Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Comedian Tim Conway of 'The Carol Burnett Show' Dies at 85
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
May 14, 2019

Share

NEW YORK — Tim Conway, the impish second banana to Carol Burnett who won four Emmy Awards on her TV variety show, starred aboard “McHale’s Navy” and later voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for “Spongebob Squarepants,” has died. He was 85.

Conway died Tuesday morning in a Los Angeles care facility, according to Howard Bragman, who heads LaBrea Media. Conway’s wife, Charlene Fusco, and a daughter, Jackie, were at his side. The cause was a disorder in which there is an excess of fluid on the brain, Bragman said.

Tributes came from across the comedy world, including from Conan O’Brien, who said as a kid “no one made me laugh harder than Tim Conway.” Larry Wilmore called Conway “always always always funny” and Kathy Griffin called him “a wildly talented, comedy giant.” Al Roker tweeted out a link to Conway playing a hysterically incompetent dentist.

A native of Ohio, Conway credited his Midwestern roots for putting him on the right path to laughs, with his deadpan expression and innocent, simple-minded demeanor.

“We really didn’t attack people or politics or religion or whatever. We just made fun of, basically, ourselves.” — Tim Conway, referring to “The Carol Burnett Show”

“I think the Midwest is the heart of comedy in this country, and a little bit of the South, too,” he told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2005. “For some reason, we’re just more laid-back, more understanding. … And Midwesterners have a kinder sense of humor.”

Those qualities probably contributed to his wide popularity on “The Carol Burnett Show,” which he joined in 1975 after years as a frequent guest. The show aired on CBS from 1967 to 1978 and had a short summer stint on ABC in 1979.

“We really didn’t attack people or politics or religion or whatever. We just made fun of, basically, ourselves,” he said.

The show operated with just five writers, one producer, one director and without network interference. The ensemble cast surrounding the redheaded star included Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner.

He Made Co-Stars Crack Up on Camera

“I don’t think the network would allow a show like ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ now because we had such freedom,” Conway said in his interview with the State Journal.

While America was laughing at Conway, so were his co-stars: Burnett and Harvey Korman were often caught by the camera trying not to crack up during his performances.

The short, nondescript Conway and the tall, imposing Korman were a physical mismatch made in comedy heaven. They toured the country for years with a sketch show called “Together Again,” which drew on characters from Burnett’s show.

Besides the four Emmys he won with Burnett (three as a performer, one as a writer), he won Emmys for guest appearances in 1996 for “Coach” and in 2008 for “30 Rock.”

Conway also had a modest but steady movie career, appearing in such films as “The Apple Dumpling Gang” (1975), “The Shaggy D.A.” (1976), “Cannonball Run II” (1984), “Dear God” (1996) and “Air Bud 2” (1998).

“The Apple Dumpling Gang” and “Cannonball Run II” allowed him to work with his comedic hero, Don Knotts, who died in 2006.

“If there’s any reason at all I’m in the business, I think it’s Don,” Conway once said. “He’s an icon in this business. He’s an icon that’s never going to be duplicated.”

He also found success in the 1980s in a series of comedy videos based on an oddly short character named Dorf. (Carefully costumed, Conway performed the bits on his knees.) Among them were “Dorf on Golf” and “Dorf Goes Fishing.”

Became a Regular on ‘The Steve Allen Show’

More recently Conway voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for the hugely popular children’s series “SpongeBob SquarePants.”

He was born Thomas Conway in 1933 in the Cleveland suburb of Willoughby. He attended Bowling Green State University and served in the U.S. Army. He got his career start on local TV in Cleveland in the 1950s, where his duties included comedy spots on a late-night movie show.

He was spotted by Rose Marie of “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” who got him an audition for “The Steve Allen Show.” He became a regular on the show in the early 1960s. It was Allen who had advised him to change his name from Tom to Tim to avoid being confused with a British actor.

Following the Allen show, Conway gained attention as the incompetent Ensign Charles Parker on the Ernest Borgnine sitcom “McHale’s Navy” from 1962-66. That led to series of his own, including “Rango” and “The Tim Conway Show,” but they were short-lived.

“McHale’s Navy” fans loved watching Ensign Parker infuriate the ever-flammable Captain Binghamton (played by Joe Flynn), but it was Conway’s work on Burnett’s show that would bring him lasting fame.

Conway and his wife, Mary Anne Dalton, married in 1961 and had six children. The marriage ended in divorce. He later married Charlene Fusco.

