Carol Burnett to Support Musical Theater Students With Scholarship Endowment at UCLA

Carol Burnett is reaching her hand back to offer support to aspiring musical theater performers.

The legendary star is backing the Carol Burnett Endowed Undergraduate Scholarship at the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television that will be used to support “high-potential undergraduate students in the school’s Ray Bolger Musical Theater Program,” per the university. TFT’s theater department will be charged with administering the scholarship, which will award a new student each year with funds to help them offset the cost of tuition and fees. They’ve already zeroed in on the first recipient: Alexa Cruz, who is currently enrolled as a member of the class of 2029.

It’s not just money that Burnett is offering up. Burnett, who studied the craft while enrolled at the university, also gifted UCLA’s TFT more than 140 industry awards and accolades she received that will be showcased in the lobby of UCLA’s Freud Playhouse. To mark the moment, Burnett will visit the UCLA campus Thursday evening to present remarks while joined by her Palm Royale creator and showrunner Abe Sylvia, who also just so happens to be a graduate of UCLA’s TFT.

“I am so pleased that, with this endowment of the Carol Burnett Scholarship to the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, students will be given an opportunity akin to what UCLA gave me when I enrolled fresh out of high school,” Burnett said. “I found my true passion at UCLA, and in this scholarship lies the hope that it will do the same for many others for many years to come.”

TFT dean Celine Parreñas Shimizu responded by praising Burnett for leading “one of the most visionary, joyful and prolific” careers in the history of multiple entertainment industries — and it’s still going. “She created new paths every time something blocked her way. She created new forms within the industry for herself and others to thrive. Her approach to craft is completely aligned with the spirit of what we teach our brilliant students at TFT. Carol Burnett’s voice has always been, and will always be, part of our story as we train upcoming generations to follow her bold and tenacious example,” she added.

As for Cruz, the first year theater major, she has previously performed songs in community theater that have close ties to Burnett: “Little Girls” from Annie and “Shy” from Once Upon a Mattress. “As a first-generation college student, this scholarship will help me pursue my dreams of becoming an actress and make my goals feel more attainable,” she said.

Before she became a small screen star with The Carol Burnett Show, Burnett honed her chops on stage by self-producing small shows in New York. She later made her Broadway debut as Princess Winnifred in Once Upon a Mattress, a role she originated and earned a Tony Award nomination for. She also starred on stage in Fade Out – Fade In, Moon Over Buffalo and Putting it Together.