Vicki Lawrence
2023 Saturday Night Headliner
Multi-talented Vicki Lawrence, is an actress, comedian, and singer known for the many
characters she originated on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, where she appeared from
1967 to 1978, for the entire series run. One such character, Thelma Harper/Mama, was
the central character of ever popular television situation comedy series Mama's Family.
The show still can be seen daily in syndication throughout most of the country and is
available as a Time-Life DVD collection.
Lawrence spends much of her time on the road with her stage production Vicki
Lawrence and Mama: A Two Woman Show. She also enjoys speaking to women’s
organizations and other great causes, where she shares her life story of fame, activism,
and her continuing success. All the while she approaches everything with her
characteristic sense of humor, reminding us all that “Life is much too serious to be taken
seriously!”
Lawrence has multiple Emmy Award nominations, winning one in 1976. She is a
multiple Golden Globe nominee, all for The Carol Burnett Show. In 1973, Lawrence
recorded the hit song "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia." It reached Number
One on both the United States and Canada top charts.
In the past, Lawrence hosted a popular game show, Win, Lose or Draw, her own
daytime talk show, Vicki!, and appeared in many theatre productions. She was the only
talk show host since Oprah to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy in her freshman year.
Through the years Lawrence has made appearances on other television programs,
such as Laverne & Shirley, Major Dad, Roseanne, Hannah Montana, and Yes, Dear.
Lawrence has also appeared with Burnett, Korman, and Tim Conway in the Burnett
show retrospectives. Lawrence most recently co-starred in the popular FOX-TV 2018
comedy series The Cool Kids. Lawrence’s co-stars in The Cool Kids were David Alan
Grier, Martin Mull and Leslie Jordan.
On stage Vicki has appeared in numerous productions, including Carousel, Send Me No
Flowers, No, No, Nanette, Chapter Two, Hello Dolly, I’m Getting My Act Together and
Taking It ON The Road, Annie Get Your Gun and live from the Grand Ole Opry,
Nunsense 3: The Jamboree which aired on TNN.
Vicki is not only a successful actress, she also is involved in many causes close to her.
She was the honorary head of the D.A.R.E program, raised money to protect widows
and families of slain police officers in Long Beach, CA, supports the Humane Society
and works with the American Heart Association as well as WALK FOR THE CURE. Her
efforts to protect women’s rights were recognized in 1988 when Vicki was the first
woman to be honored as “Person of the Year” by the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
Lawrence was diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) around 2011. She
teamed with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and has become the spokesperson for the campaign CIU & You. She appeared on The Doctors in 2015 to
relay her story and talk about CIU and promote the CIU & You campaign.
Vicki was born in Inglewood, California, where she excelled in dancing and singing, was
a cheerleader and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" by her graduating class. From
1965 to 1967 Vicki sang with the Young Americans musical group and, also, appeared
in the feature film The Young Americans which won an Academy Award for Best
Documentary.
In 1974 Vicki married the head of CBS make-up, Al Schultz, who is both her best friend
and professional partner. Al and Vicki have two grown children, Courtney and Garrett. In
her spare time Vicki enjoys cooking.
characters she originated on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, where she appeared from
1967 to 1978, for the entire series run. One such character, Thelma Harper/Mama, was
the central character of ever popular television situation comedy series Mama's Family.
The show still can be seen daily in syndication throughout most of the country and is
available as a Time-Life DVD collection.
Lawrence spends much of her time on the road with her stage production Vicki
Lawrence and Mama: A Two Woman Show. She also enjoys speaking to women’s
organizations and other great causes, where she shares her life story of fame, activism,
and her continuing success. All the while she approaches everything with her
characteristic sense of humor, reminding us all that “Life is much too serious to be taken
seriously!”
Lawrence has multiple Emmy Award nominations, winning one in 1976. She is a
multiple Golden Globe nominee, all for The Carol Burnett Show. In 1973, Lawrence
recorded the hit song "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia." It reached Number
One on both the United States and Canada top charts.
In the past, Lawrence hosted a popular game show, Win, Lose or Draw, her own
daytime talk show, Vicki!, and appeared in many theatre productions. She was the only
talk show host since Oprah to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy in her freshman year.
Through the years Lawrence has made appearances on other television programs,
such as Laverne & Shirley, Major Dad, Roseanne, Hannah Montana, and Yes, Dear.
Lawrence has also appeared with Burnett, Korman, and Tim Conway in the Burnett
show retrospectives. Lawrence most recently co-starred in the popular FOX-TV 2018
comedy series The Cool Kids. Lawrence’s co-stars in The Cool Kids were David Alan
Grier, Martin Mull and Leslie Jordan.
On stage Vicki has appeared in numerous productions, including Carousel, Send Me No
Flowers, No, No, Nanette, Chapter Two, Hello Dolly, I’m Getting My Act Together and
Taking It ON The Road, Annie Get Your Gun and live from the Grand Ole Opry,
Nunsense 3: The Jamboree which aired on TNN.
Vicki is not only a successful actress, she also is involved in many causes close to her.
She was the honorary head of the D.A.R.E program, raised money to protect widows
and families of slain police officers in Long Beach, CA, supports the Humane Society
and works with the American Heart Association as well as WALK FOR THE CURE. Her
efforts to protect women’s rights were recognized in 1988 when Vicki was the first
woman to be honored as “Person of the Year” by the Coalition of Labor Union Women.
Lawrence was diagnosed with chronic idiopathic urticaria (CIU) around 2011. She
teamed with the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and has become the spokesperson for the campaign CIU & You. She appeared on The Doctors in 2015 to
relay her story and talk about CIU and promote the CIU & You campaign.
Vicki was born in Inglewood, California, where she excelled in dancing and singing, was
a cheerleader and was voted "Most Likely to Succeed" by her graduating class. From
1965 to 1967 Vicki sang with the Young Americans musical group and, also, appeared
in the feature film The Young Americans which won an Academy Award for Best
Documentary.
In 1974 Vicki married the head of CBS make-up, Al Schultz, who is both her best friend
and professional partner. Al and Vicki have two grown children, Courtney and Garrett. In
her spare time Vicki enjoys cooking.