In the pantheon of television comedy, few moments have achieved the mythical status of Carol Burnett’s “Went With the Wind” sketch—a 1976 masterpiece that turned a simple green curtain into the most iconic dress in pop culture history and left 30 million viewers wheezing, crying, and begging for mercy.
Aired on November 13, 1976, during Season 10 of The Carol Burnett Show, the 11-minute parody of Gone with the Wind is now universally regarded as the funniest scene ever broadcast on American television. And the crown jewel? Carol’s entrance as “Starlet O’Hara,” descending a grand plantation staircase in a velvet green curtain gown—complete with the curtain rod still dangling across her shoulders like a yokel’s yoke. The second the curtain rod appeared, the studio audience detonated. Burnett herself later admitted she barely made it down the stairs without collapsing, while co-star Harvey Korman famously lost it so completely he had to turn away from the camera to hide his tears.
Costume designer Bob Mackie, the genius behind Cher’s feathered headdresses and Burnett’s endless parade of legends, came up with the idea as a throwaway gag. “I said, ‘She’s so desperate for a dress, she rips the curtains off the wall—rod and all!’” Mackie recalled in a 2013 interview. “Carol saw it in the mirror and screamed laughing. We knew we had something insane.”
The sketch itself is perfect absurdity: Burnett as a Scarlett O’Hara who’s “gone with the wind” in every sense—drunk, delusional, and draped in drapes—delivering lines like “I saw it in the window and I just couldn’t resist it!” with deadpan sincerity while the rod bobs comically. Vicki Lawrence’s “Mammy” steals the show with the immortal closer: “And Miss Scarlett… that gown is gorgeous!” to which Carol snaps, “Thank you—I saw it in the window and just had to have it!” before tripping on the hem and face-planting into the stairs.
The laughter was so violent that the show had to pause filming multiple times. Korman later said it was “the only time in 11 years I completely lost control on camera.” Even the crew was useless—cameramen shaking, boom operators doubled over. When the episode aired, it drew a staggering 30 million viewers—over half the country—and cemented the curtain dress in comedy Valhalla.
Nearly 50 years later, the sketch remains untouchable. It’s been inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame, inspired countless Halloween costumes, and still trends every time someone discovers it on YouTube. “It’s the purest form of comedy,” Burnett said in 2023. “No CGI, no effects—just a woman in a curtain and perfect timing.”
Watch it again. You’ll laugh until you cry. And then you’ll watch it again. Because some jokes, like good curtains, never go out of style.
