Harvey Korman
Harvey Korman has died. (I seem to be writing more obits than usual lately.)
Korman, second banana on The Carold Burnett Show, was the last of the old-fashioned sketch artists (the kind SNL was trying to put out of business). There was a time when variety flourished on prime time, often starring comedians who cut their teeth in Vaudeville or burlesque. By the time The Carol Burnett Show ended in 1978, the form was all but dead. Burnett was a not just the final example of the form, but one of the best.
Korman, along with Burnett herself, could do anything, at least for the length of a sketch. He could play it light or play it broad. He could sing, he could dance. He could put on any accent, any costume, any makeup.
He started in TV in the early 60s doing lots of guest shots. He also did an occasional movie--in particular I'm a fan of his eccentric work as the nervous high school principal in Lord Love A Duck. But when he got hired for Burnett in 1967, he'd finally ended up where he was meant to be. He was nominated for seven Emmys for his work on the show, and won four.
He's also remembered for some of his movie roles, especially in Mel Brooks' films, particularly as Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles, but I always felt these parts were just a continuation of the work he did every week on TV.
Let me end on a controversial note. Korman became well-known for cracking up at the antics of his Burnett co-star Tim Conway. Even if he honestly couldn't help himself, I hated it. It was amateurish, and worse, it was a cheap ploy to get the audience involved, since the show wasn't taped live and the producers didn't have to show it. I don't mind a little screwing around on an outtake reel, but when the show's on, try to be professional.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:11 AM
6 Comments:
When I looked up all the old Carol Burnett stuff on youtube, I was shocked to see that most of those sketches were 6 to 9 minutes long. Isn't that sort of an eternity by today's standards?
That Korman "could do anything, at least for the length of a sketch" -- that really is impressive.
I agree about Harvey Korman. He is who I almst authomatically think of when I remember watching TV as a kid.
Aand while I don't like the guild-like "professionalism" argument in any context, I have the same negative reaction to performers breaking out of character in sketches- my thought is-"lets move n. This is not funny, but the sketch as written is supposed to be."
On the other hand, the concept of people losing it during serious moments such as newscasts or speeches can sometimes be hilarious. Though its not a good example of what I am talking about here (its a written sketch about losing it where the performers kept character), I'm reminded of the Chuckles the clown eulogy from Mary Tyler Moore.
The Chuckles episode is a classic of course. But imagine if one of the MTM actors had broken character during any episode and started laughing at what another was doing. And imagine if the producers decided to keep it in because they thought the audience would get a kick out of it. They wouldn't, because they had too much respect for the show. That's how I felt about the cracking up.
I once saw Lily Tomlin do her one-woman show on Broadway and her microphone failed. She had to go offstage and get it fixed, completely breaking character and stopping the momentum. When she returned, she said "I bet you think the show is better because of this."
I also hated the breaking out of character. I sincerely doubt that it was unplanned. I remember another example of this phenomenon. Many years ago, I saw Raquel Welch play the lead in "Woman of the Year." There was a veteran comic actress playing the downtrodden first wife of Welch's hotshot husband, and she sang a comic duet with Welch. In the middle of the song, Welch broke down laughing at her, and could barely make it through the rest of the song. The audience did in fact go wild, laughing at Welch's inability to stop laughing. I hated it. A few weeks later, I met someone who had seen the show on a different day, and I complained about Welch breaking down in the middle of the song. She told me Welch had done the same thing her night (but she thought it was hysterical). I thought it was manipulative.
I saw Jerry Lewis in Damn Yankees and knew someone in the cast who told me he also had a regular moment where he'd crack up. William Goldman wrote if you're not sure, watch the band's reaction, since they see it every night.
See, I liked when Tim Conway made Harvey Korman lose it, and I was just a kid so it never occured to me that it was planned. I thought it made Harvey seem human and accessible that he could just lose it like we were while watching at home. It wasn't like he lost it while he was playing Hamlet - it was a sketch comedy show and meant to make you howl.
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