Mama’s back, as cranky as ever

Vicki Lawrence is returning to Modesto with twice the laughs.

The comic was in town in February for a free heart health awareness event from Doctors Medical Center. While the star of “Mama’s Family” and “The Carol Burnett Show” included humor as she talked about her life, her return engagement will be double the fun.

“I gave a speech up there last year and we had a ball, as I can remember. So I said, shoot, I should come up here and do the whole show,” Lawrence said in a phone interview from her Los Angeles home. “They laughed at the speech. I’m hoping they’ll laugh more at the show. It is half me, half Mama and a whole lot of fun.”

Lawrence brings her show “Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show” to the Gallo Center for the Arts on Saturday.

The character of Mama, the sassy, blue-haired matriarch of an extended blue-collar clan, was first developed as part of a recurring sketch on “The Carol Burnett Show.” Then in 1983, Lawrence spun off with her own successful series, “Mama’s Family,” which aired for six seasons, two on NBC and four in syndication.

Though the show ended its run in 1990, Lawrence has never left Mama behind. The beloved, sharp-tongued character in her ever-present house dress has had widespread and lasting appeal.

“We all have a Mama in (the) family. We all have a mom or an aunt or a grandmom like her,” Lawrence said. “We all had her sitting at our Thanksgiving table saying things and later, when you were doing dishes, you would say, ‘She’s right, you know.’”

The 65-year-old entertainer developed “Vicki Lawrence & Mama: A Two-Woman Show” shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. She put it together as an escape for her audience, to take people away and make them laugh. Since then, she has been touring on and off with the production.

“When we put the show together, we knew Mama had to be a big part of it,” Lawrence said. “Mama is such a fun, great voice to speak through. You can dress up as an old lady and pretty much get away with anything. It’s fun to keep that half of the show topical and edgy. But then I also need to be me before I’m not anymore. So when we put the front half of the show together, everything is largely biographical. Because I think I’m pretty funny, too. By the time I’m finished with my half of the show, you’ll know more about me than you ever wanted to know.”

That includes how Lawrence got the attention of comedy legend Carol Burnett as a senior in high school and joined the show after sending her a letter about their similar appearance. She said other personal stories include her evolution into a “natural” redhead and meeting her longtime husband, makeup artist Al Schultz.

Lawrence’s own career spans acting, singing and hosting. In the early 1970s, she had a No. 1 hit with the song “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” which sold more than 2 million copies. She continued to record music through the ’70s.

Her other TV credits include “Laverne and Shirley,” “Murder She Wrote,” “Roseanne,” “Yes, Dear” and a recurring role as Miley Cyrus’ grandmother on “Hannah Montana.”

She also has branched out into hosting her own talk shows. From 1992 to 1994, Lawrence helmed her own daytime talk show, “Vicki!” Then in the fall of 1997, she returned to the daytime couch to host “Fox After Breakfast” for a season from New York City.

But the performer said she knows she will be indelibly linked with the character of Mama. And she doesn’t mind one bit.

“When I was young, (“Carol Burnett Show” co-star) Harvey Korman was such a mentor to me. He said any character that you really do well is a part of you,” she said. “As I’ve gotten older, I think I do agree with Mama more and more. As you get older, you earn the right to not beat around the bush. Here’s what I really think.”

This story was originally published January 7, 2015 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Mama’s back, as cranky as ever."