A few days ago my favorite comedian, Harvey Korman, died. What do you say when someone who impacted your formative years leaves? I think my sister, who asked if she could guest blog about this man who made us smile, says it perfectly.
Dear Harvey and Carol,
Thursday, May 29 was my fifteenth wedding anniversary. On my drive home from work while I was thinking about my lovely husband, I heard a distressing news clip: Harvey Korman of the Carol Burnett Show had passed away from an aortic aneurism at the age of 81. It was a difficult week. First our Uncle Bud on Sunday, and then you, one of my favorite entertainers.
Several Christmases ago my son Ben got me one of the best gifts I have ever received: two DVD’s of old Carol Burnett shows, including Went with the Wind, the movie parody of Gone with the Wind including the funniest sight gag I’ve ever seen. (I take these DVD’s with me to parties by request of friends). This skit left us weak with laughter.
Ben gave me these DVD’s remembering an incident from his slacker teen days when he nearly got in trouble with me for watching TV instead of doing a required chore. I came charging up the stairs ready to skewer him only to find him doubled over in laughter in front of the TV. He was watching a clip of Went with the Wind. I was helpless–we laughed together. He was off the hook and I told him about the role of The Carol Burnett Show and you, Harvey Korman, in our family.
Your show provided blessed comic relief once a week for our family. The chemistry among the cast—you, Vicki Lawrence, Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Lyle Waggoner–was exquisite, the sketch writing cutting and witty. We would watch you and Carol in Mama’s Family, you and Carol on an executive date, Tim Conway and you alone on an island executing a military parade, Tim cutting up and making you laugh. My sister Jolene, my brother John, and I would spend the week acting out some of the skits, repeating the punch lines, waiting for the next show.
I heard you say once that no one was as unselfish on a show with time and the spotlight as Carol Burnett. She seemed to know that when those around her were at their best and had a chance to demonstrate that, she was at her best, too. There is nothing like it on TV now. Only Garrison Keillor’s skit writing and performance on the radio show Prairie Home Companion comes close to what you did.
Thanks, Man. You made me laugh when I needed a laugh so much. Thanks for your wonderful show, Carol Burnett! I hope I do my job as well as you guys did yours.
Much Love,
Jolene’s Sis
