BORN ON THIS DAY: HARVEY KORMAN

Today we celebrate the birth of one of the greatest straight men in the history of comedy - Harvey Korman. Perhaps only Bud Abbott had accomplished more as a straight man. Korman portrayed Bud Abbott in a poorly conceived TV movie on the life of Abbott & Costello in the 1970s.  Korman, who was of Russian Jewish descent, was born in Chicago, Illinois on February 15, 1927, the son of Ellen (née Blecher) and Cyril Raymond Korman, a salesman. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. After being discharged, he studied at the Goodman School of Drama and at HB Studio. He was a member of the Peninsula Players summer theater program during the 1950, 1957, and 1958

Korman's first television role was as a head waiter in The Donna Reed Show episode, "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions". He appeared as a comically exasperated public relations man in a January 1961 episode of the CBS drama Route 66. He was seen on numerous television programs after that, including the role of Blake in the 1964 episode "Who Chopped Down the Cherry Tree?" on the NBC medical drama The Eleventh Hour and a bartender in the 1962 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle." He frequently appeared as a supporting player on The Danny Kaye Show from 1963 through 1967. He was cast three times, including the role of Dr. Allison in "Who Needs Glasses?" (1962), on ABC's The Donna Reed Show. He also guest-starred on Dennis the Menace and on the NBC modern western series Empire.

With the 1967 debut of The Carol Burnett Show, Korman saw his greatest fame. He was nominated for six Emmy Awards for his decade of work on The Burnett Show and won four times – in 1969, 1971 (for "Outstanding Achievement" by a performer in music or variety), 1972, and 1974. He was also nominated for four Golden Globes for the series, winning that award in 1975.

While appearing on The Carol Burnett Show, Korman gained further fame by appearing as the villainous Hedley Lamarr in the 1974 film Blazing Saddles. He also starred in High Anxiety (1977) as Dr. Charles Montague. In 1978 he appeared in the CBS Star Wars Holiday Special providing "comedy" in three of the special's variety segments: a cantina skit with Bea Arthur where he plays a barfly who drinks through a hole in the top of his head, another as Chef Gormaanda, a four-armed parody of Julia Child, and one as a malfunctioning Amorphian android in an instruction video. In 1980 he played Captain Blythe in the Walt Disney comedy, Herbie Goes Bananas. In 1981 he played Count de Monet in History of the World, Part 1. In later years he did voice work for the live-action film The Flintstones as well as for the animated The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue.

He also reunited with fellow Carol Burnett Show alumnus Tim Conway, making a guest appearance on Conway's 1980–1981 comedy-variety series The Tim Conway Show. The two later toured the U.S. reprising skits from the show as well as performing new material. A DVD of new comedy sketches by Korman and Conway, Together Again, was released in 2006. Korman and Conway had been jointly inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002. He died of an aneurysm in 2008...

RIP: TIM CONWAY

Actor and comedian Tim Conway, best known for his work on "The Carol Burnett Show," died on Tuesday morning in Los Angeles, according to his publicist.
Conway was 85.

He had been battling a longtime illness prior to his death, Howard Bragman, Conway's representative, told us. He was not suffering from dementia or Alzheimer's disease, Bragman said.

Conway won three Emmys for co-starring in "The Carol Burnett Show," which ran from 1967 to 1978, and a fourth as a member of its writing team. He also briefly headlined his own variety series and co-starred in several Disney live-action comedies during the '70s, such as "The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "The Shaggy D.A."

In his later years, Conway did numerous guest appearances -- winning additional Emmys for roles in the sitcoms "Coach" and "30 Rock" -- and voiceover work in animation, including "SpongeBob Squarepants."

Conway's improvisational antics frequently cracked up his co-stars, foremost among them Harvey Korman.

"I'm heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being," Burnett said about Conway in a statement  on Tuesday. "I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He'll be in my heart forever."

Burnett will dedicate a previously scheduled performance of her one-woman show, "An Evening of Laughter and Reflection Where the Audience Asks Questions," to Conway's memory on Tuesday night in North Carolina.

Conway's longtime colleague, Vicki Lawrence, also paid tribute.

"Hysterical, crazy, bold, fearless, humble, kind, adorable... all synonyms for Tim Conway," Lawrence said in a statement. "I am so lucky to ever have shared a stage with him. Harvey and Tim are together again...the angels are laughing out loud tonight."

Conway was married twice, first to Mary Anne Dalton from 1961 to 1978 and together they had six children. He is survived by his wife of more than 30 years, Charlene Fusco.

The family has asked that instead of gifts, donations be made to The Lou Ruvo Brain Center at the Cleveland Clinic in Las Vegas, Nevada...

HEALTHWATCH: TIM CONWAY

Tim Conway is battling dementia.

The 84-year-old Carol Burnett Show star’s daughter Kelly is asking to be appointed conservator of her father and be in charge of his medical treatments, according to court documents obtained by PEOPLE and first reported by The Blast.

