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Harvey Korman | |
|---|---|
 Korman in 1969 | |
| Born | Harvey Herschel Korman (1927-02-15)February 15, 1927 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | May 29, 2008(2008-05-29) (aged 81) UCLA Medical Center,Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Memorial Cemetery inSanta Monica, California |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1950–2008 |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
Harvey Herschel Korman (February 15, 1927 – May 29, 2008) was an American actor and comedian who performed in television and film productions. He is best remembered as a main cast member alongsideCarol Burnett,Tim Conway andVicki Lawrence on theCBSsketch comedy seriesThe Carol Burnett Show (1967–1977) for which he won fourPrimetime Emmy Awards and aGolden Globe Award.
His early roles were onThe Danny Kaye Show andThe Lucy Show. Korman briefly starred in his own sitcomThe Harvey Korman Show (1978) and continued to work with hisThe Carol Burnett Show cast mates in projects such asThe Tim Conway Show (1980), andMama's Family (1983–1984). He starred in several comedy films byMel Brooks includingBlazing Saddles (1974),High Anxiety (1977),History of the World, Part 1 (1981) andDracula: Dead and Loving It (1995). His other notable films includeHerbie Goes Bananas (1980),Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), andCurse of the Pink Panther (1983).
Korman is known for his voice work, taking on roles such asThe Great Gazoo inThe Flintstones (1965–1966). He is also known for voice roles inGarfield and Friends,Alice in Wonderland,Dumb and Dumber,Hey Arnold!,The Wild Thornberrys, andBuzz Lightyear of Star Command.
Korman was born in Chicago, of Russian Jewish descent, the son of Ellen (née Blecher) and Cyril Raymond Korman, a salesman.[1][2][3] He served in the United States Navy during World War II.[4] After being discharged, he studied at theGoodman School of Drama at theArt Institute of Chicago (now atDePaul University) and atHB Studio.[5][6] He was a member of thePeninsula Players summer theatre program during the 1950, 1957, and 1958 seasons.[7]
Korman's first television role was as a head waiter in "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions", an episode ofThe Donna Reed Show. He appeared as a comically exasperated public relations man in a January 1961 episode of theCBS dramaRoute 66. He was seen on numerous television programs afterwards including the role of Blake in the 1964 episode "Who Chopped Down the Cherry Tree?" on theNBCmedical dramaThe Eleventh Hour and a bartender in the 1962Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle". He frequently appeared as a supporting player inThe Danny Kaye Show from 1963 through 1967. He was cast three times, including the role of Dr. Allison in "Who Needs Glasses?" (1962), inABC'sThe Donna Reed Show. He also guest-starred inDennis the Menace and in the NBC contemporary western seriesEmpire.[citation needed]
From 1964 to 1966, he appeared three times in consecutive years in the CBS comedyThe Munsters starringFred Gwynne andYvonne De Carlo. During the 1965–1966 season, Korman appeared regularly on ABC'sThe Flintstones as the voice ofThe Great Gazoo in its final season on network television.[citation needed]
The 1967 debut ofThe Carol Burnett Show gave Korman his greatest recognition. Korman starred alongsideCarol Burnett,Vicki Lawrence, andTim Conway. During his ten-year run on the show, he received sixPrimetime Emmy Award nominations and won four, in 1969, 1971, 1972, and 1974. The exact name of the category changed slightly during the period, but the award was for "Outstanding Achievement by a Supporting Performer in Music or Variety show". He was also nominated for fourGolden Globes for the series, winning that award in 1975. In 1977, he leftThe Carol Burnett Show to headline his own sitcom on ABC,The Harvey Korman Show, which lasted five episodes.[citation needed]
While appearing onThe Carol Burnett Show, Korman gained further fame by appearing as the villainous Hedley Lamarr in the 1974Mel Brooks filmBlazing Saddles starringCleavon Little,Gene Wilder, andMadeline Kahn. Ron Pennington ofThe Hollywood Reporter praised his performance writing, "The performances are all comedy gems, with Korman especially delightful as Hedley Lamarr, scheming and plotting with all the finesse of a precocious brat".[8] He also starred in Brooks'High Anxiety (1977) as Dr. Charles Montague.[citation needed]
