Why does Carol Burnett tug on her ear? Heartwarming reason explored as actress ends 90th birthday special with trademark
Olivia House
Published Jan 01, 2026
Carol Burnett praised her 90th birthday celebration with a melodic slam. Fans watched the Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Chuckling + Love NBC festivities on Wednesday, which included superstar appearances by Julie Andrews, Charlize Theron, Sway Odenkirk, Katy Perry, and Billy Doorman, among others. The ritzy occasion finished with the entertainer playing out her unmistakable ear pulling move, which left adherents considering what the explanation for it was.
During the organization’s two-hour festivity, Carol Burnett thought back about her fantastic minutes, including her Broadway Once Upon a Sleeping pad debut, her initial appearances on TV, including that of The Garry Moore Show, her film hits including The Four Seasons, A Wedding and Pete ‘n’ Tillie, and her acclaimed satire series The Carol Burnett Show.
“Fantastic, I’m gobsmacked by it. It will be a magnificent night it’s anything but a birthday celebration, and it’s anything but a meal, it will be a theatrical presentation. There will be live amusement, 19-piece ensemble. Well, it’s so energizing.”
Toward the finish of Katy Perry’s presentation at the “theatrical presentation,” as Burnett called it, the last option played out her unique ear pull move as she got a wildly energetic applause from the group.
Carol Burnett pulled her ear interestingly on TV during The Paul Winchell Show as a little gesture to her grandma Mabel. While tolerating The Partners Boss of Youngsters Grant, she made sense of that the pull would be her approach to expressing hi to her grandma from a good ways. Burnett said:
“My grandma brought me over here up in Hollywood. At the point when I landed my most memorable position in New York, I called her, and I said, “Caretaker, I will be on TV Saturday morning.” She said, “Indeed, you have to express welcome to me.” We sorted this out – to pull my ear – and that was my sign to her.”
The entertainer got the thought from a dance group where the entertainers would pull their ears to express welcome to their youngsters. She chose to utilize the motion to motion toward her grandma, even after she died. Burnett made sense of:
“It generally signified, ‘Greetings, Caretaker. I’m fine. I love you.'”
During one of her The Carol Burnett Show portions, she let her audience know that the ear cartilage she pulls on was once estimated by a Daily existence magazine essayist who saw that it had extended longer than the other subsequent to pulling it throughout the long term. In spite of the fact that her ear cartilage were not balanced, Burnett shared that she didn’t really think about to it.
Lady’s Reality noticed that the entertainer kept up with the custom toward the finish of each and every The Paul Winchell Show episode. She additionally entertainingly did likewise at the 75th Brilliant Globe Grants while reporting the chosen people for an honor with Jennifer Aniston.
A couple of different notables at her new birthday festivity included Michelle Obama, Ellen DeGeneres, Lisa Kudrow, Sofia Vergara, Martin Short, Steven Martin, Jimmy Fallon, and Bill Hader, among others.