Virtual Tour of Grand Rapids Art: Part VI

This week on our virtual walk through the Rad Women Walking Tour, we’re taking a look at the painting of actor and comedian, Carol Burnett. It was painted by Kerry Rolewics and is located on Ionia Ave and Lyon street.

Carol Burnett was born in San Antonio, Texas on April 26, 1933. She grew up during the Great Depression and she developed a love of the movies during her youth. She went on to study acting at the University of California, Los Angeles. There she discovered she had a gift to make people laugh. In 1955 she moved to New York, thanks to the donation of a stranger, where she started her television career. She worked on shows like the Winchell-Mahoney Show, Stanley, and The Garry Moore Show. Later she went on to play the role of Princess Winnifred on Broadway musical Once Upon A Mattress.

5 Lyon

Burnett developed a loud, slapstick style of comedy that worked very well for TV and movies. She won six Emmys over the course of her career and has hosted a number of her own shows, most recently A Little Help With Carol Burnett. She is still in movies today (Like Toy Story 4) and was awarded the Kennedy Center’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2013. Carol Burnett helped to paved the path for women in comedy and acting, and is very deserving of the third spot in the Rad Women Walking Tour!

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MAYA OEVERMAN

Editor Emeritus at The City Voice | MIPA Honorable Mention Award Winner

I am a Senior at City and I normally write the weekly book reviews! If I'm not reading, you can usually find me at the barn riding and taking care of the horses.