In 1978, he appeared in the CBSStar Wars Holiday Special providing levity in three of the special's variety segments: a cantina skit withBea Arthur in which he plays a barfly who drinks through a hole in the top of his head, another as Chef Gormaanda, a four-armed parody ofJulia Child, and one as a malfunctioning Amorphian android in an instruction video. In 1980, he played Captain Blythe in theDisney comedy,Herbie Goes Bananas. The following year, he portrayed Count de Monet in Brooks'History of the World, Part 1. In later years, he did voice work for thelive-action filmThe Flintstones as well as for the animatedThe Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue. He also starred in the short-lived Mel Brooks TV seriesThe Nutt House, and in his final Mel Brooks film, as the zany Dr. Seward, inDracula: Dead and Loving It. In 1986, he starred in the failedCBS comedy seriesLeo & Liz in Beverly Hills withValerie Perrine.[9]
In 1982, he reunited withCarol Burnett andVicki Lawrence in the TV movieEunice reprising his role ofEd Higgins from “The Family” sketches fromThe Carol Burnett Show. He continued the portrayal on the spin-off series,Mama’s Family in addition to introducing each episode of the series during its initial two-season NBC network run, portraying fictional television host Alistair Quince as well as directing 31 episodes of the series.[citation needed]
He also reunited with fellowCarol Burnett Show alumnusTim Conway, making a guest appearance on Conway's 1980–1981 comedy-variety seriesThe Tim Conway Show. The two later toured the U.S., reprising skits from the show and performing new material.[10] A DVD of new comedy sketches by Korman and Conway,Together Again, was released in 2006.[11] Korman and Conway had been jointly inducted into theTelevision Hall of Fame in 2002.[12]
Korman was married to Donna Ehlert from 1960 to 1977 and they had two children, Maria and Christopher Korman. He married Deborah Korman (née Fritz) in 1982 and was married to her until he died in 2008. They had two daughters together, Kate and Laura Korman.[6]
Korman died at age 81 on May 29, 2008, atUCLA Medical Center as the result of complications from a rupturedabdominal aortic aneurysm he had suffered four months earlier.[6][13] He is interred atSanta Monica'sWoodlawn Cemetery.
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| Year | Project | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1959 | Carving Magic | Al | Industrial short |
| 1961 | Living Venus | Ken Carter | |
| 1962 | Gypsy | Gypsy's press agent | |
| 1966 | Lord Love a Duck | Weldon Emmett | |
| 1966 | The Man Called Flintstone | Chief Boulder | voice |
| 1968 | Don't Just Stand There! | Merriman Dudley | |
| 1969 | The April Fools | Matt Benson | |
| 1974 | Blazing Saddles | Hedley Lamarr | |
| 1974 | Huckleberry Finn | The King | |
| 1976 | The Pink Panther Strikes Again | Prof. Auguste Balls | Scenes deleted but later retooled inTrail of the Pink Panther |
| 1977 | High Anxiety | Dr. Charles Montague | |
| 1978 | Bud and Lou | Bud Abbott | |
| 1979 | Americathon | Monty Rushmore | |
| 1980 | Herbie Goes Bananas | Captain Blythe | |
| 1980 | First Family | U.N. Ambassador Spender | |
| 1981 | History of the World, Part I | Count de Monet | |
| 1982 | Trail of the Pink Panther | Prof. Auguste Balls | Scenes incorporated fromThe Pink Panther Strikes Again |
| 1983 | Curse of the Pink Panther | Prof. Auguste Balls | |
| 1984 | Gone Are the Dayes | Charlie Mitchell | |
| 1985 | Alice in Wonderland | White King | |
| 1986 | The Longshot | Lou | |
| 1987 | Munchies | Cecil Watterman Simon Watterman | |
| 1994 | The Flintstones | Dictabird | Voice |
| 1994 | Radioland Murders | Jules Cogley | |
| 1995 | Dracula: Dead and Loving It | Dr. Jack Seward | |
| 1996 | Jingle All the Way | President | |
| 1998 | The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue | Floyd | Voice |
| 1999 | Baby Huey's Great Easter Adventure | Prof. von Klupp | Direct-to-video |
| 2000 | The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas | Col. Slaghoople | |
| 2006 | Together Again: Conway & Korman | Various | DVD release |
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | The Donna Reed Show | Head Waiter | Episode: "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions" |
