Carol Burnett has unloaded a massive haul of her most coveted awards, handing them off to her alma mater in conjunction with an endowment to support aspiring musical theater performers.
The television icon has donated more than 140 industry awards and accolades, amassed over her seven-decade career, to the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in Los Angeles. They’ll be showcased in the lobby of UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, home to the school’s musical theater productions.
Among the prestigious honors are seven Emmys, six Golden Globes, a Grammy Award, a Tony, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honor, multiple Peabody Awards, a Stephen Sondheim Award, the SAG Lifetime Achievement Award and the inaugural Carol Burnett Lifetime Achievement Award for Television from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
Burnett, 92, studied theater and musical comedy at UCLA after graduating Hollywood High School.
The donation of her awards comes as the university announced Thursday that the Carol Burnett Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship, established by a pledge from the star, will be used to financially support “high-potential undergraduate students in the school’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program.”
The scholarship will award a new student each year with funds to help them offset the cost of tuition and fees. The first recipient is Alexa Cruz, who’s currently enrolled as a member of the class of 2029.
“I am so pleased that, with this endowment of the Carol Burnett Scholarship to the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, students will be given an opportunity akin to what UCLA gave me when I enrolled fresh out of high school,” the “Palm Royale” star said in a statement. “I found my true passion at UCLA, and in this scholarship lies the hope that it will do the same for many others for many years to come.”
