Actor Harvey Korman dies at 81

[Cosmo]

Wow, this is sad. Feels strange when the icons from my youth go.

Vancouver Sun

Actor Harvey Korman dies at 81
Published: Thursday, May 29, 2008

Harvey Korman, star of TV's 'The Carol Burnett Show' and the classic big screen comedy Blazing Saddles, has died at the age of 81.

Korman had been hospitalized four months ago with an abdominal aortic aneurysm.

His daughter, Kate Korman, suggested it was a 'miracle' he survived at all considering the major operations that ensued.

Complications set in last week and he passed away Thursday.

Korman was born in Chicago in 1927. He spent thirteen years trying to get a job on Broadway before starting a nightclub comedy act with a friend. They were fired halfway through their first night.

He moved to California and sold cars for a further three years before landing a job on The Danny Kaye Show. When the show was cancelled he jumped to the Carol Burnett Show and spent a decade enjoying critical acclaim and audience praise.
He also picked up four Emmy awards.

Korman's roles in films such as Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety, The History of the World Part I and a pair of Pink Panther movies cemented his place in Hollywood's comedic elite while turns in Gypsy, Huckleberry Finn and Bud and Lou brought his dramatic talents to the fore.

He is survived by his wife of 25 years and four children.

 

[Kreskin]

I used to laugh just seeing him try not to laugh around Tim Conway. Those skits were priceless.

 

[Outta here]

awww... another good one leaves us.....so many of my faves are passing lately. :-(

 

[Outta here]

I used to laugh just seeing him try not to laugh around Tim Conway. Those skits were priceless.

I'm hard pressed to say which one is my favorite - but I can remember my whole family laughing so hard we were crying at some of those skits - and even when they derailed themselves and kept the cameras rolling while they fell about laughing hysterically, it just made it funnier.

I miss shows like that - the humour was unbeatable, and all of it was family friendly. Remember those days? :idea:

 

[talloola]

I'm hard pressed to say which one is my favorite - but I can remember my whole family laughing so hard we were crying at some of those skits - and even when they derailed themselves and kept the cameras rolling while they fell about laughing hysterically, it just made it funnier.

I miss shows like that - the humour was unbeatable, and all of it was family friendly. Remember those days? :idea:

I remember those days well, and yes, that show was hillarious, I loved it, they were a
very genuinely funny bunch, and not a swear word, nor anything sleezy, (maybe a hint now and then), it's too bad, these days, that comedians can't come up with funny material
unless they talk real dirty. The art is dead I guess.

The one where harvey and tim were in the hospital room, was so funny, I laughed
so hard, tears rolling down, I think tim ended up going around the bed hanging on
the curtain, and right out the window.

 

[MikeyDB]

Maybe the moral compass of tastes has changed? Humor today is a reflection of the underlying angst and disassociation that people feel in their resepective cultures. Some African American humorists are wonderful but far too many employ the "shock-value" of gutter language...somehow missing the fact that it's lost it's "shock value"....

We live in troubled times and at a pace never before seen by this species. Our entertainment reflects who we are.

 

[#juan]

Too bad.....I remember him mostly from the Carol Burnett show. That show made it on it's great cast, starting with Carol Burnett. Others, Vickie Lawrence, Tim Conway, Harvey Korman were the regulars. I remember reading that some of the korman/Conway skits just happened....Completely adlib. I don't think I've seen him in anything for quite a few years but I'm sad to see him gone.

 

[Risus]

Harvey Korman, Tim Conway along with Carol Burnett and Vicky Lawrence were the funniest foursome on TV. Those episodes on the Carol Burnett Show were priceless.

Harvey, rest in peace!

 

[scratch]

Harvey Korman, Tim Conway along with Carol Burnett and Vicky Lawrence were the funniest foursome on TV. Those episodes on the Carol Burnett Show were priceless.

Harvey, rest in peace!

...and Tim always got Harvey to crack up. Our loss.