In the first of a two part series on the health benefits of laughter, last issue featured my review of a live performance by Lily Tomlin. This second part, features Vicki Lawrence and her alter ego “Mama” character made famous on the Carol Burnett Show.

While Tomlin portrays numerous characters in her performance, including my favorite, 6-year old Edith Anne, Vicki Lawrence is at the other end of the spectrum with her portrayal of just one, Mama, a feisty, opinionated, speak-her-mind senior citizen, who Lawrence says has had a much better career than her!

Considering I’m rarely a fan of stereotypical spins on aging, Mama is a definite exception because she’s hysterical! And if the analogy is true that laughing is like internal jogging, I must have done the equivalent to a marathon during her show!

Lawrence first played Mama on the Carol Burnett show when she was just 24. The part was actually written for Burnett, but after reading the script, she thought it was better suited for Lawrence. To play the matriarch of a dysfunctional Southern family when you’re barely out of high school was a definite challenge for Lawrence, but one she was up for and loved.

“I always enjoyed playing Mama,” Lawrence said. “She was the one who struck a chord with everybody because everyone’s got a mother or aunt who’s a little left of center like that. She’s the character most people can relate to – kind of the female version of Archie Bunker,” she said with a laugh.

Admittedly, I didn’t know much about Vicki Lawrence, other than her work on the Carol Burnett show. Apparently I’m not alone because Lawrence opens every show with audience questions – and most are often about her background.

Lawrence was always told she looked like a young Carol Burnett, so when she was in high school, she wrote a fan letter to Burnett telling her of their similar likeness and got not only a response, but a visit too! Burnett went and saw Lawrence in one of her school plays and hired her. So believe it or not, Lawrence actually started on the Carol Burnett Show as a high school teenager.

Another trivia tidbit I bet you don’t know about Lawrence is that she’s also a recording artist. She actually had the number one song in the country back in 1973, “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia” written by her first husband. She laughed when she said it was her one and only hit, as well as the start and finish of both her recording career and her marriage.

Yet while one part of Lawrence’s career may have ended, her stage role of Mama was just beginning – and she was an instant hit.  In fact, the popularity of her character has continued to thrive for more than 30 years, and shows no signs of stopping. Lawrence performs regularly to sell-out crowds across the country and admits Mama is a much easier part to play now than when she started.  “I think it’s because I have a fuller view of life now, with more experience,” Lawrence contemplated. “Mama’s a part of me and she’s fun to play.”

With that, Lawrence exits the stage and before you know it, she reappears as Mama in full regale. You know the look … curly, silver wig, flowered dress with the pretty pink sweater tied over her shoulders, a strand of pearls around her neck and those round “Granny” glasses complete the look. But it’s the voice that gets me. You know what I’m talking about – can’t you just hear it in your head?

“You know, I think the President should create a new cabinet position for me … Secretary of Old People,” Mama begins. “And I’d start off with a bit of advice on securing our borders. We need to build senior citizen housing along the border, because nobody’s gonna get by us nosey old folks!”

Mama continued with some of her personal annoyances:

“Why is there a tip jar at the fast food take out places?” and “What’s a size zero anyway? You might as well be naked!” and “What is up with those automatic toilets that flush before you can even sit down? And then they just keep on flushing. Why?”

Respectfully recognizing it’s all in fun, even me, as a gerontologist, can laugh at the age-related humor. It’s the total package – the look, the voice, the jokes, the real-life connection -- it’s all part of the act and that’s what makes it so funny. Laughing at life and ourselves is some of the best comedy there is … and it’s healthy, too!

You know, current studies on laughter report it actually relaxes our muscles, changes our breathing patterns, increases oxygen flow and even improves our heart rates, blood pressure and circulation.

So maybe Mama’s right … a laugh a day keeps the doctor away!

Photo Credit: redneckzilla.tumblr.com

Kelly Ferrin, gerontologist and author of “What’s Age Got To Do With It? Secrets to Aging in Extraordinary Ways” has been studying aging and retirement issues for over 25 years. She was one of the first to ever receive a degree in this field from the prestigious Andrus School of Gerontology at the University of Southern California, the top school in the nation for age-related studies.

website: kellyferrin.com ••• email: ageangel@earthlink.net