Carol Burnett shares how she once shut down a woman who chastised her for wearing slacks
The injustice was no match for Burnett's improv skills.
Carol Burnett once shut down a rude ice-cream parlor employee with a well-timed quip.
Carol Burnett is a national treasure—one of the funniest and most charming humans in Hollywood. Given that she’s currently 92 and has been in the game since the late '50s, the actor-comedian has also amassed an enviable backlog of incredible stories she can tell at a moment’s notice. That’s part of what makes her the perfect guest for a late-night talk show—if she’s sitting on that couch, there’s a good chance you’re going to be entertained.
A quintessential example: her November 2025 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, promoting the second season of Apple TV+ series Palm Royale. The whole interview is lovely, as she talks with her close friend Kimmel about working with everyone from Sammy Davis Jr. to The Jackson 5. But the centerpiece is her nostalgic tale involving a rude hostess at an ice-cream parlor and some expertly delivered comeback "revenge."
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She just wanted a fancy ice-cream soda
The story takes place after Burnett earned her "big break" in the Off-Broadway musical comedy Once Upon a Mattress, which opened in 1959. At that point, she was earning $80 a week, which was a lot at the time. But for one of her first big splurges, she had modest goals: an ice-cream soda from a "very posh" New York City parlor called Rumpelmayer’s. "I’d always wanted [to go, but] it was very expensive," she told Kimmel. Joined by some of her cast mates, she passed through the doors with excitement—but then found herself in an awkward scene.
"We walk in, and it was myself and two guys," she said. "We’re looking around, and this woman comes up. She’s the hostess to hand out the menus, and she looked at me and said [dramatically], 'I beg your pardon! We have a dress code here, and we are not allowing women to come in wearing slacks!’ I had on slacks. All she had to do was say, 'Gee, I’m sorry, miss, but we have a dress code here. Here’s a mint—come back later.’ She said, 'You have a lot of nerve!' People were sitting around listening to that."
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How Carol Burnett disarmed anger with improv
Burnett recalled having walked by Rumpelmayer’s previously and spotting famous actress Marlene Dietrich inside, decked out in a "lovely pant suit." But that seemingly wouldn't have mattered to the hostess: "She was still yelling at me, and at once dead silence," Burnett continued. "And I said, just loud enough—I wasn’t yelling back, but just loud enough for everybody to hear—'I’m really so sorry…I have a wooden leg.' Some of the people looked at her and went 'Boo!' She led me over to the table, and I limped over to the table. Revenge never tasted so sweet."
It feels like a brilliant response in that very relatable situation. (Who among us hasn’t felt like we’re out of place in some kind of fancy restaurant or venue, even if that disconnect is all in our minds?) Burnett wasn’t rude; she didn’t even raise her voice, and still managed to disarm this person’s unnecessary hostility with a kind of inside joke. But since not all of us are improv masters, it’s worth considering professional tips on how to handle a rude comment. Back in August, communications expert Jefferson Fisher explained that one classic technique is to respond, at least initially, with 10 seconds of silence. It probably won’t get a laugh at an ice-cream parlor, but it might just defuse the tension.
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