Comedy legend Carol Burnett recently opened up about one of her most memorable – and unsuccessful – early performances on The Ed Sullivan Show back in the late 1950s. The occasion? Sharing the stage with none other than Elvis Presley himself.
During an appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the 90-year-old icon revealed she was the opening act for Presley when he made an appearance on Sullivan’s variety show while serving in the U.S. Army.
“They put me on first,” Burnett said with an eye roll. “Nobody wanted to see me. I mean it was Elvis, ‘Where the hell is Elvis?'”
Despite her already-established comedic chops, she admitted her set that night didn’t go over well with the Elvis-crazed audience.
“I bombed. It was awful,” she bluntly stated.
However, Carol Burnett did get the chance to briefly meet the “Jailhouse Rock” singer backstage, describing young Presley as “very sweet.” She even scored his autograph for her younger sister.
The television veteran also explained that her ill-fated Sullivan stint actually inspired one of her most famous novelty tunes – the tongue-in-cheek “I Made a Fool of Myself Over John Foster Dulles.”
