"The Carol Burnett Show" ran from 1967 to 1978 and has been touted as one of the best television series of all time. The cast and guest stars of the show included comedic greats such as Tim Conway, Betty White, Steve Martin, Vicki Lawrence, Dick Van Dyke, Lyle Waggoner, Harvey Korman and others who went on to have long, successful comedy careers. One firm rule Carol Burnett had on her show was that the actors stay in character. She felt it was especially important not to break character during the "Family" scenes, in which the characters Ed and Eunice Higgins (a married couple) and Mama (Eunice's mother) would play host to various colorful characters in their home. "I never wanted to stop and do a retake, because I like our show to be ‘live,’" she wrote in her memoir, as reported by Showbiz Cheat Sheet. "So when the ‘Family’ sketches came along, I was adamant that we never break up in those scenes, because Eunice, Ed, and Mama were, in an odd way, sacred to me. They were real people in real situations, some of which were as sad and pitiful as they were funny, and I didn’t want any of us to break the fourth wall and be out of character.”It was a noble goal, and one that went right out the window—with Burnett leading the way—in a "Family" sketch during the show's final season that ended with the entire cast rolling with laughter. In the scene, Eunice, Mama, Dan (an old friend of Ed's) and Mickey (Ed's employee at the hardware store) are playing "Password" and the word they're trying to get their partners to guess is "ridiculous." Eunice (played by Carol Burnett) gives Mickey (played by Tim Conway) the clue word "laughable," and after pondering for a bit, he says "elephant."Eunice scolds him for his bizarre answer, then Conway launches into a wild ad-libbed story about a circus elephant that goes on and on and on.Burnett is the first one to lose it. The cast barely keeps it together through the sketch.But that was just one take. Between takes, the director gave the actors a note: The elephant story would be different in the next filming—and good luck.The next elephant story was even wilder than the first, and Burnett and Dick Van Dyke couldn't stop themselves from laughing. Conway himself breaks a couple of times, and even Vicki Lawrence (playing Mama), who famously never broke character, had to hide her face for a moment. Then, just when they finally got themselves composed and Burnett was able to deliver her line, "Go on, Mama," Lawrence delivered the most perfectly timed a-bomb and the whole cast exploded:So delightful. And for an added bonus, watch Vicki Lawrence tell the story about how that scene came about:See the full interview at https://emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/vicki-l...This article originally appeared on 9.14.22

The water bill at the Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis residence appears to be pretty low after recent revelations the couple made about their family's bathing habits.In a recent appearance on Dax Shepard's "Armchair Expert" podcast, they admitted they're not that into bathing themselves or their two children, Dimitri Portwood, 4, and Wyatt Isabelle, 6.The conversation started when Shepard explained his ongoing disagreement with co-host Monica Padman. The two have dissenting views over whether people should use soap. "You should not be getting rid of all the natural oil on your skin with a bar of soap every day," he said. "It's insane."Kunis agreed with Shepard and was very candid about her bathing ritual. "I don't wash my body with soap every day," she shared. "But I wash pits and tits and holes and soles.""I can't believe I'm in the minority here of washing my whole body in the shower," Padman replied. "Who taught you to not wash?""I didn't have hot water growing up as a child," Kunis recalled, "so I didn't shower very much anyway." Kunis was born in the then-Soviet controlled Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi in 1983. Her family migrated to America when she was seven.Kutcher added that he regularly uses soap and water on just his "armpits and crotch" and "nothing else."Kunis has passed her lax attitude towards bathing on to her children."When I had children," she said, "I also didn't wash them every day. I wasn't the parent that bathed my newborns—ever." Shepard agreed, saying that he and wife Kristen Bell only bathe their children as part of a nighttime routine and don't pay much attention to their cleanliness."That's how we feel about our children. We're like, 'Oof, something smells,'" Kunis added. Kutcher has a simple rule when it comes to his children and their cleanliness. "Here's the thing — if you can see the dirt on 'em, clean 'em," he says. "Otherwise, there's no point." \u201cMila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher Say They Only Bathe Their Kids When 'You Can See the Dirt on Them'\u201d — People (@People) 1627410000 While the Kutcher-Kunis clan's approach towards hygiene may not be typical of the average American family, they may not be wrong according to science. Research suggests that children benefit from being exposed to germs early in life."This line of thinking, called the 'hygiene hypothesis,' holds that when exposure to parasites, bacteria, and viruses is limited early in life, children face a greater chance of having allergies, asthma, and other autoimmune diseases during adulthood," WebMD says.Basically, the more your body is exposed to the more it can fight off."Just as a baby's brain needs stimulation, input, and interaction to develop normally, the young immune system is strengthened by exposure to everyday germs so that it can learn, adapt, and regulate itself," notes Thom McDade, PhD, associate professor and director of the Laboratory for Human Biology Research at Northwestern University.As for Kutcher and Kunis, they both share the same attitude when it comes to hygiene so nobody in the relationship has the right to complain if the other is a little funky. If it works for them, who are we to judge?This article originally appeared on 7.28,.21

Even though he was born "Katherine Elizabeth," Skylar lived like a regular little boy for most of his childhood.He was happy.This is Skylar.But when puberty hit, he started feeling intense pressure to be "normal" and fit in. So he tried to present as more traditionally "feminine."But he couldn't shake the feeling that he was denying a huge part of himself. Late in high school, he started taking testosterone.Skylar started feeling more comfortable immediately. And before he knew it, he was at his "dream school," having the time of his life. And taking lots and lots of pictures of himself.Access to medical care played a big part in Skylar becoming the person he is today, but that wasn't all. Check out his story and walk five years in his shoes. It's definitely a perspective we don't see often enough:This article originally appeared on 08.30.14

