Thomas Daniel "Tim"Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. Conway is perhaps best known as a regular cast member (1975–1978) on the TV comedy-variety seriesThe Carol Burnett Show where he portrayed his recurrent iconic charactersMister Tudball and theOldest Man. Conway was known for hisphysical comedy. Over his career he received numerous accolades including fivePrimetime Emmy Awards and aGolden Globe Award. He received a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and was inducted into theTelevision Hall of Fame in 2002.
Conway was born Thomas Daniel Conway1 on December 15, 1933, inWilloughby, Ohio, a suburb ofCleveland, and grew up in nearbyChagrin Falls, the son of Daniel and Sophia (née Murgoiu) Conway.[1][2] Daniel was a groomer forpolo ponies.[3][4][5][6] His father, who emigrated to the United States in 1927,[7] was born in Ireland to Scottish parents, and his mother was a first-generationRomanian-American.[3]
Conway's legal name was Thomas, though he was also referred to as Toma, the Romanian-language analog,1 and was typically known as Tom; he changed his stage name to Tim near the beginning of his acting career (quipping he "dotted the O") to avoid confusion with British actorTom Conway.[4][8][9]
After his discharge from the Army, Conway returned to Cleveland and worked withErnie Anderson onKYW-TV, anNBC affiliate, in 1958 and 1959. Early on, Conway and Anderson acted in TV commercials that built on their quirky brand of humor to supplement their income.[13]
From 1960 to 1962, Conway was onWJW-TV (then aCBS affiliate, now aFox affiliate) on a weekday morning film show (under theErnie's Place banner), where he also wrote material for the comedic skits shown during film intermissions. Conway also recorded a comedy album with Anderson, who gained national prominence as a voice-over announcer forABC Television beginning in the 1970s.[14]
WJW-TV dismissed Conway in 1962, in part because he (and Anderson) misled station management into thinking he had experience as a director.[15] Because of this move, which deprived Anderson of his co-host and comic foil, the station asked Anderson if he could host a B-grade (and lower) horror film show on Friday nights instead. Conway continued to make many appearances alongside Anderson's alter egoGhoulardi, in addition to "Big Chuck" Schodowski, a station engineer who Anderson got to assume much of Conway's sidekick status (and who ultimately succeeded Anderson as co-host of the horror film program).[citation needed]
After he became famous, Conway resurfaced periodically on Cleveland television on theHoolihan and Big Chuck andBig Chuck and Lil' John shows on WJW-TV, in guest spots and occasional skits. Conway also made regular guest appearances at numerous "Ghoulardifest" functions held by WJW over the years, along with former Cleveland TV personalityBob "Hoolihan" Wells, in tribute to Anderson, who died in 1997.[citation needed]
Comedic actressRose Marie visitedWJW in 1961, as part of CBS's promotional practice of sending their major show stars directly to local affiliates: in this case, it was forThe Dick Van Dyke Show. She viewed tapes of some of Anderson and Conway's skits and proceeded to take Conway under her wing. Following his departure from WJW, Conway moved to New York City, where, with Rose Marie's assistance, he auditioned for, and gained a spot on,ABC'sThe Steve Allen Show as a regular player.[16] During this time he also appeared onThe Garry Moore Show andThe Mike Douglas Show, andThat's Life.
