Eunice Harper Higgins

Infobox character
colour
name = Eunice Verla Harper


caption =
first = "The Wedding pt. 1"
last = "Rashomama"
cause = Moved to Tallahassee, Florida
nickname = Eunie (by Ed)
age = 40s
born = 1950s
death =
occupation = Homemaker
title = Mrs. Higgins
family = Carl Harper (father; deceased)
Thelma Harper (mother)
Ellen Harper-Jackson (older sister)
Vinton Harper (younger brother)
spouse = Ed Higgins
children = Bubba Higgins (son)
Billy Joe Higgins (son)
relatives = Fran Crowley (aunt; deceased)
Buzz Harper(nephew)
Sonja Harper (niece)
Tiffany Thelma Harper (niece)
Mary Beth Harper (niece)
portrayed = Carol Burnett
creater = Dick Clair

Eunice Higgins (née Harper) is a fictional character from the comedy sketch, "The Family" (featured on "The Carol Burnett Show"), and to a much lesser extent, its spin-off television series, "Mama's Family". Eunice was played by Carol Burnett. The character is more identified with "The Family" segments, because "The Family" revolved around Eunice more than Mama, as it was featured on "The Carol Burnett Show". Eunice went from the main character in "The Family" sketches to a guest character on "Mama's Family". In addition, Eunice made no appearances after "Mama's Family" left NBC, and moved to first-run syndication. However, she did once speak to Mama over the phone during the syndicated version of the show, though it is unknown whether or not the voice was played by Carol Burnett.

With a very stormy, irrepressible personality, Eunice is usually seen completely out of control and ranting on and on about something. The character is portrayed as a jealous antagonist in her appearances on "Mama's Family", much more so than her appearances on "The Family" sketches. The final time the character is heard from was in the syndicated version of "Mama's Family", in what was somewhat of a negative portrayal of the character as a bad mother: Eunice had called Mama and informed her that she couldn't make it for her son Bubba's high school graduation. She wouldn't even inform Bubba of this herself, hanging up the phone on Mama after she said she was going to give Bubba the phone.

Eunice's mother is Thelma Harper, whom she sometimes refers to as "old lady!" Eunice is married to a hardware store owner named Ed Higgins. The two had eloped. When she was younger, she tried to run away from home to the nearby community of Bump, which was across the river from Raytown, something that her mother had told her grandson some years later.

Eunice has always aspired to get more. To this end, she often puts on airs; however, she usually winds up with egg on her face, and even less than she started with. This never defeats her. In her own mind, she thinks herself to be able to do no wrong, that, among countless other things, she is a talented singer and actress, but in reality she was anything but. This is exemplified when Eunice competes on the "Gong Show" singing "Feelings": She is quickly gonged by all three of the panelists (Jamie Farr, Jaye P. Morgan, and Allen Ludden).

Her desire is to leave Raytown, which she thinks of as a hick town, and to become a star, but her talent (or lack thereof) is the factor that keeps her where she is.

She envies her older sister Ellen's ability to do anything with ease, while she would toil and strive to even get the bare minimum, and even then, it is not enough. She also resents Ellen being the favorite of her mother, Thelma Harper. Eunice is a very covetous person, always wanting what she can't have. She is the second-born child, full of angst.

Unfortunately, her relationship with her family in general, and Thelma in particular, resembles all-out war. She, in fact, calls Thelma "Old Lady," usually not in an affectionate manner. (This same epithet was what Thelma had called "her" own mother when she finally stood up to her on an episode in which Mama's austere mother comes back to haunt her.)

She feels that she was married to a very unappealing man. In fact, she often thought of Ed as a dolt and has called him a dumb cluck or a goon numerous times, while the forever favored Ellen married a rich man, Bruce Jackson, who was never seen.

Eunice, in fact, was somewhat responsible for destroying her sister's marriage by spilling the beans about his extramarital affair with his secretary, named Peggy. The rest of the family, including incoming fiancee Naomi Oates (who married Eunice's younger brother Vint), tries to spare Ellen unwanted pain and lies to her, but Eunice gleefully tells her and rubs it in her face.

When she comes in to help set up for the wedding, and after overhearing a story about how she made an absolute fool of herself at a Christmas pageant, she announces her usually unwelcome presence, "Hello everybody! Eunice is here! Untalented Eunice, unwanted Eunice, caterwauling Eunice! Monster Eunice is HERE!!"

