Carol Burnett Talks About Guest Stint on “Glee”

I'm sure many fans of the Carol Burnett show are looking forward to Carol Burnett's guest appearance on Glee as Sue Sylvester’s Nazi hunter mom as much as I am.

Carol Burnett chatted with TV Guide about her Glee guest stint. Here is an excerpt:

TV Guide Magazine: You’ve played a lot of mothers before, but probably not a lot of Nazi hunters.
Burnett: Let me think back now [laughs] — this must be a first. I knew I was going to play [Sue's] mother, but somebody said, “You have to go on the Internet and see about your character!” I looked it up on the Internet and that’s when I found out I was a former Nazi hunter. I started to laugh. At least she was on our side!

TV Guide Magazine: Describe Doris Sylvester.
Burnett: She’s retired. They caught the last Nazi. You get the idea where Sue got her temperament from. This mother makes Sue Sylvester look like Mother Teresa.

TV Guide Magazine: You and Jane Lynch sing “Ohio” from the musical Wonderful Town. Who’s idea was that?
Burnett: My husband and I were having dinner and he said, “Why don’t you do ‘Ohio,’ since your character’s coming back to [the show's setting of] Ohio? You could sing, ‘Why, oh why, oh why, oh — did I ever leave Ohio?’” I talked to [Glee co-creator] Ryan Murphy — and nobody [at the show] knew the song because they’re all so young. I said, “Listen to it and see what you think.” They thought it was great. It’s funny, [later] they called my assistant and said, “We’re going to send over the music. We don’t know if Miss Burnett knows this song or not.” [Laughs]

TV Guide Magazine: Tell me about working with Jane Lynch.
Burnett: I love locking eyeballs with her because she is a consummate comedian. She knows exactly how to say it and whether or not it will land — and it does every time. And Jane can really sing. In this duet she does the harmony, so it doesn’t show off her voice the way it should. But I think they should give her major singing [scenes] because she’s really musical.

TV Guide Magazine: And the other cast members?
Burnett: All of my scenes were with Jane. [But] during a break I watched them do a tribute to “Singin’ in the Rain.” I said, “My God, it really is like going back to the good old days with Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire.” All the kids were wonderful and Matt [Morrison] was dancing up a storm and [guest star] Gwyneth Paltrow was terrific.

TV Guide Magazine: Will you do just this one guest spot?
Burnett: I’m going back again for another episode. I have no idea what I’m going to be doing, but I trust them.

Jane Lynch: Sue Sylvester's Getting Married

No stranger to wedding bells herself, Jane Lynch's ever-scheming character on Glee, Sue Sylvester, is going to have a surprise wedding, the Emmy-winner said – who also reveals some other big moments coming to the show, including guest spots by Gwyneth Paltrow and Carol Burnett.

"Sue gets married – that's all I'm going to tell you," Lynch, who tied the knot with psychologist Laura Embry in June, said at the BAFTA/LA's Brittania Awards, where Betty White was honored.

"I probably shouldn't have said anything!," added Lynch, who would only say that the TV wedding will take place within the next three or four episodes – and it won't be a big musical blow-out.

Then there's Paltrow’s guest shot: "I did a couple of scenes with Gwyneth. She's got the goods," says Lynch, 50. "She can sing, she can dance. I really was [blown away]. I saw them doing a mash-up of 'Singin' in the Rain' and 'Umbrella,' and they are singing and dancing their hearts out, and Gwyneth is leading them. She's amazing."

As Lynch explained, "She's a substitute teacher for Will [Matthew Morrison]. Will gets the monkey flu and I expose him to it – I turn a sneezing kid on him so that he gets the monkey flu."

The upshot? "So Gwyneth Paltrow is the substitute, and the kids start to all love her. So there's kind of a rivalry between Schue and Gwyneth's character."

As for Sue's relationship with the new sub, "It's friendly – and then, of course, as with all relationships with Sue Sylvester, it turns antagonistic."

Her relationship with Burnett, when the comedy legend appears on the show, turns musical. Burnett will play Sue's Nazi-hunting mother. Says Lynch, an avid Burnett fan: "We sing '[Why, Oh Why, Did I Ever Leave] Ohio' from Wonderful Town, the 1950s musical."

Carol Burnett to Appear on Glee

Glee is going to get even funnier!

Television comedy icon Carol Burnett will appear on an episode of FOX’s musical hit this fall, according to EW.com.

The six-time Emmy winner will play the Nazi-hunting mom of Jane Lynch‘s character, Sue Sylvester.

The Cheerios’ leader referenced her parents in an episode last season but, according to the report, Mama Sylvester will be heading to Lima, Ohio, solo.

The episode is expected to air in October or November.

Landing Burnett, whose own variety show hosted a bevy guest stars, is the latest in Glee news about tapping outside talent, since creator Ryan Murphy dropped names at Comic Con and at a recent Television Critics Association panel.

Betty White's Next Gig: Hosting the Oscars?

Is Betty White the new Neil Patrick Harris?

Not content with her stellar performance on last weekend's Saturday Night Live, fans have launched a new Facebook campaign to place White at the podium come next year's Oscar night.

As of Wednesday morning, more than 9,200 members have jumped on the "Betty White to Host the Oscars" bandwagon. (Nearly 12,000 members, if one counts all the Betty White Oscar Host Facebook pages so far.)

White, 88, landed the SNL hosting gig after a fervent Facebook campaign by her legion of fans. Given her popularity and good reviews for last Saturday's performance – not to mention the fact she helped deliver the 35-year-old NBC show's best ratings in 18 months – this new crusade might attract even larger numbers.

Should the Motion Picture Academy not bite, a secondary, somewhat less vocal (for now) Facebook campaign is also underway, for White to host the primetime TV Emmys.

Either way, White has not yet indicated whether she'd be game to host the Oscars, though she did joke in advance promos for her SNL appearance that her fans should start blogging.

The 2011 Academy Awards are slated to be held February 27th, one week earlier than this year's ceremony, which was co-hosted by youngsters Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

Carol Burnett for SNL?

Meanwhile, another Facebook campaign is blossoming for still another favorite from TV's golden past – Carol Burnett. Fans are pressing SNL producer Lorne Michaels to let the popular redhead, 77, host the show. As of Wednesday morning, that army was more than 50,000-strong.

"Icing on the cake would be a cameo appearance by TIM CONWAY!" posts one admirer.

But as the killjoy New York Times points out, Burnett should be in no rush. This coming weekend will bring the SNL season finale, to be hosted by Baldwin.