Vicki Lawrence (born Vicki Ann Axelrad; March 26, 1949), sometimes credited as Vicki Lawrence Schultz, is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She played the title character Mama (Thelma Harper) in the NBC sitcom Mama's Family. The Mama character originated from one of the characters Lawrence played on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1978, and was one of many she created for the variety show.
Continuing the Mama character's evolution, Lawrence has hosted an untelevised stand-up comedy routine since 2001, "Vicki and Mama: A Two Woman Show". Moreover, Lawrence has made numerous post-Mama's Family guest TV show appearances in her famed Mama role.
In 1973, Lawrence became a one-hit wonder singer, landing on the US chart with "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia". The song reached number one on both the United States and Canada charts. "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" peaked at no. 36 on the US country chart. In 1991 Reba McEntire covered the song for her album For My Broken Heart.
In early 1974, Lawrence hit number one in Australia with "He Did with Me", followed up by the no. 7, "Ships in the Night". She also released an album on Bell Records. Lawrence has multiple Emmy Award nominations, and won one in 1976. She was also nominated for Golden Globe awards multiple times for her work on The Carol Burnett Show. Lawrence made several guest appearances in the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana and starred in the Fox sitcom series The Cool Kids.
Vicki Lawrence hosted "The Great American Homemaker" which appeared on USA Network cable television network for over a year in 1983.
Lawrence was born Vicki Ann Axelrad in Inglewood, California.
Her paternal grandfather, Simon Axelrad, was an Austrian Jewish immigrant. Her paternal grandmother, Anna Irmas, was born in Illinois, to German Jewish parents but became an adherent of Christian Science, in which faith Vicki's father was raised. The family surname was legally changed to "Lawrence" when Vicki was young.
A graduate of Morningside High School in Inglewood (class of 1967), Lawrence had originally planned on being a dental hygienist. She attended UCLA while on The Carol Burnett Show, and changed her major to theater arts, but dropped out after two years.
In high school, she joined the musical group The Young Americans. She stayed with the group until almost the end of high school. While with the group, she gained experience from touring, performing at the Oscars, coming in contact with noteworthy performers such as Johnny Mathis and Louis Armstrong, and performing on The Andy Williams Show.
In her senior year, she entered the Miss Fireball of Inglewood contest for the local firefighter's ball. A reporter for a local newspaper wrote a story about the contest and mentioned that Lawrence bore a striking resemblance to a young Carol Burnett. An avid fan letter-writer, Lawrence's mother urged her to write a letter to Burnett and include the newspaper article. After receiving the letter, Burnett found Lawrence's father's name in the phone book, called him, and pledged to see the Miss Fireball contest. Lawrence won the contest and Burnett was called to the stage to crown her. Burnett had been looking for an actress to play her younger sister on her upcoming show, and after a few months and several auditions by Lawrence, she offered Lawrence, now 18, the opportunity to play "Chrissy" in the "Carol and Sis" sketches.
After Lawrence was given the job on The Carol Burnett Show, both Burnett and Harvey Korman took her under their wings. Korman taught her various sketch comedy skills, such as listening not just for a cue line, and also coached her in other areas, such as speaking in different accents. Lawrence has credited Korman and Burnett with being her mentors, and has referred to her experience on the show as the "Harvard school of comedy". Lawrence has stated that she learned show business from Burnett and looked up to her very much, and that the two share a very close friendship.
As a comedian and actress, Lawrence is best known for her work on CBS's The Carol Burnett Show, of which she was a part from 1967 to 1978. She was the only cast member, except for Burnett herself, who stayed on the show for the entire 11 seasons. After The Carol Burnett Show ended in 1978, Lawrence and her husband Al Schultz moved with their children to Maui, Hawaii, but after a few years, returned to Los Angeles, where they have remained.
Mama character and Mama's Family
In The Carol Burnett Show's seventh season, Lawrence debuted her Mama role on a comedy sketch called The Family. Originaly created as a one-off skit, The Family enjoyed unexpected success with audiences, which led to its recurring appearances for the final five seasons of the program. With Lawrence's portraying the character of an elderly mother to Eunice, The Family bred some of The Carol Burnett Show's most famed blooper moments.
Lawrence's portrayal of the Mama character on The Carol Burnett Show's The Family sketches was so popular that CBS developed the TV movie Eunice in 1982, and NBC subsequently developed the sitcom Mama's Family; Burnett reprised the Eunice Higgins character for the sitcom from time to time. The series ran from 1983 to 1985 on NBC. After its cancellation from NBC, it was renewed from 1986 to 1990 in first-run syndication, where it was more successful than in its earlier incarnation. Lawrence also reprised the Mama character on stage for Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show.
Lawrence has made appearances on other programs, such as the sitcoms Laverne & Shirley, The Love Boat, Major Dad, Diagnosis: Murder, and Yes, Dear. She appeared in two episodes of Murder, She Wrote, playing different characters. Lawrence also played Dan's old high-school flame, Phyllis, in an episode of Roseanne.
Between the NBC and syndication runs of Mama's Family, Lawrence starred in the 1985 comedy pilot Anything for Love, which aired as a special on CBS that summer and co-starred Lauren Tewes and Rebeca Arthur. Lawrence has also appeared with Burnett, Korman, and Tim Conway in the Burnett show retrospectives that were broadcast in 1993, 2001, and 2004. Lawrence played Sister Mary Paul (Sister Amnesia) in the TV special based on Nunsense Jamboree that originally aired on TNN in 1998. She is also known for her voice-over work as Flo on the animated series Hermie and Friends.
Lawrence played Mamaw Stewart (the mother of Robby Ray Stewart and grandmother of Jackson and Miley Stewart) in the hit Disney series Hannah Montana alongside Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley Cyrus from 2006 to 2011. In 2011, she was Mrs. Santa Claus in the Hallmark movie Annie Claus Is Coming to Town. She starred in the Fox sitcom The Cool Kids, along with Martin Mull, Leslie Jordan, and David Alan Grier from 2018 to 2019.