Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, May 17, 1990                   TAG: 9005170474
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: EVENING 
SOURCE: TRACY VAN MOORLEHEM STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

CAROL BURNETT'S DAUGHTER KNOWS THE PAIN OF DRUGS

Even though she shared in the wealth, glamour and popularity that her mother, Carol Burnett, attracted, she saw herself as an unattractive, stringy-haired girl with braces whom boys considered a basketball playmate, not a dance partner.

At the age of 13 Hamilton started using drugs and alcohol and quickly became dependent on them. "It was around at my school and parties I would go to. It was something to do. It's a way to sort of numb the pain that comes with growing up," she said.

Now she's 26 and has been sober for over eight years, after three different treatment programs.

Hamilton will be the keynote speaker at Bethany Hall's 20th Anniversary Celebration on Friday. Earlier in the day she will visit Fairview Elementary School to talk about her experiences with addiction and her insights about facing the world on her own power.

Hamilton said that while her parents never tried to pressure her, she felt like a failure compared to her pretty, funny mom and handsome and successful father and brothers. She is a type A personality, she said, and unconsiously put an intolerable burden on herself to measure up to their successes.

Being the daughter of a celebrity was at times painful, she said, but she can't compare it to any other lifestyles because, she said, "I was never anybody else's daughter." She said that growing up is painful for everyone, no matter who their parents are.

Hamilton said she has learned that "having it all" is meaningless if you don't feel good about yourself. "I got loaded with a lot of beautiful people too. I know billionaires who are beautiful but have the self-esteem of a pea," she said.

Parenting "wasn't about talking about your feelings" until recently, Hamilton said, but her parents did the best they could.

During her years of addiction Hamilton used alcohol, marijuana, cocaine and heroin. Her parents put her in treatment programs three times against her will. The last one offered family treatment, which Hamilton said made all the difference.

Hamilton said she feels obligated to use her "small amount of notoriety" to help others when she can. "I'm not out to save the world, I just want to spread a message," she said. She said it makes her excited to see people who really want to know how to make their lives better.

Hamilton is a vegetarian and exercises every day. "For me, being clean is a way of life now," she said.

She has just finished a pilot for ABC called "Checkered Flag" in which she plays a race car driver. Her acting career has been rolling for several years. She starred in the TV show Fame for one and a half years and has been in several movies.

Hamilton's other love is music. She writes songs and plays the piano.

Bethany Hall is a residential facility for women in the early stages of recovery from alcoholism. The mission of the program is to help women develop skills for ongoing sobriety and independent living.

For more information about the dinner and for tickets call Bethany Hall at 343-4261.