Golden Globes Sets Carol Burnett Award

Veteran TV personality Carol Burnett will receive a lifetime achievement award named in her honor during the Jan. 6 Golden Globes awards ceremony, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced Tuesday.

Carol Burnett in Netflix's 'A Little Help With Carol Burnett'

Carol Burnett in Netflix's 'A Little Help With Carol Burnett'

The Carol Burnett Award will honor the highest level of achievement in television. Burnett, a five-time Golden Globe winner, will accept the first-ever honor during the Globes’ live awards presentation, which will air on NBC. Burnett is most widely known for her variety/comedy series, The Carol Burnett Show, which aired on CBS from 1967 to 1978 and received 25 Emmy Awards. It was named in 2007 by Time magazine as one of 100 Best Television Shows of All Time.

“For more than 50 years, comedy trailblazer Carol Burnett has been breaking barriers while making us laugh,” said HFPA President Meher Tatna said in a statement. “She was the first woman to host a variety sketch show, The Carol Burnett Show. She was also the first woman to win both the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and Kennedy Center Honors. And now we add another first to her running list: the first recipient – and namesake – of the new Golden Globe top honor for achievement in television, the Carol Burnett Award. We are profoundly grateful for her contributions to the entertainment industry and honored to celebrate her legacy forever at the Golden Globes.”

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.