Harvey Korman, 1927-2008
-
- May
- 30
Tim Conway’s recent guest stint on 30 Rock got me thinking about what a funny show The Carol Burnett Show was.
I was too young to know prime time sketch comedy was a dying breed, or even that comic talent of such caliber, all in one place, was a rare thing.
Conway, of course, was the loveable oaf. But his straight man sidekick, Harvey Korman, deserved half the credit for all the laughs they got. In almost explicit homage, they were the Abbott and Costello of their time.
So it was sad news that summoned happy memories to hear that Harvey Korman died yesterdy at age 81. Korman died at UCLA Medical Center after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm four months ago.
He distinguished himself on the big screen in Mel Brooks’s History of the World, Part I and Blazing Saddles, and the Pink Panther movies. But he is most identified with The Carol Burnett Show, where he spent 10 years, and with Conway, with whom he toured during the 1970s, doing as much as 120 shows a year together.
Photos Right top: In this 1975 file photo, courtesy of CBS, Korman, left, and Conway perform a skit on The Carol Burnett Show in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/CBS, file); Bottom left: In this 2000 file photo, Carol Burnett Show cast members, left to right, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman and Vicki Lawrence appear at a discussion at the Director’s Guild Theater in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Neil Jacobs)
This entry was posted
on Friday, May 30th, 2008 at 3:49 pm by Brian Howard.
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I looked so foward to see Carol Burnett.That show was hysterical. How can you not forget Mrs Wiggins. Harvey Korman was the best. I loved when he tried to make a straight face and Conway would just get him. Wish they had more shows like that now. Im so sick of reality TV.