Vicki Lawrence
Vicki Lawrence (born Vicki Ann Axelrad on March 26, 1949 in Inglewood, California) is an American actress and former singer. She has starred in the series The Carol Burnett Show and played the role of Thelma Harper in the series Mama's Family.
Life
From 1965 to 1967, Vicki Lawrence sang in the performance group The Young Americans. Beginning in the fall of 1967, she appeared on the television program The Carol Burnett Show. That same year, she began studying theater at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received an Emmy and five Emmy nominations for her performances on The Carol Burnett Show.
In April 1973, Vicky Lawrence spent two weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the song The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. She received a gold record for the single that year for selling one million records. The song had been written by Bob Russell, to whom she had been married from 1972 to 1974. The follow-up single, He Did with Me, was only a minor hit in the US, but reached number one on the charts in Australia. After The Carol Burnett Show, she appeared in her own TV series Mama's Family until January 1990.
Vicki Lawrence campaigned against drug abuse and for the surviving dependents of killed police officers. In 1988, she was the first woman to receive the Person of the Year award from the Coalition of Labor Union Women for her commitment as a women's rights activist.
Shortly thereafter, Lawrence became the host of the game show Win, Lose or Draw. Between 1992 and 1994, she hosted the show named after her, Vicki! She was the only host besides Oprah Winfrey to be nominated for a Daytime Emmy. Beginning in the fall of 1997, Lawrence briefly hosted the talk show Fox After Breakfast.
Since 2002, Lawrence has toured with her stage program Vicki Lawrence and Mama, A Two Woman Show. From 2006 to 2010, she guest starred in Hannah Montana as Miley Stewart's (Miley Cyrus) grandma. She also continues to advocate for human rights, women's rights, and the American Heart Association.
In 1974 Vicki Lawrence married her best friend and professional partner Al Schultz. They have a daughter (* 1975) and a son (* 1977).
Discography
Albums
- 1973: The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
- 1974: Ships in the Night
- 1979: Newborn Woman
- 1990: The Peter North Story
Singles
- 1969: And I'll Go
- 1970: No, No
- 1973: The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia
- 1973: He Did with Me
- 1974: Ships in the Night
- 1974: Mama's Gonna Make it All Better
- 1974: Old Home Movies
- 1975: The Other Woman
- 1976: There's a Gun Still Smokin' in Nashville
- 1976: The Other Man I've Been Slipping Around With
- 1977: Hollywood Seven
- 1979: Don't Stop the Music
- 1979: Your Lies
