Carol Burnett Donates All Her Awards — 140 Emmys, Globes, a Tony, Grammy and More — to UCLA, Where She’s Endowed a New Scholarship

Carol Burnett has been brewin’ something big with the Bruins. The UCLA alum and Hollywood icon has announced two major gifts to the school: An endowment to establish a scholarship at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television, as well as a donation of the more than 140 industry awards and honors that Burnett has received over her seven-decade career. 

Among those awards are seven Emmys — ranging from outstanding performance in a variety or music program in 1962 (“The Garry Moore Show”) to outstanding variety special—pre-recorded (“Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter+Love”) in 2023. She’s also won six Golden Globes, a Grammy, a Tony, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honor, multiple Peabody Awards, a Stephen Sondheim Award, a 1976 Creative Circle Award (shaped like a golden typewriter), the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award, the Globes’ first Carol Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award for Television and much more.

As part of the donation, Burnett also included ephemera such as hand drawings of her in costume from “The Carol Burnett Show,” a still-boxed doll of her in the CBS variety show’s iconic Scarlett O’Hara curtain hanger costume, and other photos and memorabilia. A rotating display of Burnett’s honors will be shown in the lobby of UCLA’s Freud Playhouse.

Read more here.

Countdown to Carmageddon

I guess "carmageddon" is sticking, despite my attempts to coin "autopocalypse" or my pal Christy's even better "cartastrophe."

But CARMAGEDDON it is. CARMAGEDDON PEOPLE. WE'RE ALL GOING TO BE STUCK IN OUR HOMES NEXT WEEKEND!

Or maybe not. There's a strong feeling out there that the roads will rival the 1984 Olympics -- when motorists, afraid of all the traffic warnings, stayed clear... leaving the freeways remarkably smooth.

Team Franklin Avenue plans to stay as FAR AWAY from the 405 as possible next weekend... the benefits of living far, far away from the west side.

In case you're still in the dark about CARMAGEDDON 2011, UCLA and KCET will produce the special "COUNTDOWN TO CARMAGEDDON: The 405 Closure." Details:

Produced by UCLA’s University Communications and Public Outreach department, the 30-minute program is scheduled to air on KCET as a special broadcast of the award-winning news program SoCal Connected. The first airing is set for Wednesday, July 13, at 8 p.m. The show will repeat on Friday, July 15, at 9:30 p.m.

COUNTDOWN TO CARMAGEDDON: The 405 Closure presents the reasons for the freeway’s 53-hour closure and the unprecedented steps ordered by public officials to avoid severe traffic delays across the region. The program will also explore the potential long-term benefits to commuters of modernizing the freeway.

The program details the impact of the 405 shutdown through informative graphics and discussions with senior officials of Metro, the California Highway Patrol, the Los Angeles Police Department and UCLA, a major employer in the closure zone.

LA Observed's Kevin Roderick, who also serves as director of the UCLA Newsroom, will narrate.

L.A. Times Festival of Books Moves to USC

This is gonna get that UCLA/USC rivalry pumping: After 15 years at UCLA, the L.A. Times is moving its popular Festival of Books to USC.

The details, via press release:

The Los Angeles Times and the University of Southern California today announced that the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, one of the Southland’s most cherished and engaging weekend celebrations, will kick off its 16th storied year in a brand new home at USC's University Park Campus April 30-May 1, 2011. Angelenos of all ages interested in famous authors, celebrity appearances, speaker panels, superstar chefs and local musicians will have something extra special to look forward as the celebration debuts downtown.

"After 15 years on the Westside, we are very excited to move the Festival of Books to its beautiful new home and have the opportunity to work hand-in-hand with USC to ensure we grow bigger and better in the future," said Times Publisher Eddy Hartenstein. "Attendees and exhibitors can expect more to see, do and experience in addition to great access and a refreshing change of scenery."

Westsiders aren't gonna be thrilled... but for those of us further east, this is good news indeed.

L.A. Times spun the move as good for increased attendance "due to USC’s central location, proximity to public transportation, abundant parking and newly enhanced campus facilities. The Times and the university will work together to best utilize the University Park Campus to expand programming, provide exhibitors and sponsors with the benefit of more usable space for activation and offer sampling, pouring and concession opportunities."

The Festival of Books continues to be a free event. Check out our past coverage of the event here.

First Look: The L.A. Times' John Wooden Special Section

Above, here's a look at how the L.A. Times plans to pay tribute this Sunday to the late UCLA basketball Coach John Wooden. Section will appear as a special insert in the June 13 paper.

License Plate of the Day: UCLA Edition

Go... "Bruiins"! The extra "i" is for value.

