The Reason Behind Carol Burnett's Signature Ear Tug Is the Most Endearing Thing Ever

Why did Carol Burnett pull her ear? Carol Burnett is identified for ‘The Carol Burnett Show,’ which she would finish with a tug of her ear.

It can also be argued that nobody is more iconic than Carol Burnett, a comic, actor, singer, and personality known for her groundbreaking selection show, The Carol Burnett Show. Her show ran on CBS from 1967 to 1978, with 9 special episodes in 1991. She received six Emmys, a Tony, a Grammy, and seven Golden Globes, in addition to the 2005 Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Screen Actors Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015.

Among all her accolades and accomplishments, many of us bear in mind Carol’s signature sign-off from The Carol Burnett Show when she would pull on her left ear. Of course, this signature move came up right through her 90th birthday celebration — yes, she is alive and well at ninety years outdated! But why did she pull on her ear?

Carol Burnett pulled on her ear as a way to say hi to her grandmother.

Carol Burnett’s signature ear tug in reality came from a conversation with her grandmother. Carol included a Q&A segment with the target audience on the display (after it was once supposed to be only a warm-up act), and one fan requested why she tugged on her ear at the finish of each and every episode.

Carol printed, “That's a sign to my grandmother, who raised me. When I first went to New York ... and had my first process [on TV], she said, ‘Will you assert hi to me?'" The tradition began on The Paul Winchell Show in 1955.

“I explained to her that we're not allowed to say, 'Hi nanny,' you know, on television,” Carol shared. “So we worked out this signal of pulling the earlobe, which meant, 'Hi, I'm fine. Your check is on the way.” Of course, she was joking about that second part (or was she?) But even after Carol’s grandmother passed away in 1967, she continued pulling on her left ear at the end of each episode to still say hi to her grandmother.

She got the idea from some friends in a dance team who would pull on their ears on television to say hello to their children. “Every time I was on TV, I’d find a place to do this on camera so she would know I’m thinking of her,” Carol said sweetly in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation. Even now, Carol continues the tradition so much that it’s become part of her persona.

In truth, Carol shared together with her target market that a Life Magazine creator measured her ears and spotted that her left ear was rather longer than her proper ear from all the years of light tugging! So for those who need to elongate their ears (or say hello to their cherished members of the family), simply follow in Carol’s footsteps.

Carol Burnett’s 90th Birthday Special is now available to stream on Peacock.

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