Kelly, 56, filed the documents in Los Angeles on Friday, claiming Conway’s wife Charlene is “planning to move him out of the excellent skilled nursing facility he is currently at” and place him in one that won’t give him access to “registered nurses at all times and his 24-hour caregiver and speech therapist (to help with swallowing).”

Kelly also states that Conway cannot “properly provide for his personal needs for physical health, food, and clothing” and is “almost entirely unresponsive.”

She hopes to be granted guardianship so she can also administer her father’s medications herself.

Before making his mark in Hollywood, Conway surprisingly had no experience in the industry.

“I had no professional training. I had a sense of humor and had been in front of a microphone,” Conway said on an episode of The Interviews: An Oral History of Television in 2004.

He starred on McHale’s Navy, co-starred on the 1970s comedy The Carol Burnett Show, acted as the voice of Barnacle Boy on Spongebob Squarepants and even made a special appearance on the second season of 30 Rock, which he received an Emmy for.

Before marrying Charlene in 1984, Conway was married to Mary Anne Dalton from 1961-78. Together they share seven children: sons Jaime, Tim Jr., Pat, Corey and Shawn and daughter Jackie and Kelly...

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FUN FACTS ABOUT BLAZING SADDLES

I was ready to go to bed the other night, but I figured I'd flip through the channels one more time. Almost ready to give up, I stumbled on Blazing Saddles (1974) on one of the channels - I think it was Encore. Now I have seen the movie countless times, and I am one of the many people that think that director Mel Brooks was a genius in the 1970s. The film is nearly perfect, and I was not sure to write about - the movie has been reviewed countless times, and people are still talking about the movie almost 40 years after it came out. What I thought would be interesting would be to take a look at some of the fun facts about Blazing Saddles that many people may now know...

1. Blazing Saddles, originally titled Tex X, began as a story outline written by Andrew Bergman (Honeymoon in Vegas, The Freshman, Soapdish). After Mel Brooks (Robin Hood: Men in Tights, Spaceballs, High Anxiety) became involved, the film script was written by Bergman, Brooks, Norman Steinberg (Johnny Dangerously, My Favorite Year), Alan Uger (“Family Ties, Champs”) and Richard Pryor (Bustin’ Loose, Jo Jo Dancer, Your Life Is Calling).

2. “The whole movie cost about $2.6 million—nobody got anything.” Brooks said he hardly made much himself, around $50k to write, direct, for everything. The remaining writers (after those that left for financial reasons) held in there and finished writing. They’d write every day until around midnight, then walk to Chinatown where there was a restaurant they liked—they’d have beef and broccoli and a Pepsi, then walk back. Brooks spoke of working hard to get the script done, it had to be completed by July.

3. Liam Dunn (Young Frankenstein, Silent Movie), who played Reverend Johnson, was described by Brooks as “very weird.” The actor had emphysema and when he would finish a scene, they’d ask him “Do you want water? Do you want orange juice? Do you want a cigarette?” Dunn would always choose the cigarette; he’d take a few puffs of smoke, then a few puffs of oxygen.

4. Brooks wanted actor Dan Dailey (It’s Always Fair Weather, The Getaway, My Blue Heaven [1950]) for The Waco Kid, calling him the best civilian horse rider around, but Dailey said he couldn’t do it, he was blind (wore “Coke bottle glasses”). Brooks later ran into John Wayne in the commissary and asked him to read the script. Wayne told Brooks he would read it that night and that Mel should meet him back at the commissary at noon the next day. When they met again, the actor said it was too dirty; “I can’t do it, I’m John Wayne.” Wayne did love the script and told Brooks he was up all night screaming, he loved it and would be first in line to see it.

5. Instead of background music, Brooks wanted foreground music—it had never been done. He brought in Count Basie (“the sweetest guy”) and his band to play April in Paris out in the desert. A composer himself, Brooks wrote I’m Tired and The French Mistake. Composer John Morris and Mel Brooks were both nominated for the title song which was performed by Singer/Songwriter/Actor Frankie Laine. (They lost to The Towering Inferno’s We May Never Love Like This Again.) Brooks said Laine sang with all his heart and tears in his eyes—they didn’t tell him the film was a comedy—Mel thought it worked beautifully.

6. Actress Hedy Lamar (Samson and Delilah, The Strange Woman sued the production for unauthorized use of her name; the case was settled out of court for “not a lot of money, a few thousand dollars. Brooks apologized for “almost using her name.”

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CAROL BURNETT (BORN 1933)

Carol Burnett is one of the greatest comedians of all-time. Her variety show, which ran from 1967 until 1978 was among the funniest shows of all-time. Not only can Carol Burnett do comedy, but she can act and sing as well. She is definitely a triple threat! Her are some of her moments that prove that...

"Went With the Wind" from The Carol Burnett Show (Part of 2) - watch more funny videos