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So, did you ever wonder why Carol Burnett always tugs her ear? It was a way she could say “hi” to her beloved grandmother. The first time she did it was when she made her TV debut at 22 on the Dec. 17, 1955 episode of the popular “The Paul Winchell and Jerry Mahoney Show.” She played the girlfriend of the woody dummy. “The first song I sang on TV was ‘Over the Rainbow’ to Jerry Mahoney,” she noted in a 2016 L.A. Times interview with me. “I remember I called my grandmother to tell her I was going to be on television. Nanny said say hello to me. That’s when we came up with pulling my ear.”

Nearly seven decades later, Burnett is still tugging at her ear, singing and making people laugh And on April 26th, which is her 90th birthday, NBC is throwing her a celebration “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love.

There was a lot of sturm and drang at Pixar before they committed to making Toy Story 2, afraid their golden child might be ruined by a lackluster sequel. Not to worry, it was charming and a box office hit. They wisely waited until they had the exact story to tell for Toy Story 3, a film who’s ending never fails to elicit a tear or two for my long-ago childhood.

At first, we were dealing with Woody (Tom Hanks) coming to grips with his human, Andy, seeming to prefer the new, shiny Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). Then there was a little matter of Andy aging out and what that meant for the toys. They’re meant to be cherished, not neglected, so the passing of them to Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw) was a perfect touch.

But Bonnie is not Andy and her tastes are her own. She’s younger,...