You've probably been there. You're out and about and you see something that just feels ... off. "Should I step in? ... But it's not really any of my business. ... And I'm not even sure they need my help..." Our gut tells us to speak up, to ask questions, to tell someone. But often, we don't.This happened to Malyk Bonnet, a 17-year-old from Montreal. But instead of ignoring his instincts, he acted brilliantly. It may have saved a woman's life.Bonnet had been having a relatively normal day until he spotted something suspicious on his way home.He'd been waiting for the bus after a shift at the restaurant where he works when he saw a man and woman arguing. He sensed a red flag."The guy was screaming at her, the girl," Bonnet told CBC News. "He wasn't really gentle with her, and I started watching, because I thought he would hit her, so I approached them a little bit."The pair asked Bonnet if he could lend them bus fares to nearby Laval, a city about 25 miles away from downtown Montreal.Bonnet felt uneasy about what was happening. But instead of declining, he decided to get more involved. He helped the man and woman with their fares and told them he was also traveling to Laval (which was not the case)."My plan was to keep them in a public place where he wouldn't hurt her," Bonnet told Dateline NBC. "I decided to be friendly with the man and have him think I was his friend. I played my game and he seemed to trust me."After arriving in Laval, Bonnet suggested they grab a bite to eat. At the restaurant, he gave the pair $50 for food and excused himself to use the restroom. Finally having the opportunity, he called the police and told them "someone had been kidnapped." Officers arrived minutes later.What Bonnet hadn't known at the time was that police were already looking for the perpetrator and his victim.The abusive man Bonnet reported had abducted his ex-girlfriend just hours beforehand."We were looking for a 29-year-old woman who was kidnapped by her former boyfriend earlier that day," Laval police Lt. Daniel Guérin told CBC News. "We believed that man was very dangerous."Previously, the abuser spent time behind bars for assaulting his ex and sending her death threats.Bonnet told Dateline NBC that while he didn't speak with the woman after police arrived, he could see how relieved she was. "We made eye contact and she had tears in her eyes. She was really happy."Unfortunately, this type of tragic experience isn't all that rare.While this particular story unfolded in Canada — where roughly half of women have experienced at least one incident of sexual or physical violence since the age of 16 — you'll find similarly alarming statistics in the U.S.1 out of 4 American women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. What's more, female victims of homicide are far more likely than male victims to be killed by a current or former partner.Although it may seem easy to simply leave an abusive relationship in the dust, take it from some women who've been there — it's much more difficult than it seems from the outside looking in.Instead of passing judgment, you can learn more about how you can help friends and family members who may be experiencing domestic abuse.Bonnet has become a local hero for his selflessness."His quick actions may have saved this young woman's life," Guérin said. The officers made sure to collect money so Bonnet could be reimbursed for the bus fares and food he purchased while trying to save the victim. "He now has 500 new friends in our department."Thank you, Malyk, for reminding me that sometimes the bravest thing I can do is simply listen to that voice when it's trying to get my attention.This article originally appeared on 08.20.15

When Felice House moved to Texas from Massachusetts, she quickly fell in love with "Western" culture. Timothy DouglasHouse, a painter and artist, moved to Austin to study for her master's degree before becoming an assistant professor of painting at Texas A&M University.At first, the culture shock was fun. House says she quickly became infatuated with the Western genre: the outfits, the cowboy boots, the music. "But when I actually got around to watching Western movies," she adds, "I was horrified by the roles for ... anybody except white men basically."The stoic renegades played by John Wayne, James Dean, and Clint Eastwood stood in stark contrast to the helpless damsels they shared the screen with. The empowered and the powerless.House had spent much of her career painting women in ways that clashed with media representations, so she decided to tackle the male-dominated Western genre.She put out a call for models and was quickly overwhelmed with women who wanted to participate. Felice HouseHouse says many of the models already knew which iconic cowboy they wanted to portray. Felice HouseVirginia Schmidt became "Virginia Eastwood." Felice HouseThen there was "Liakesha Dean." Felice HouseAnd "Rebekah Wayne." Felice HouseHouse first photographed the models in Western getups, then painted from the images she captured. Felice HouseShe also says practicing the facial expressions and body language was the hardest part for the models. Felice House"Women are kind of trained to make coy, approachable facial expressions," she says. Felice HouseTurning these women into iconic and powerful heroes meant stripping away any remnants of the "sexy cowgirl" trope. Felice HouseThe paintings themselves are larger than life. Roughly 1.25 times larger, to be specific. Felice House"When you see them in person, people are surprised by the scale." People aren't used to women towering over them, House says. Felice HouseAnd that's exactly the point. House wanted to start a conversation about who is assigned power and how we view it. Felice HouseIn that sense, the timing couldn't have been better. "Issues with gender and power in the U.S. are kind of in the forefront of people's minds, " she says. Felice HouseIn the very beginning of the project, House says she simply digitally clipped one of the models heads and put it on John Wayne's body. "It looked ridiculous," she says with a laugh. "But then I thought, what if I could find a way to give this same sense of power [that iconic male heroes have] to women?"With a brush and a few massive canvases, she managed to do just that, and she hopes it'll make a few people think differently about how we define who can be a hero.In the meantime, and despite her criticisms of the films of yesteryear, House says pop culture is getting better at representing women. Projects like this one definitely help.After all, it was John Wayne himself who once said, "Tomorrow hopes we have learned something from yesterday."This article originally appeared on 3.17.17

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