Conway and Ernest Borgnine in a photograph ofMcHale's Navy, 1962
Conway gained a national following from his role as the bumbling, naive Ensign Charles Parker, Executive Officer of the World War II PT-73, in the 1960s sitcomMcHale's Navy, alongsideErnest Borgnine andJoe Flynn. Borgnine became a mentor and a good friend. Conway appeared at Borgnine's 90th birthday celebration and, four years later, paid tribute to his friend at the 7th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards onTNT.[17]
Afterwards, he starred in a string of short-lived television series, starting with 1967'sRango which starred Conway as an incompetentTexas Ranger.[18] Conway was part of an infamous network TV programming catastrophe,Turn-On, acounter-culturalsketch comedy show onABC that was derided as a rip-off of NBC'sRowan & Martin's Laugh-In. The show was in fact created and directed byLaugh-In's creatorGeorge Schlatter. Even though Conway was listed only as a guest star on the pilot, which ABC broadcast on February 5, 1969, it was theonly episode that ever aired.[19]
In 1963, Conway guest-starred inChanning playing a job applicant. In 1968, he made two guest appearances onThat's Life. From 1970 to 1971, Conway made four appearances onRowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
Turn-On received enough immediate, negative reaction to force several ABC affiliates, includingWEWS-TV in Conway's hometown of Cleveland, to refuse to return to the program after the first commercial break. WEWS management also sent an angrily worded telegram to the network's headquarters. Many West Coast affiliates received advance warning and refused to air the show. Conway remarked that the show's premiere party he attended was also the program's cancellation party,[20][21] but ABC did not officially cancel the program until February 9.[22]
Starting with the1975–76 season, Conway became a regular onThe Carol Burnett Show (replacingLyle Waggoner), after having been a frequent guest for the show's first eight seasons.[16] Conway's work on the show earned him fourEmmy Awards — one for writing and three for performance, one of which was before he became a regular. Two of Conway's memorable characters on the Burnett Show wereThe Oldest Man, whose shaggy white hair, slow speech, and shuffling gait ran counter to the much-needed energy levels of the various occupations in which he was usually found, and Mr. Tudball, a businessman whose intentions of running a "ship-shape" office were usually sunk by the bored indifference of his secretary,Mrs. Wiggins (Burnett). Although the character was widely thought to be Swedish, Conway used a Romanian accent learned from his mother.[23]
Conway often made his co-stars onThe Carol Burnett Show break character and laugh in the middle of a scene, usually without speaking a line of dialogue.[24] According to Burnett, the characters breaking and laughing did not happen as often as many people later remembered, but because the laughter was real and added even more comedic value to a scene, those breaks became a defining characteristic of the show.[25]
A prime example of his ability to make his co-stars laugh uncontrollably involved Lyle Waggoner as a captured American airman, with Conway as a stereotypical blond-haired Gestapo agent charged with his interrogation. Stating that "the Fuhrer" had taken particular interest, Conway produced a small Hitler hand puppet. Conway suggested to the puppet that singing might relax Waggoner's character to the point he is willing to talk. In a long, drawn-out fashion, the Hitler puppet (Conway providing a falsetto voice, with German accent) sings "I've Been Working on the Railroad," and with each passing verse, Waggoner loses more of his composure, finally laughing hysterically when puppet-Hitler screeches, "FEE-FI-Fiddely-I-O!".[26]
Another example of his ability to make his co-stars break up in laughter is exemplified in the "Elephant Story" outtake from one of the "Family" sketches. Conway tells an increasingly absurd story about his visit to the circus; as he continues, the other cast members (Carol Burnett,Vicki Lawrence, and Dick Van Dyke) are soon having trouble staying in character, looking away from him and the cameras. Conway eventually finishes his story, and Lawrence (in character as Mama) replies: "Are you sure that little asshole's through?", causing the others – even Conway – to break out in hysterical laughter.[27] Conway remained a regular cast member ofThe Carol Burnett Show until the program's run ended in 1978.[28]
Conway and Joe Flynn pose in front ofLucky Linda in a publicity photo forThe Tim Conway Show taken on January 9, 1970
In 1970,The Tim Conway Show paired Conway withJoe Flynn ofMcHale's Navy in a sitcom as owner-pilots of a one-plane (aBeechcraft Model 18 namedLucky Linda) airline operated by the duo. Having "nowhere to run", this pressurized situation was ideal for the fastrepartee of the lead actors. It debuted in January 1970 and the last new show aired in June 1970.[29] In the fall of the same year, Conway was given his own hour-long variety show,The Tim Conway Comedy Hour,[29] orThe Tim Conway Comedy House,[16] which, as his other series had, folded quickly, lasting only 13 weeks.[29] Typical of his self-effacing humor, he ordered his car's license plate to reflect the short duration of the series: "13 WKS".[16] (Conway was given another one-hour variety show ten years later, which revived the titleThe Tim Conway Show.)[29]
