Carrie Hamilton

"Every day I wake up and decide: today I'm going to love my life."


I know I wrote about Carrie Hamilton a few days ago. But I can't seem to get her off my mind. I can't explain it, but it's like mourning the loss of someone you never met. It's funny because had I not been a fan of Carol Burnett's, I probably wouldn't have ever heard of Carrie. But her life, her struggle always seem so intriguing to me. She was an actress, singer, writer and director. Athough she was the child of famous parents, she worked hard to forge a good life herself.

From my website

Actress, writer, director Carrie Hamilton was born into television royalty on December 5, 1963. Her mother, legendary comedienne Carol Burnett and her father producer Joe Hamilton gave Carrie and her two younger sisters the best life had to offer. They tried to protect their girls from life's hardships. However at age 13, Carrie faced the most difficult time of her life and her parents felt powerless to help her. Carrie struggled with drug abuse for most of her teenage years. But when she recovered, with the help of her family, she worked hard to put her life on the right path.

As an adult, Carrie gave many memorable performances on such shows as Fame, 90210, the made-for-tv movie Hostage (in which her mother co-starred), X-Files, Touched By An Angel and A Mother's Justice. Carrie also became widely known for playing the role of Maureen in the first travelling company for Broadway's Rent. Most recently, Carrie turned her interest to writing and directing. her directing skills were recently recognized when she was awarded the "Women in Film" award in the 2001 Latino Film Festival for her film "Lunchtime Thomas". Carrie was the first non-Latino to win the award. Before her death, Carrie and mother, Carol, collaborated on a play based on Carol's memoir One More Time. Carrie approached her mother about the project and continued to work on it until her death on January 22, 2002. The play, which was eventually called Hollywood Arms, premiered on Broadway on October 31, 2002 and ran through January 5, 2003.

The Carrie Hamilton Theatre
The Pasadena Playhouse is dedicating the Balcony Theatre to Carrie. The Carrie Hamilton Young Artist Outreach Program will help young people develop and nurture their artistic talents. Carrie had courage and always tried to push the envelope and try new things. This same spirit will be encouraged in the new outreach program.

I wish I had the resources to support this theatre. Like I said before, it so strange that this is so near to my heart. As a teenager, I would watch the Carol Burnett show and try to imagine what it would be like to be her daughter. In a way, that made Carrie, along with her sisters Jody and Erin, my sisters. I know it was childish and unrealistic. But it did introduce me to a very talented person.

December 5th would've been Carrie's 42nd birthday. From what I have read about her, I know she would've liked to been involved with this theatre project. If you can, please donate to this theatre at http://www.carriehamiltontheater.com/about_carrie_theatre.htm - Click on the Donate link.