When “Angel” Harvey Korman is forced to take Tim Conway as his new Heavenly roomie, the jokes are devilishly clever!
Do you recall the nonstop, slide-splitting hijinx on The Carol Burnett Show? Harvey Korman and Tim Conway were mainstays on the popular sketch comedy and musical variety show that swept the nation for eleven years. Although never officially billed as a comedy team, the two comic actors were often paired together on this long-running series because they were such a huge hit with audiences.
In this gem of a sketch called “New Angel,” Korman plays Angel Haddington, a hardworking harp and halo repairman for the Heavenly Host. He enjoys working alone and resents being told by St. Peter that he’s been assigned a new cloud mate. When the newcomer turns out to be Tim Conway, a hapless new angel who can’t fly and plays a jaw harp instead of the usual angelic instrument, Korman becomes downright rude, to put it mildly.
When Tim’s twanging jaw harp fails to soothe an irritated Harvey, Tim tries to win Harvey over with a halo juggling act. You won’t believe just how wrong this sight gag goes as Tim’s stunt intentionally falls apart. Harvey finally settles on an idea to get rid of Tim that will leave you, let’s say, quacking with delight.
As was often the case when these two took the stage, there is much ad-libbing in this sketch, and Harvey Korman naturally breaks into fits of giggles watching Tim’s antics. His struggles to remain in character are half the fun of watching this zany duo in action.
We bet you didn’t know this fun fact: Harvey and Tim’s first time working together was in the late 1960s on The Danny Kaye Show. They loved the experience so much that when Tim joined The Carol Burnett Show almost a decade later, both men were thrilled to collaborate. Even after the series ended, the two sought out ways to work together again and again.
This viral video’s fans can’t stop singing its praises. “I was so young when this was on, I laughed then and I laugh now,” wrote one of them. “Thanks for sharing these.”
“Now, this is a comedy sketch!” wrote another fan. “Something that is funny no matter in which era it is watched.” We could not agree more! This is a timeless comedy at its best, so let’s watch — and pass this video along to a friend who needs a laugh or two.
