When Carol Burnett Became Cher — and Comedy Got Taller
The Night “Sonny & Cher” Got a Makeover
It begins like a familiar love song — the disco lights, the long hair, the glittering gown. But within seconds, the illusion collapses into pure, glorious absurdity.
In this unforgettable Carol Burnett Show sketch, Carol Burnett transforms into a hilariously exaggerated version of Cher, all cheekbones, sequins, and attitude. Beside her, Tim Conway appears as a pint-sized Sonny Bono, complete with denim suit, mustache, and a hopelessly earnest grin. And to make things even stranger, Vicki Lawrence joins as a wide-eyed child star wannabe who decides that this is her moment to shine.
It’s chaos set to music — and it’s perfect.
“I Got You Babe,” But Not for Long
The scene is a send-up of The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, one of TV’s biggest hits at the time. But Burnett’s version flips the charm on its head.
As the trio begins the iconic duet “I Got You Babe,” Vicki’s “Little Miss Show Biz” starts hijacking every lyric, grabbing attention with her doll-like smile and piercing high notes. Tim Conway’s Sonny tries to hold the peace — trapped between two divas fighting for center stage — while Carol’s Cher gives the audience a slow, withering glare that could melt glass.
By the final verse, the song has disintegrated into comic warfare. Conway drops to his knees, Lawrence hugs him like a rag doll, and Burnett, in full Cher regalia, poses triumphantly with a look that screams, “I’m surrounded by amateurs.”
The audience roars.
The Art of Parody — 1970s Style
What made The Carol Burnett Show so sharp was its ability to parody pop culture without cruelty. The writers didn’t just poke fun at Sonny & Cher — they celebrated how ridiculous television fame could be.
At the time, America adored the real Sonny and Cher for their chemistry, their banter, their style. Burnett and her team took that formula, twisted it, and gave us a mirror — one where the showbiz glamour cracked just enough for us to see the silliness underneath.
And Carol, of course, nailed it. Her exaggerated elegance, the iconic head tilt, and that throaty, too-serious tone turned parody into poetry.
The Sketch That Out-Chered Cher
The real Cher later saw the bit and reportedly laughed hysterically, saying Burnett “got the hair flip exactly right.”
That’s perhaps the best review a comedian could ask for.
Decades later, the image endures: Burnett towering in silver sequins, Conway kneeling in denim, Lawrence pouting like a lost child star. It’s absurd, brilliant, and deeply human — a reminder that behind every glamorous duo, there’s always a hint of chaos waiting to break loose.
Final Thought
In a single three-minute parody, Carol Burnett and her crew did what great comedy always does — captured the culture, flipped it upside down, and made everyone laugh at how seriously we take ourselves.
It wasn’t just Sonny & Cher.
It was The Carol Burnett Show reminding America that the best kind of stardom… is the kind that can laugh at itself.
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