In addition to his wife and daughter Jackie, Conway is survived by children Tim Jr., Patrick, Jamie, Kelly, Corey and Seann, as well as two grandchildren, Courtney and Sophia.

DON'T MISS

City of Fresno Buys Half of Eldorado Park in Strategic Maxwell-Led Move

DON'T MISS

GOP Picks up Key House Seats While Democrats Say They Still Have a Path to a Majority

DON'T MISS

Costa Expands Lead Over Maher, Richardson Holds Narrow Edge on Bonakdar

DON'T MISS

Clovis’ Measure A and Sanger’s Measure M Get Good News with Thursday Vote Update

DON'T MISS

President-Elect Trump Has Sweeping Plans. Here’s What He’s Proposed.

DON'T MISS

New Look Basketball Bulldogs Open at Home. How Will They Fare Under Walberg?

DON'T MISS

Americans Seek Fresh Start Abroad as Election Sparks Expat Interest

DON'T MISS

President-Elect Trump Names Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff

DON'T MISS

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Foe of Drugmakers and Regulators, Is Poised to Wield New Power

DON'T MISS

California Beat Trump in Court His First Term. It’s Preparing New Cases for His Second.

UP NEXT

Central Valley Weekend Packed With Sports, Tacos, Magic and Local Entertainment

UP NEXT

Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine Strikes Deal to End Jail Stint

UP NEXT

Ruby Slippers From ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Are for Sale Nearly 2 Decades After They Were Stolen

UP NEXT

Nintendo Chief Insists the Switch Momentum Will Keep Going, Even After Its Successor

UP NEXT

Music Legend Quincy Jones, Architect of Pop’s Greatest Hits, Dies at 91

UP NEXT

At 91, Willie Nelson Has a New Album Out and a Cannabis Cookbook Coming

UP NEXT

Rapper Young Thug Is a Free Man. Here Are Things to Know About His Plea.

UP NEXT

MrBeast Probe Ends With Some Employees Fired but Finds No Proof of Sexual Misconduct Allegations

UP NEXT

Beyoncé, Shaboozey and Post Malone Topped Country in 2024. How Will Grammys Respond?

UP NEXT

Weekend Lineup: Football Showdown, Rock Tributes, and Halloween Festivities

Clovis’ Measure A and Sanger’s Measure M Get Good News with Thursday Vote Update

10 hours ago

President-Elect Trump Has Sweeping Plans. Here’s What He’s Proposed.

11 hours ago

New Look Basketball Bulldogs Open at Home. How Will They Fare Under Walberg?

11 hours ago

Americans Seek Fresh Start Abroad as Election Sparks Expat Interest

11 hours ago

President-Elect Trump Names Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff

12 hours ago

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Foe of Drugmakers and Regulators, Is Poised to Wield New Power

12 hours ago

California Beat Trump in Court His First Term. It’s Preparing New Cases for His Second.

12 hours ago

With Mountain West Title Out of Reach, What Is Fresno State Playing For?

14 hours ago

Former Fresno State Bull Rider, a Vietnam Vet, Calls Central Valley Honor Flight ‘Life-Changing’

14 hours ago

Don’t Expect Kamala Harris’ Loss to Boost Gavin Newsom’s Presidential Prospects

14 hours ago

City of Fresno Buys Half of Eldorado Park in Strategic Maxwell-Led Move

The city of Fresno now owns a new park. Or at least half of it. Technically, the city of Fresno did not own El Dorado Park, at Barstow Avenu...

9 hours ago

9 hours ago

City of Fresno Buys Half of Eldorado Park in Strategic Maxwell-Led Move

The U.S. Capitol is seen from Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick)
10 hours ago

GOP Picks up Key House Seats While Democrats Say They Still Have a Path to a Majority

10 hours ago

Costa Expands Lead Over Maher, Richardson Holds Narrow Edge on Bonakdar

10 hours ago

Clovis’ Measure A and Sanger’s Measure M Get Good News with Thursday Vote Update

11 hours ago

President-Elect Trump Has Sweeping Plans. Here’s What He’s Proposed.

11 hours ago

New Look Basketball Bulldogs Open at Home. How Will They Fare Under Walberg?

11 hours ago

Americans Seek Fresh Start Abroad as Election Sparks Expat Interest

Trump co-campaign manager Susie Wiles is seen at Nashville International Airport as Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump arrives, July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP File)
12 hours ago

President-Elect Trump Names Susie Wiles as Chief of Staff

Search

Send this to a friend