Quotes from Vicki Lawrence

I much prefer doing comedy. I get a little paranoid when the audience is not laughing.

I went to Vietnam during the Vietnam War to visit all the troops. We would fly into a hospital and serve mess to the guys, and we ate whatever they were eating. Then we slept there and flew out the next day to little bases where there were maybe 10 or 20 guys. Then we flew to another hospital.

I do love pasta. It gets me into trouble. If I could give up pasta and bread, I'd look like Cate Blanchett.

I think coming East and doing something like Broadway would probably be a good career move.

I never got to Broadway. I would love to do that.

I didn't plan on going into show business. Show business picked me. And it's been fun. One of the best things about being in show business is people think they know me, and they feel like they grew up with me.

I wanted to study to be a dental hygienist, marry a rich dentist, and hang it up.

I remember being totally enamored with Sid Caesar.

I've always thought George Carlin was brilliant.

I love to cook. I'm a sailor. And I was the eighth-grade ping-pong champion.

RuPaul knew details of the 'Burnett Show' that even surprised me.

I flew to New York to do a commercial back in the day when people could meet you at the gate, and the little agent when I came off the plane said, 'Oh, Miss Carr, we are so happy to have you here.' I went, 'Oh, for goodness sakes.'

'Mama's Family' was kind of like everyone's guilty pleasure.

Mama is my chance to be a stand-up comedian. In my mind, it's my chance to be Chris Rock.

I am interested in a lot of the same things people are interested in. I am trying to raise kids without them self-destructing. I am trying to hold the marriage together, and I am trying to take off the same 10 pounds everyone else is.

I had a hit talk show. I just wasn't working for the right people.

Some talk shows have become so exploitive and tabloid, I wonder if I can believe some of their guests. Where do they find these guests, and why do they deserve air time?

What I learned was that celebrities come to me with a preconceived notion. They think I'm fun, or they've worked with me, or they know me, or we've met. So there's a lot of backstuff on the 'Vicki!' show.

Most of the cast and crew on 'Mama's Family' have been together since the 'Carol Burnett' days, so we work really well together. It's like I'm being paid to pretend I'm in show business.

I want to be open about my condition to show others that they are not alone in dealing with this form of chronic hives. My advice for people with CIU is to talk to their doctor about their condition.

I was lucky to have my allergist who diagnosed me with CIU.

I really feel my family is my priority.

I am no prude, but when I watch comedy, I ask myself, 'Who wrote this? A teenage boy in the locker room?'

When I hosted 'Win, Lose or Draw,' it was always fascinating to me that no one knew where anything was when they had to draw a destination.