Peabody Awards Announces First Career Achievement Honoree

According to Deadline, Carol Burnett is the first Peabody Career Achievement award. The awards ceremony is set for May 19 in New York City. Read more about it from Deadline here!

In a statement, Jeffrey P. Jones, executive director of the Peabody's says: "Carol Burnett is one of the all-time greats of television comedy. Her wit and talent set the bar for women in entertainment. Suffice it to say there would be no Gildaa Radner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus or Tina Fey without her blazing the trail. We are pleased to celebrate the many contributions of a beloved TV icon."

Regarded as one of entertainment's most celebrated comedic forces, Burnett is best known for starring in her sketch and variety show The Carol Burnett Show. The series, which ran for 11 seasons, is included on countless lists as one of the greatest television shows of all time, won 22 Emmy Awards and helped land Burnett a place in the Television Academy Hall of Fame.

Burnett received a special Tony Award in 1969 for her contributions to the theater. She was nominated for a Tony Award for her Once Upon a Mattress performance, and again in 1996 for best lead actress in a play for Moon Over Buffalo.

The George Foster Peabody Awards are created to recognize distinguished achievement and meritorious public service by TV and radio stations, networks, producing organizations, individuals and the World Wide Web.

The Peabody is one of the oldest and most prestigious awards given for outstanding work in electronic media. The program has been administered by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication since its inception in 1940.