Don Saroyan was the first husband of comedian Carol Burnett, whom she met as a student at UCLA before the two moved to New York to pursue acting. Wikipedia calls him her college sweetheart, says a benefactor offered each of them a $1,000 loan in 1954, and reports that they married on December 15, 1955, and divorced in 1962. Profile websites then supply a birth date, a list of television roles, and a death date that cite no records, and several pages confuse him with the writer William Saroyan. This guide explains what sources confirm about the marriage, marks the claims that rest on thin sourcing, and treats a private man’s story with care.
Don Saroyan Bio Table
The table below lists the details that sources report. Rows labeled reported come from profile websites that cite no records.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Don Saroyan |
| Known for | First husband of comedian Carol Burnett |
| Met | At UCLA, according to Wikipedia |
| Marriage | December 15, 1955 |
| Divorce | 1962 |
| Length of marriage | About six years |
| Wife born | April 26, 1933, in San Antonio, Texas |
| Reported birth | October 4, 1928, in Omaha, Nebraska, from one profile page |
| Reported death | November 24, 1990, in Los Angeles County, aged 62, unverified |
| Reported career | Actor and television production coordinator |
| Ethnicity | Unconfirmed; one page says possibly Armenian |
| Net worth | Not verified |
Don Saroyan at a Glance
Don Saroyan is a name from early show business history that survives mostly through his famous wife. Wikipedia mentions him in the early life section of the Carol Burnett entry, where he appears as a college sweetheart who left school with her to try acting in New York. The entry gives the wedding date and the divorce year and nothing more about him.
Profile websites say far more. They give him a birthplace, a first marriage, a daughter, a list of television credits, and a death date. Nearly all of it lacks a source. The sections below separate the confirmed outline from the claims that readers should treat with caution.
Carol Burnett and Her Early Life
Carol Burnett was born Carol Creighton Burnett on April 26, 1933, in San Antonio, Texas. Wikipedia says her mother was a publicity writer for movie studios and her father managed a movie theater. Her parents divorced in the late 1930s, and she moved with her grandmother to Hollywood, where they lived in a boarding house.
She worked as an usherette, graduated from Hollywood High School in 1951, and attended UCLA on a gift of $50 from an anonymous benefactor. At UCLA she switched from journalism to theater arts. That change put her in the same circle as Don Saroyan.
How They Met
Wikipedia says Saroyan was Burnett’s college sweetheart. A profile page adds that he was a graduate student in the UCLA theater program and that they met in 1952 through a friend named Peggy McKenna, spending time at a delicatessen in Westwood.
The first part fits the reference entry. The second part comes from a single page that names no source, so readers should treat the year, the friend, and the delicatessen as reported. What the sources agree on is the setting: two theater students in Los Angeles in the early 1950s.
The Loan and the Move to New York
Wikipedia says that in 1954 a millionaire benefactor offered Burnett and Saroyan each a $1,000 interest free loan so they could move to New York and pursue acting. The pair left college and went east. Burnett repaid the loan on the agreed date in 1959.
A profile page says the loan came from an unnamed stranger and had to be repaid within five years. The reference entry confirms the amount and the terms. The story shows how young performers of that era often needed private help to try Broadway at all.
The Wedding in 1955
Wikipedia says Burnett married Don Saroyan on December 15, 1955. The entry gives no place, no guest list, and no account of the ceremony. The wedding happened after the couple moved to New York, according to the sequence of events in the entry.
Both partners were in their twenties and building careers in a competitive city. The sources reviewed describe nothing about their daily lives in those years, and responsible writers keep that silence intact.
Separation and Divorce
The couple divorced in 1962, according to Wikipedia. A profile page says they separated on Christmas Day 1959 and that the divorce was finalized in Las Vegas. It also says there was no big fight, yet it calls the breakup heartbreaking for Saroyan, which is a contradiction.
The reference entry gives no reason for the split. Burnett’s career was rising during those years, and the Garry Moore Show gave her national attention in 1959. The sources draw no link between her success and the divorce, and this article does not either.
Carol Burnett’s Later Life
Burnett married television producer Joe Hamilton on May 4, 1963, according to Wikipedia. They had three daughters, Carrie, Jody, and Erin, and divorced in 1984. Hamilton died of cancer in 1991. Burnett later married drummer Brian Miller in 2001.
Those chapters belong to her story, not to Saroyan’s. They explain why searches for the phrase first husband appear so often, since readers want to place him in her timeline. He left her life by 1962, a year before her second marriage.
The Carol Burnett Show
Burnett hosted The Carol Burnett Show on CBS from 1967 to 1978, and Wikipedia calls her the first woman to host a comedy variety series. The show won many Emmys and Golden Globes. She has 23 Primetime Emmy nominations and six wins.
She received the Kennedy Center Honor in 2003, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005, and the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2013. None of this involves Saroyan, but it explains why a man who left her life in 1962 still draws interest.
