Comedian Harvey Korman died yesterday. He died at the age of 81 from complications from an aneurysm.
I don’t mean to speak ill of the dead, but Blazing Saddles aside, I never thought he was that funny. This reflects more on me and when I was watching his stuff than on him. I just have these dim memories of watching the Carol Burnett show and not enjoying the skits he was in. Then again, I had the same problem with “I Love Lucy.” Watching the Carol Burnett show, I was always waiting for the Tim Conway bits.
Seems like I was 6 or 7 when I mostly remember seeing him. These days it’s hard to envision kids staring at a mildly entertaining adult comedy skit show. When I was growing up, there just wasn’t a lot on TV. These days with TiVo and several kids’ stations, there is almost always better programming available. (That being said, one of my daughter’s favorite shows is the Simpsons.)
Harvey Korman was the straight man foil for Tim Conway on the Carol Burnett Show. Tim Conway worked as much to crack Harvey, Carol and Vickie up as anything else.
Kids today. Jeesh.
I loved Korman’s comedic ability. It takes a lot of stuff to play a straight man and keep it funny. It’s usually the great timing of the straight man who keeps the gag going. But mostly, you have to be able to facially react to the action around you. Korman, Bud Abbott, Oliver Hardy, Phil Hartman, and Darrell Hammond all have (had) these traits. Plus, he did kick ass in Blazing Saddles.
I loved Harvey Korman on the Carol Burnett show! Of course the best part was whenever Tim Conway cracked him up. On the news they were showing one of my favorite skits from that show-the one where Harvey is Rhett Butler to Carol Burnett’s Scarlett O’Hara.
Yeah, Tim Conway was more outrageously funny-but the show would not have worked without Harvey Korman.
Sometimes I miss the days of only a few TV channels.
I loved Carol Burnett as a kid. I’d buy the DVDs if they were available.
And don’t go knocking the Simpsons, bud. :) I’ll have to start a blogwar with you! (I own all the back episodes available on DVD.)
Oh, I’m not knocking the Simpsons. I’m knocking my parenting skills since I love the Simpsons enough to let my daughter watch it. (One of my proudest moments was back in 1995 when NTN bar trivia had a Simpsons game one night. I scored third in the nation.)
Bil,
I know you can get the six seasons of “Carol Burnett & Friends” on DVD.
I don’t think anybody has the whole shows with the singing and dancing parts.
Harvey Korman was a comic genius. Mel Brooks knew that. Carol Burnett knew that. He would often set himself up to be the butt of someone elses joke knowing that he wouldn’t get all the attention, much the way Sony Bono did with Cher. He will be greatly missed.