Carol Burnett Shouts “I Love You” to Ted Danson as He Receives Golden Globes Award in Her Honor (original) (raw)

Viola Davis and Ted Danson were presented with distinguished awards in a room full of their peers — which included Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep, Carol Burnett, Anthony Anderson and Babyface — at the Golden Globes‘ Golden Gala, held at the Beverly Hilton on Friday. The event marked the first time the organization hosted a special ceremony for the recipients of its two historic honors, the Cecil B. DeMille Award and the Carol Burnett Award, which in the past have been presented during the show’s live telecast.

“I hope this inaugural evening of excellence is a night that all of us will remember for years to come,” said Golden Globes president Helen Hoehne in her opening remarks. “As we’ve been thinking about how to reinvent the Golden Globes over the past few years, we’ve embraced change and opened ourselves to fresh ideas. We’re not just excited about what these changes hold for the next year, but about what the possibilities they hold for the future. And tonight is a perfect example of that innovation. No pressure, no envelopes to open, just a chance to bring our industry together to shine a spotlight on two exceptional individuals.”

Danson was presented with the Carol Burnett Award by his wife Mary Steenburgen, who called her husband of almost 30 years her “dream man.”

“To him, all of you at the Golden Globes should know, receiving the Carol Burnett Award is like being allowed into creativity heaven,” Steenburgen stated. “Because whether it’s The Good Place, or Man on the Inside, Fargo, Damages, Board to Death, Becker, Cheers or the extraordinary podcast he does with Woody Harrelson, he, like Carol Burnett, has always known that it’s a precious honor to take people on a journey through television.”

Danson, in his acceptance speech, delivered the humorous quips he’s been known for throughout his nearly 50-year career. “I have to admit I’ve always had a confusing relationship with awards. If I win, I feel a little embarrassed and lonely. If I don’t win, I feel a little embarrassed and lonely,” he said. “But not tonight. Not tonight. I am so thrilled to get this award, Carol. I cannot tell you how much it means to me. You have brought so much joy and happiness into households all over the world. You radiate kindness. I love you so much.”

Burnett then shouted, “I love you,” to Danson from her seat inside the intimate gathering.

After thanking friends, family and professional colleagues, Danson concluded his speech with a nod to his most famous character from Cheers. “As Sam Malone said, I truly am the luckiest son of a bitch I’ve ever met, and Carol, you know what’s wonderful about this award is that every year we are gathered together to celebrate laughter and joy, we will celebrate you, Carol, and we will celebrate all the funny men and women that came before us.”

Mary Steenburgen, Carol Burnett, Ted Danson, Viola Davis and Meryl Streep at the Golden Gala. Michael Buckner/Golden Globes

Meryl Streep continued the laughs in her presentation to Davis, who received the Cecil B. DeMille Award, as she recalled her first time hearing of the actress before working together on Doubt.

“I was talking to my friend Tony Kushner, the great playwright who wrote Angels in America, and we had just finished the televised version of that, and I played four parts in that, and I won the Emmy for it — and the SAG — that’s neither here nor there,” she said feigning egotism. “So he asked me, ‘Who’s playing Mrs. Miller?’ And I said, ‘It’s an actress I don’t know. Viola Davis.’ And he said, ‘Viola Davis? Viola Davis is my favorite actor in the entire world.’ Entire world? Really? Yeah, that was hard,” Streep added, receiving a reply of rousing laughter before acknowledging Davis’ impact as an actress.

“By all means, don’t let anybody call you a queen because a queen inherits her crown from daddy, right? Or she marries it. You have earned your crown. And the way people feel about you in this industry, you’ve earned it through the love and support of your family and colleagues who really, really revere you,” Streep continued. “You are a very complex woman and a pure artist, but you’re not a queen, and I know that because I have seen you bow. I’ve seen you on your knees at the feet of every single woman, and you just ask, ‘How can I serve you?’ ‘How can I bring your truth?’ Because that’s really all she does, Viola Davis. She just delivers the truth every time. So I’m still a little mad, but I can’t carry a grudge. We are in awe of you my beautiful friend, and we are grateful.”

Davis, in her remarks, recalled how growing up poor with a difficult childhood led her to acting and shaped her approach to characters.

“When I started off my career, I took a lot of jobs because of the money, because sometimes for a dark-skinned Black woman with a wide nose and big lips, that’s all there is out there,” Davis began. “If I waited for a role that was written for me, well-crafted, I wouldn’t be standing up here.”

“More often than not, I got the dead characters — like the woman standing on the street corner with the cigarette and the bad skin. The characters that are dead. That nobody cares about, no one loves. And I believe that they came to me because they knew I would love them, and I knew that there was something really, really beautiful within there, where I could find that answer, that curiosity about why the hell am I here?” she continued. “There’s no one in this room that has not answered that question, that curiosity. Why am I here? And each of those characters gave me some level of an answer. And I would use everything that I could to bring them back to life. I was a defibrillator. I could fill in the blank and make them whole.”

Concluding her speech, Davis recalled Joseph Campbell’s musings in The Hero’s Journey, “When you answer that call to adventure, the final phase is always a phase where you feel like you’re going to lose your life, but when you go to the end-most table, you don’t see God, you don’t see demons, you just see yourself. And I got the elixir. That’s what acting gave me. The elixir was that it’s on me. My life is orchestrated by me. That who little Viola was, was enough.

“What you’ve got to figure out is you,” Davis added. “Your story. You as is, you are worthy.”

Danson and Davis’ awards will also be recognized during the 82nd annual Golden Globes when the show is televised Sunday on CBS. Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge that also owns The Hollywood Reporter.