| 1961 | Hennesey | Dr. Don Spright | Episode: "The Gossip Go-Round" |
| 1961 | The Red Skelton Hour | Artie | Episode: "Appleby's Office Party" |
| 1961 | Dennis the Menace | Realtor | Episode: "Haunted House" |
| 1961–1963 | Route 66 | Len Statler | 2 episodes |
| 1962 | Perry Mason | Bartender | Episode: "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle" |
| 1962 | I'm Dickens, He's Fenster | Mr. Rembar | Episode: "The Acting Game" |
| 1962 | The Detectives Starring Robert Taylor | Gibson Holly | Episode: "The Jagged Edge" |
| 1962 | Empire | Bunce | Episode: "Pressure Lock" |
| 1963 | Dennis the Menace | Mr. Griffin | Episode: "My Four Boys" |
| 1963 | Sam Benedict | Reporter | Episode: "Of Rusted Cannons and Fallen Sparrows" |
| 1963 | Saints and Sinners | Jerry Grant | Episode: "The Year Joan Crawford Won the Oscar" |
| 1963 | Glynis | Ken Bradford | Episode: "Three Men in a Tub" |
| 1964 | The Munsters | Journalist Lennie Bates | Episode: "Family Portrait" |
| 1964–1965 | The Lucy Show | Various | 3 episodes |
| 1964 | Hazel | Max Denton | Episode: "Maid for a Day" |
| 1965 | Gidget | Joe Hanley | Episode: "Daddy Come Home" |
| 1965 | The John Forsythe Show | H.H. Hopper | Episode: "Duty and the Beast" |
| 1965 | The Munsters | Dr. Leinbach | Episode: "Yes Galen, There Is a Herman" |
| 1966 | The Munsters | Professor Fagenspahen | Episode: "Prehistoric Munster" |
| 1965–1966 | The Flintstones | The Great Gazoo | Voice; 13 episodes |
| 1966 | Alice in Wonderland | Mad Hatter | Voice; Television movie |
| 1966 | F Troop | Col. Heindreich von Zeppel | Episode: "Bye, Bye, Balloon" |
| 1967–1977 | The Carol Burnett Show | Various roles | Main cast; 244 episodes |
| 1968 | The Wild Wild West | Baron Hinterstoisser | Episode: "The Night of the Big Blackmail" |
| 1971 | The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour | Himself | Guest appearance |
| 1976 | The Muppet Show | Himself | Episode: Harvey Korman |
| 1978 | America 2-Night | Himself | Episode: Celebrity Night |
| 1978 | The Harvey Korman Show | Himself | Talk series |
| 1978 | Star Wars Holiday Special | Chef Gormaanda, Krelman, Toy Video Instructor | TV special |
| 1980–1981 | The Tim Conway Show | Himself | 8 episodes |
| 1982 | Eunice | Ed | Television special |
| 1983 | The Invisible Woman | Carlisle Edwards | Television movie |
| 1983 | Carpool | Wendell Brooks | Television movie |
| 1983–1984 | Mama's Family | Eunice's husband / Various | 26 episodes |
| 1986 | Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills | Leo Green | 6 episodes |
| 1989 | Nutt House | Reginald Tarkington | 10 episodes |
| 1992 | The Golden Palace | Bill | Episode: "Marriage on the Rocks with a Twist" |
| 1994 | Garfield and Friends | Professor Lamar | Voice; 2 episodes |
| 1995 | What a Cartoon! | O. Ratz | Voice; Episode: "Rat in a Hot Tin Can" |
| 1995 | Dumb and Dumber: The Animated Series | Officer Doohickey | Voice; 2 episodes[14] |
| 1996 | Hey Arnold! | Don Reynolds | Voice; 2 episodes[15] |
| 1997 | Diagnosis: Murder | Harvey Huckaby | Guest star; Episode: "Comedy Is Murder" |
| 1999 | The Wild Thornberrys | Earl | Voice; Episode: "No Laughing Matter" |
| 1999 | The Brothers Flub | Voice; 16 episodes | |
| 2000 | Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child | The Lion | Voice; Episode: "Aesop's Fables" |
| 2000 | Buzz Lightyear of Star Command | Gularis | Voice |
Korman also appeared on multiple Carol Burnett reunion specials over the years
| Year | Project | Role | Playwright | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | The Tower Beyond Tragedy | The King's Guard | Robinson Jeffers | ANTA Playhouse, Broadway |
| 1950 | Captain Brassbound's Conversion | Ensemble | George Bernard Shaw | City Center, Broadway |
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| Year | Association | Category | Project | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program | The Carol Burnett Show | Won | |
| 1971 | Won | ||||
| 1972 | Won | ||||
| 1973 | Nominated | ||||
| 1974 | Won | ||||
| 1976 | Nominated | ||||
| 1977 | Nominated | ||||
| 1972 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actor – Television | Nominated | ||
| 1973 | Nominated | ||||
| 1974 | Won | ||||
| 1975 | Nominated |
| International | |
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| National | |
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| People | |
| Other | |
