Long before Jimmy Fallon and Horatio Sanz broke each other up on SNL, Harvey Korman and Tim Conway were doing it on The Carol Burnett Show. Well- really Tim was cracking Harvey up. They were such a joy to watch and have been among my favorites, as I am sure among your favorites.Now word comes that Harvey Korman has passed away at the age of 81 after a long illness. With so many legends and those who have contributed so much to our culture dying, it's terribly sad to see another one go. I loved Harvey on The Carol Burnett Show, and of course as Gazoo on The Flinstones, but perhaps my favorite Harvey Korman moments came in the Mel Brooks films- especially Blazing Saddles.
Very few could play the straight man so well, much less the humorous villian or charming rogue. Harvey had a special quality that in many ways reminded me of Bud Abbott. In fact had Harvey and Tim been active in the 40s and 50s, they might have been another famous comedy duo of that time and give Abbott and Costello a run for their money. It was nice to see that not too long ago, Conway and Korman were performing their two man shows again.
You can read the news of his passing here and here, and of course see imdb for more about his career. I'd like to remember him, laughing at Tim and his impossible straight face, and then fuming with comic menace.
Check out this clip of a skit of Tim and Harvey together from The Carol Burnett Show-classic stuff.
And, one of the funniest of Harvey's scenes in Blazing Saddles, where, among other things, we learn to bring enough gum for everyone:
He will be missed....
It's not Hedy, it's Hedley. Hedley Lamarr.
1 comment:
Harvey Korman was terrific. His knack of playing a comedy sketch with the dignity of a Shakespearean actor was unique to him.
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