In 1980, Conway again was given his own one-hour variety program, titledThe Tim Conway Show (the title that was previously used for his 1970 sitcom). It aired on CBS, as his previous shows had, and debuted on March 22, 1980.[29] It was originally a full hour but was reduced to half an hour in summer 1980. It lasted longer than any of his earlier self-titled series, ending in August 1981.[29] The format was similar to that ofThe Carol Burnett Show, with several regular cast members performing in comedy sketches, interspersed with the occasional musical performance by a guest musician. Among the regulars in the cast wereMaggie Roswell,Miriam Flynn, Eric Boardman,Jack Riley, andDick Orkin. FormerBurnett cast memberHarvey Korman also became aTim Conway Show regular in late 1980, after having earlier made guest appearances on the show, as hadCarol Burnett andVicki Lawrence.[29]
In the spring of 1983, Conway starred in another situation comedy,Ace Crawford, Private Eye; a spoof of detective shows, it lasted only a month. In the summer of 1990, he starred inTim Conway's Funny America, playing pranks in disguise on unsuspecting passersby around the United States whilehidden cameras recorded the results, which Conway presented to a studio audience; it, too, lasted only a few weeks.[citation needed]
Dorf
In the 1980s, Conway began appearing in a series of satirical how-to videos in which he played a diminutive, dark-haired Scandinavian known asDorf (a variation on "dwarf"), reprising his goofy Mr. Tudball accent. The Dorf character first appeared on the January 3, 1986, episode ofThe Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In that episode, he portrayed a horse jockey. Dorf also appeared in the1987 filmDorf on Golf and later appeared in eight other films on a variety of sports from baseball to auto racing.Dorf on Golf was remastered for DVD in 2007. In 2010, all of theDorf films were remastered in a DVD Collection featuring all eight films, a behind-the-scenes with Dorf, and a commentary track by Tim Conway on "The Legend of the Paddle: The Oldie Hollis Story." Dorf also appeared on an episode ofTim Conway's Funny America in the summer of 1990, leading anaerobics class on his impossibly short legs.[citation needed] In 2009, Conway's Dorf character started "helping"Santa Claus on the website iSpotSanta.[30] Each year, Dorf had three sketches; in 2009, he tried to give Santa his Christmas list, failing and accidentally hitting Santa with a golf ball. Then, in 2010, he tried to give all of the world's letters to Santa directly using jet rockets to fly to his sleigh, cannonballs, and more.[citation needed]
In 1990, he guest-starred inNewhart as himself in the episode: "Dick and Tim". In 1991, Conway made acameo appearance inCarol & Company as an audience member in the episode "That Little Extra Something". From 1995 to 1996, he guest-starred inMarried... with Children as Ephraim Wanker, the hillbilly father of Peg Bundy in four episodes. In 1996 and 1997, Conway guest-starred inABC'sCoach, for which he received thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, playing Kenny Montague in the 1996 episode "The Gardener."[31] In 1997, Conway guest-starred inDiagnosis: Murder as Tim Conrad in the episode: "Comedy Is Murder" where he teamed back up withDick Van Dyke andHarvey Korman where Conway and Korman (Harvey Huckaby) are former comedy partners. In the episode, a clip of the well-known dentist sketch fromThe Carol Burnett Show was used to illustrate their partnership. In 1998, Conway guest-starred inEllen as a comedian in the episode: "Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute, Part 1".
Conway andHarvey Korman created a Collector's Edition DVD of new comedy sketches, titledTogether Again; it was produced by Pasquale Murena and sold through Conway's official website.[33] Starting in 2003, Conway teamed up with good friendDon Knotts again to provide voices for the direct-to-video children's seriesHermie and Friends, which continued with both until Knotts died in 2006. Conway continued to do the series afterwards.[citation needed] In 2007, he hostedThou Shalt Laugh 2: The Deuce, a collection of Christian stand-up comedians.[citation needed] In 2012–13, he voiced the character Mulch in DreamWorks'DreamWorks Dragons subtitled Riders of Berk series.[34] In 2016, he played Professor VanVanguard, a knowledgeable character of the lives, characteristics and treating of zombies in the award-winning feature filmChip & Bernie's Zomance.[35]
Conway first pitched the idea ofErnie Anderson and himself doing a late night show together in Cleveland during the 1960s. That is whereRose Marie found Conway and got him a role onThe Steve Allen Show. Before that, the duo recorded two comedy albums together:Are We On? (1966) andBull (1967).[36] Anderson turned to doing voiceovers after Conway moved on, but their collaborations continued with Conway's string of shows and Anderson's career as "The Voice of ABC". Anderson performed on sketches and was the voiceover talent forThe Carol Burnett Show.[37]
Anderson become a cult icon in Cleveland as the characterGhoulardi during his own late night television show, where he showed horrorB movies to viewers. In 2013, Conway went to the Ghoulardi Fest to promote his book and show his love for his friend Anderson.[38][39]
