Carol Burnett and Tony Randall engage in a humorous argument about their party, recalling past communication methods and miscommunications that led to misunderstandings.
‘The Carol Burnett Show’ featured the great Tony Randall in Season 9, Episode 22. Carol and Tony wave goodbye from their door to the last people leaving their party. They shut the door, and Carol yelps, “What a party!” She rants about how fun it was and looks back to see Tony staring at her angrily.
Then, she quickly changes her tone and asks what she did wrong. Tony grabs his nose and says, “This! This is what you did wrong!” Carol remembers, but Tony rants about how she forgot that night.
Tony recounts that when they first got married, they devised a method of communication when they needed to get out of conversations or change the subject. Tony is mad that Carol didn’t remember that at the party.
Tony says, “I was trying to tell you to stop telling that woman that Dr. McArdle is having an affair with another woman who was trash.” Carol asks what difference it makes because it wasn’t the Doctor’s wife.
Tony says, “No, you were telling it to the other woman.” Tony says he almost broke his nose trying to stop Carol. Then, Carol says she had too many drinks, and Tony says that’s why he kept doing the signal for too many! He pats his stomach, showing the signal again.
Carol gets mad and says her signals were ignored too. She rubs her chest and claps her hands, and asks if he remembers what that means. Tony says angrily, “I know that this means to stop paying so much attention to Big Mary Quinlan.”
Tony claims he didn’t stop because Big Mary Quinlan knows what the signals mean, and Carol gets mad and blames him for telling her. Tony says, “No, you told her.” Carol gets frantic and asks, “Why didn’t you stop me?” Later, they make up, and Carol says they should spend a fun night in bed. Then, Tony gives her the signal for, “Not tonight. I have a headache.”