(LPOTD courtesy Joe. Send your submissions in!)

License Plate of the Day: Dentist Edition

C'mon motorist, this UCLA alum would like you to shoot a grin her way.

A Novel Saturday at the Book Festival

Hoping to avoid the crunch -- not to mention the swealtering temps -- the Kid Formerly Known as the Blogger Toddler and I drove out to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books early on Saturday -- and I'm glad we did.

(Maria was at home, still recovering from a terrible virus that knocked her out for several days. Yeah, it's been a pretty rough week here at Franklin Avenue HQ, between that and the car accident.)

Parking was $8, but ultimately worth being so close to the festivities. (In years past, we've gone on a Sunday and hunted for free parking spaces.) The real reason we got there so early: "Johnny and the Sprites."

Getting there before 10 didn't make much of a different with the heat; it was a sauna all day.

If you're going tomorrow, one reminder: Don't pay for the overpriced, disappointing vendor food; just go to UCLA's Ackerman student union, where there are several fast food choices.

Now, some shots from Saturday:


Ahh yes, the main reason we were there with the Kid Formerly Known as Blogger Toddler: A live performance on the Target Children's Stage by Playhouse Disney's "Johnny and the Sprites." "Avenue Q" star (and "Sesame Street" alum) John Tartaglia headlines the show, and appeared on stage with two of the show's puppet characters. Ex-Blogger Toddler enjoyed it, as did his cousin (who we met up with); I now have those damn songs in my head. (It was actually a pretty good, nearly half-hour show -- not bad for free. Gladly took this over seeing those creepy "Doodlebops." Would have liked to have seen "Choo Choo Soul," but that performance was slated for the afternoon.)


J. Eric Lynxwiler and L.A. Observed's Kevin Roderick man the Angel City Press book, signing copies of their Wilshire Blvd.-themed book.


The spirit of the book festival: Strangers standing side by side, solving crossword puzzles together.


Hi De Ho Comics promises "books with pictures."


Pop culture historian Charles Phoenix holds up one of his great books, a colorful look at life in post-war Southern California. Charles confirms that he's taking a break from doing his Disneyland-themed tours of downtown L.A., but he's excited about his Roller Skating Spectacular at Glendale's kitschy, historic Moonlight Rollerway. Event, which takes place May 17 and 18, includes Charles' retro slide show, this time celebrating roller skating, and an after show all-skate party, among other things.


The "Comix Strip" row of mostly animation/comics-related booths (although, strangely, several non-comics booths resided there as well, including Tribune's Metromix).


Pretty self-explanatory.

USC Move to the Rose Bowl?

(Flickr pic by Steve Eggleston.)

It's possible, as the school's deal is up with the Coliseum. But, as the L.A. Times writes, it also could be a negotiation ploy:

Frustrated by lack of progress on a lease agreement with the Coliseum Commission -- one that would allow the school to run and renovate the venerable Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum -- USC is negotiating with the Rose Bowl to begin playing home games in Pasadena next fall.

While a deal with the Pasadena stadium is not complete, a potential USC lease agreement is on the agenda for a Dec. 6 meeting of the Rose Bowl Operating Co. The school's two-year lease with the Coliseum expires after Saturday's game.

Some insiders have dismissed USC's talks with the Rose Bowl as a negotiating ploy, saying it's highly unlikely the school would ever leave a stadium that's practically part of its campus. But others point to the number of teams that have left the Coliseum over the years and say USC is likely to uproot if there's no significant progress with the commission.

"We've been a loyal, faithful tenant of the Coliseum for 80 years, and our goal is to continue playing in the Coliseum for another 80 years," said Todd R. Dickey, USC's senior vice president for administration. "But in order to do that, the Coliseum has to be improved. It needs to be repaired and restored. And we've offered to make those improvements, not just to hand the money over to the Coliseum Commission, but for the university to actually operate the facility."

Timing of the news is interesting, of course, with the big USC/UCLA faceoff this Saturday at... yes, the Rose Bowl Coliseum.

Angeleno of the Week: Sporting Life Edition

Consider it the sports edition of Angeleno of the Week. Not exactly a good week for Marion Jones, the Trojans or the Bruins. Of course, USC and UCLA will recover -- OK, perhaps not this season, but they'll recover. Jones? Not so much. The jail-bound Olympic Gold Medalist (er, soon-to-be-former Olympic Gold Medalist) swore up and down that she didn't dope up, expressing plenty of righteous indignation when anyone made the allegation. Now, in admitting that she lied, Jones has already harmed the sport, and permanently ruined her rep.

L.A. native Marion Jones, you're our Angeleno of the Week!