Remembering Harvey Korman
Posted on May 30, 2008 at 8:50 am
Jim Cheng of USA Today has a lovely tribute to Harvey Korman of The Carol Burnett Show, who died yesterday at age 81. Korman’s best movie role was as the evil Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles, one of four films he made for writer/director Mel Brooks. He was a nimble and versatile performer and an indispensable part of the finest ensemble ever put together for prime-time television. I especially loved him in the affectionate parodies of old Hollywood films. His Rhett Butler was a knock-out. But nothing he did made me laugh as hard as seeing him laugh at Tim Conway. He did his best to stay professional, but all Conway had to do was look at him and it was all over.
I remember watching the “Carol Burnett Show” with my parents and grandparents. Harvey always reminded me of my grandpa; they looked alike and had the same bearing. It never failed that when Tim Conway had cracked-up Harvey, everyone of us was also crying tears of laughter. Those are treasured memories – all of us together, laughing ourselves silly. I smile just thinking about those times.
Harvey and Tim were the best. Our time’s Abbott & Costello or Laurel & Hardy. I miss those shows and shed a tear for Harvey and his family. He brought so much joy to our family.
Your comment brought a tear to my eye, Eric! Thanks so much for bringing back happy memories. I’m glad we have so much of Korman’s greatest moments on DVD. My husband gave me the DVD of Carol Burnett Show highlights I included in my post and we had a blast watching it.