls, "She said, 'gee mom, I'm sorry I had to come back to the hospital. I miss the food.'"
It was Carrie's courage that's helped Carol go on with life. Now, she's even on her way back to Broadway in "Hollywood Arms," an auto-biographical play she wrote with Carrie just before her death.
The beloved comic's new husband musician Brian Miller has helped heal her heartache. It's a love that's helped Carol triumph over tragedy and put on her familiar and beloved happy face once again.
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