What Profile Pages Say About His Background
One profile page says Don Saroyan was born on October 4, 1928, in Omaha, Nebraska, lost a baby brother, lost his mother, and then lost his father before he turned 20. It says he married at 18, had a daughter, and lost regular contact with her after the marriage ended.
The page says the daughter died years later, then places her death at a different point in the story. It gives no date. Readers should treat every item as reported. A claim about a child’s death is serious and deserves a record, and no page reviewed supplies one.
Claims About His Acting Career
The same page says Saroyan’s first role came in 1958 on the series Decoy, playing a salesman, and that he later appeared in The Fugitive, McHale’s Navy, and Airwolf. It says he worked as a production coordinator on more than 25 shows, including Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In.
This research found no reference source confirming those credits. An actor of that era can appear in film databases, but this research could not open one to check. The page also gives 1986 as his last known work without tying it to a specific credit. Readers should treat the career as plausible and unproven.
Claimed Death in 1990
The page says Saroyan died on November 24, 1990, in Los Angeles County at age 62, that the cause was not public, and that he was buried in the Hollywood Hills. It cites no obituary, though its FAQ refers to a short one.
A birth on October 4, 1928, and a death on November 24, 1990, do produce an age of 62, so the page is consistent with itself. That consistency does not make it true. Readers should wait for a record before they repeat the date.
The Mix Up With William Saroyan
Several search results call Don Saroyan a literary icon, and one lists him beside the writer William Saroyan. Wikipedia describes William Saroyan as an Armenian American writer, and the two share a surname and nothing else that a source documents.
No source reviewed connects Don Saroyan to the writer, and the profile page that raises his ethnicity says only that he was possibly Armenian, which it labels unconfirmed. Readers should keep the two men separate until a reliable source links them.
Why Early Marriages Are Hard to Document
Marriages from the 1950s left fewer public traces than modern ones. There were no social media posts, few interviews with the spouse, and little coverage of a couple who had not yet found fame. Biographers of famous people often mention a first spouse in a sentence and move on.
That pattern explains why Saroyan’s entry is so short. It also explains why profile websites rush to fill the gap. A careful reader can use the confirmed dates as a frame and treat anything beyond them as a lead that needs a record, such as a marriage certificate, a studio credit, or a published memoir.
Public Profile and Privacy
Don Saroyan never sought a public profile, and reliable sources report no interviews or memoirs from him. The profile page says he gave a short interview for an unnamed book about Burnett, which is not verifiable.
The respectful approach is to repeat the marriage and divorce dates and nothing more. The privacy of a man who has been dead or out of the public eye for decades deserves care, and readers should avoid pages that print addresses or burial locations.
Net Worth and Career Claims
No reliable source documents a net worth for Don Saroyan. Profile pages that print figures give no method and no records. A man who worked behind the scenes in television, if the profile is right, would have earned a working wage, and nothing in the sources suggests otherwise.
The fair statement is short. His career is reported but unconfirmed in the reference sources reviewed, and his finances are unknown.
Timeline of Key Dates
The dates below place Saroyan within Burnett’s early career. They come from Wikipedia unless noted.
- April 26, 1933: Carol Burnett is born in San Antonio.
- 1951: She graduates from Hollywood High School.
- 1954: A benefactor offers Burnett and Saroyan each a $1,000 loan.
- December 15, 1955: They marry.
- 1959: Burnett repays the loan and joins The Garry Moore Show.
- 1962: The couple divorces.
- May 4, 1963: Burnett marries Joe Hamilton.
- 1967: The Carol Burnett Show begins on CBS.
Conclusion
Don Saroyan was the first husband of Carol Burnett, and Wikipedia confirms that they met at UCLA, married on December 15, 1955, and divorced in 1962. Profile pages add a birth date, a career, and a death date that cite no records and in places contradict themselves. Readers should rely on the confirmed facts and respect the privacy of a man who never sought attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Don Saroyan?
Don Saroyan was the first husband of comedian Carol Burnett. Wikipedia calls him her college sweetheart and says they married on December 15, 1955. Profile pages describe him as an actor and television staffer, but they cite no records, so readers should treat the career as reported.
When did Carol Burnett marry Don Saroyan?
Wikipedia says they married on December 15, 1955, after moving to New York with loans from a benefactor. They divorced in 1962. A profile page says they separated on Christmas Day 1959, but it cites no source, so readers should treat that date as unverified.
Was Don Saroyan an actor?
A profile page says he appeared in Decoy, The Fugitive, McHale’s Navy, and Airwolf and worked as a production coordinator. This research found no reference source that confirms those credits. Wikipedia describes him only as Burnett’s college sweetheart who moved to New York to act.
When did Don Saroyan die?
One profile page says he died on November 24, 1990, in Los Angeles County at age 62. It cites no obituary or record. Wikipedia gives no death date, so readers should treat the date as unverified and avoid repeating it as fact.
Is Don Saroyan related to William Saroyan?
No source reviewed links them. William Saroyan was an Armenian American writer, and some search results mix the two men together. A profile page says Don was possibly Armenian but labels that unconfirmed, so readers should treat any family tie as unproven.