Some people would call Eunice a dissembler, because of her ability to practically ruin and even destroy every family get-together. She instigates things by saying something totally hurtful and then all hell breaks loose and she enjoys the carnage. She also has the tendency to hold grudges, especially over slights, real or perceived. In essence, she never forgives or forgets.

At her brother Vinton "Vint" Harper's wedding to Naomi (at which she also serves her chili dogs, to Thelma's disgust), she keeps pestering both of them to sing "Oh, Promise Me". Finally, Naomi relents, albeit reluctantly, which overjoys Eunice, who gets what she wants, but then proceeds to turn the wedding into a shambles once she discovers that a certain sapphire ring her late father, Carl, owned, and that she had coveted for some time, was given to Vinton over her by Thelma. This infuriates the very short-tempered Eunice who vowed "Old lady, this time you've gone too far!"

Having drunk several beers on the front porch, in a failed attempt to cool off, Eunice proceeds to ruin the wedding by beginning her song, and then systematically savaging every single member of her family one by one, but aiming her harshest remarks at her mother and, of course, her sister, Ellen. She even told her nephew and niece, Vinton "Buzz" Harper, Jr. and Sonja Harper, "Why don't you go soak your heads in Clearasil!"

Vinton and Naomi aren't spared her harsh tongue either, because Eunice calls Vint "Tinker Bell" and Naomi a "recycled bride", which angers both of them and almost provokes a fistfight between the sisters-in-law.

Finally having had enough of her insolence and nastiness, Thelma orders Ed to carry her out of her house, which he does leaving with "Many happy returns!" while Eunice screams and rants and raves at them all, "I'll never forgive you for this! Never!" She always wants the spotlight on herself, and usually throws a temper tantrum whenever she fails to get her own way, which was often.

Another incident in which she tries to get her way—and fails spectacularly—is with a young man named Duke Reeves. Eunice harbors a serious crush on him, despite the fact that he is with another girl named Penny Perkins. The oblivious Eunice, who doesn't believe that her Duke is with someone else, feels that he is the true love of her life, and that he had come to listen to her singing at a mother-daughter banquet, in which her mother had lied to the head of the banquet to get Eunice on the program at all, because she had whined and begged to have her way. Not to mention that Thelma also lied in saying that Eunice had a beautiful voice, when her singing voice was terrible.

While at a picnic with some rich friends, Eunice got drunk on a few beers. She arrived at the Mother-daughter banquet, and was ordered to sit at a table to drink a lot of coffee and sober up. Then Thelma angrily ordered Duke to never see her daughter again. Eunice had discovered this, and was extremely angry.

During their song, "Mother", she and Thelma got into a violent argument while on stage, and embarrassed themselves quite thoroughly. To her mother's mind, she was an ungrateful little brat. This would give some insight on why Eunice and her mother squabble to this very day.

Even though she has been married to Ed most of her adult life, Eunice always bemoans the fact that she should have married Duke Reeves. She still says that he is the true love of her life, a statement which usually angers Ed.

A fine example was during a birthday party for Eunice at the Bigger Jigger bar, she bemoans that she should have been married to Duke Reeves, who, by this time, was a Congressman, and discovered that Thelma had driven him away for her own good. Eunice never forgave her mother for this, and the two began to argue again. This time, Eunice decked a cop, and then Thelma decked another cop. They were thrown into jail for this. While in jail, Eunice and Thelma were still squabbling over Duke Reeves, as a prostitute named Scarlett told both of them to bury that issue.

Meanwhile, Ed, despite Eunice's rants that she should have married Duke Reeves, still loved her and her mother enough to bail them out of jail.

Although she was featured most prominently on "The Carol Burnett Show", and a subsequent television special called "Eunice", the character wasn't always seen on "Mama's Family". Eunice, in fact, made guest appearances for only the first two seasons of the show.

The only connection to Eunice, in syndication, was in her son, Bubba Higgins, who had moved in with his grandmother after Ed and Eunice moved to Florida. In keeping true to her rather selfish nature, she failed to mention the potential move to Bubba who was in juvenile hall, basically abandoning him.

This latest act of selfishness on her part earned her the wrath of her mother, who has vowed to kill Eunice on more than one occasion.