Not seen for over 40 years, this funny clip from a lost episode of The Carol Burnett Show with Tim Conway and Harvey Korman may be short but is long enough to make anyone guffaw.
The Carol Burnett Show was one of America’s most popular shows during its original run from 1967-78. It has repeatedly been mentioned on lists of the “Best/Greatest TV Shows of All Time” and it was amongst the top 30 watched shows every single season.
Comic legends Tim Conway and Harvey Korman were fixtures on the show. While the two were not technically a comedy duo like Abbott & Costello, they were regularly cast in sketches together due to the fact that they were so wildly popular with viewers. In this DVD exclusive episode, Tim is dressed as a woman and together with Harvey, they go undercover as a couple. It starts with Tim telling Harvey to not hold ‘her’ too tightly, to which Harvey contests saying that they have to look like a convincing couple to get the job done.
Tim concedes saying as long as they’re keeping it professional. This is when it gets really funny: Harvey questions why Tim would think this pretense would be for anything else other than work purposes. Like the comedy genius that he is, Tim then flicks his hair and immediately both actors break character from laughing but try containing it as much as they can. The audience is no help either – the whole studio was in guffaws at this point.
While Harvey looks away still trying to contain his laughter, Harvey proceeds to comb his bangs and even takes out his compact powder and starts patting down his mustache and chin area which, of course, induces more laughter from everyone, including himself.
One comment reads, “I don’t know which is funnier, Tim flicking his hair back or Harvey fisting his hand trying to stifle himself from laughing.” Words cannot do justice for this level of comedy, you would have to watch it for yourself.
In just eleven years, The Carol Burnett Show received eight Golden Globes, 25 Emmy Awards, and helped make many comedians household names. To this day, it’s one of the most honored shows in television history. This amount of elegance and comedic confidence is truly the work of geniuses who know how to turn a simple sketch into a comedy routine to truly remember.
