Awards Circuit Podcast: Also in this episode, the Roundtable looks at the drama acting categories
Bad People Are “The Most Fun to Play” – Carol Burnett on Her Character in “Palm Royale”
Deputy Editor Awards and Features
Some actors are so good that they command attention without even trying. But Carol Burnett may be the only living legend who can literally steal scenes in her sleep. The 91-year-old actress just received her 23rd Primetime Emmy nomination for her supporting role in the satirical comedy “Palm Royale” — for playing a character who spends much of the season in a coma.
Created by Abe Sylvia and set in 1969, “Palm Royale” casts Burnett as Norma Dellacorte, a beloved and feared grande dame of Florida society who is bedridden since a lung attack. Her caregiver is Maxine Simmons-Dellacorte (played by fellow Emmy nominee Kristen Wiig), the wife of Norma’s cousin, but can only communicate her disdain through a series of grunts and babble. Yet Burnett turns her limited abilities into an acting masterpiece.