Don Saroyan Had a Tough Time Building a Dream Career: Facts about Carol Burnett’s Ex-husband

Despite having big ambitions of his own, Don Saroyan largely became known as Carol Burnett’s ex-husband after his career never took off and his ex-wife became a Hollywood and Broadway legend.

Don and Burnett met in college and quickly fell head over heels for each other. Many who knew them together thought they were a perfect couple. They shared many things in common, including a dream to conquer Broadway.

They exchanged vows in 1955 on the backdrop of a special year for their careers. However, before long, their marriage began collapsing. Two major factors played a significant role in their separation; the loss of Don’s daughter from his first marriage and Burnett’s career success against Don’s faltering ambitions.

Don Saroyan Lost His Family Members at an Early Age

Don was a native of Omaha, Nebraska, where he was born on October 4, 1928. He was born to Anna and Harvey Saroyan, who owned a dry cleaning plant in Omaha and later added a drive-through restaurant to their list of properties.

Don’s family suffered several tragic events early on in his life. First, it was the death of his brother, who passed away only a few months after his birth. Their mother followed him to the afterlife not long after. Harvey later died, too, when Don was in his late 20s.

Don married at 18 and moved to Philadelphia with his wife. The couple had one daughter, who he adored. The marriage broke down after the couple had gone back to Omaha. After the separation, his wife returned to Pennsylvania with their child.

Don soon relocated to Los Angeles, hoping to become a singer and actor. He enrolled in a graduate studies program at the University of California, Los Angeles. After his UCLA days, Don followed his college sweetheart to New York, where he lived with two former classmates. He thought of becoming a Broadway director.

Don’s dreams began coming to life in 1958; he had his first television appearances as a salesman on “Decoy.” That was followed by six more appearances in several television shows over the next 30 years. However, his most telling contributions were made behind the scenes, where he was a production coordinator on over 25 projects.

Don and Carol Met at College

Don and Burnett met through a mutual friend, Peggy McKenna, at UCLA in 1952. The pair fell for each other soon after they met and immediately began dating. Don recalled that Burnett used to tell her everything about her challenging background, describing her as a “brave soul going through a struggle.”

Don and Burnett used to go on dates at Village Delicatessen in Westwood and talk about the theater, show business, and what a good life would look like when they make it on Broadway. After completing their studies, they went together to New York to discover their dreams.

Many people who knew Don and Burnett thought they were a perfect couple. They were compatible and shared many common goals and ambitions, and their shared struggles in reaching their target brought them closer together.

Early in 1955, the determined couple went on a mission to make their show and invited big-time producers to witness their artistry. They were impressed with what they saw, and soon Don and Burnett got agents. In that same year, with things seemingly going well, they capped the year by getting married in December.

Don Saroyan Had a Hard Time Coping with Carol’s Fame

A few years into their marriage, cracks began to appear. The first trigger was Don’s daughter’s senseless death, which devastated the actor. Their union suffered as Don began to retreat from his former self and lost some of his zeal for show business.

Burnett was going in the opposite direction, and her career was growing in leaps and bounds while her husband’s was stagnating. People close to them pointed out that Burnett was more focused on her career than Don did on his. Her success, coupled with his lack thereof, soon became a point of contention in their marriage.

Their union continued to bend until it broke four years after it began. On Christmas Day in 1959, they decided to separate. Burnett recalled the fateful event saying there was no argument because they had begun leading parallel lives. Their divorce was amicable.

Don Saroyan Died at the Age of 62

Years after going their separate ways, Don was interviewed for a book about Carol’s biography. His contribution made it clear that he was not only just her ex-husband but also her friend.

After the divorce, Don continued working in the film and television industry. He made his last on-screen appearances in 1986; in the TV series “The Magical World of Disney” and the movie “Airwolf.”

He died four years later in Los Angeles County at 62 and was buried in Hollywood Hills. The cause of death was not revealed to the public and very few details about his personal life after Burnett were known.

On the other hand, Carol Burnett had remarried and divorced her second husband of several years, Joe Hamilton. Professionally, she continued to soar and eventually became a legend of Broadway and Hollywood.

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