Conway first metHarvey Korman in 1966 during the first of Conway's three appearances onThe Danny Kaye Show. Korman was a four-year series regular on Kaye's CBS variety hour. 1967 saw the end of the Kaye show and the debut ofThe Carol Burnett Show. With Korman available, he stepped into a regular role there. Conway appeared as a guest during that first Burnett season and the two men immediately became friends starting a lifetime of working together until Korman's death in 2008. One of their most famous sketches was fromThe Carol Burnett Show called "The Dentist Sketch." In this sketch, Korman goes to the just-graduated dentist Conway for a toothache. Conway proceeds to remove Korman's tooth, but before he can inject thenovocaine into Korman, he injects it into himself, causing his hand, leg, and head to go numb.[40]
Korman and Conway performed together for 10 years onThe Carol Burnett Show before Korman left to pursue his own show. Korman joined Conway on Conway's shows and then later on in the 1986 filmThe Longshot, which Conway wrote for the two men.[36] Conway also wrote the direct-to-video filmsTim and Harvey in The Great Outdoors andTogether Again with Tim and Harvey, which the comedy pair starred in together. The duo also toured the US performing together. The DVDTogether Again with Tim and Harvey is a recording of their touring stage show that ran over 10 years to sold out markets until Korman's death in 2008.[40][41][42] When interviewed in 2004, Conway said of Korman, "We're friends; He's a bright guy; he can do The New York Times crossword puzzle in about five minutes, but he can't tie his shoes."[43]
When Conway was starting his career in Hollywood, so wasDon Knotts. Both men were regulars onThe Steve Allen Show, though at different times. They didn't have the chance to work together untilDisney Studios paired the two men on the Apple Dumpling Gang series of films, and their comedy clicked; Knotts's boisterous,Barney Fife-style bungling both contrasted and meshed with Conway's quieter form of physical comedy. The first film starredBill Bixby andSusan Clark in 1975 and was calledThe Apple Dumpling Gang. In it, Bixby is tricked into taking care of a trio of orphans as a pair of lovable holdup men named Amos Tucker (Conway) and Theodore Ogelvie (Knotts) attempts to steal a gold nugget the children find. The film was a commercial success and a sequel, starring the pair, was made in 1979, calledThe Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again. The sequel did not have the other cast members but was hugely profitable for Disney.[44]
Conway wrote two other films for the pair to star in together starting withThe Prize Fighter in 1979 andThe Private Eyes in 1980. Both were independently produced and the highest grossing independent films of those years. They had a cameo in theCannonball Run II film together and in later years voiced the characters of Hermie and Wormie thecaterpillars in numerous shows fromMax Lucado's Christian children's series, "Hermie and Friends".[45]
In 2007, Conway met filmmaker Pasquale Murena when Murena was brought in to direct additional scenes and edit the direct-to-DVD filmLegend of the Paddle, starring Conway.[46] The two men subsequently worked together on numerous productions, including Murena producing the DVD releases ofTogether Again with Tim and Harvey, the re-releases ofTim and Harvey in The Great Outdoors,Dorf on Golf, andDorf Goes Fishing. Murena directed, produced and co-wrote with Conway sixDorf comedy sketches for the DVD release ofThe Ultimate Dorf DVD Collection, which has sold over 3 million copies.[47]
Starting in 2009, the two men collaborated on their first sketches for the website iSpotSanta, where Dorf helps Santa deliver presents, and works at the North Pole as Santa's No. 1 elf. The two men did over 25 comedy sketches and three short films for the website, while garnering over 35 million viewers.[48] Conway was quoted in an interview on the Disney Channel, stating that, "Pasquale has done more with Dorf than I ever imagined. We love making these films for kids." Continuing their success, Murena cast Conway as Professor VanVanGuard in his award-winning first feature film in 2014 called,Chip & Bernie's Zomance, with Conway adding his unique humor to this zombie film.[35]
Conway was married to Mary Anne Dalton from 1961 until 1978, and they had six children together.[10] He was married to Charlene Fusco from May 18, 1984, until his death. Her daughter, Jacqueline "Jackie" Beatty, became Tim's stepdaughter, giving him seven children altogether.
Tony Rossi interviewed Conway[51] on November 20, 2013, on his podcastChristopher Closeup (onPatheos),[52] and Conway revealed that he had returned toCatholicism, the faith he was born into. This was also reported in an interview withRaymond Arroyo on hisEWTN programThe World Over.[53]
In September 2018,SpongeBob SquarePants executive producerVincent Waller commented that during the time Conway was recording dialogue for the seagull inThe SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water (which was released in 2015), he was having trouble recording due to health issues.[57] These issues led to his complete retirement from acting in 2016; he had previously retired from playing Barnacle Boy in 2012, following his and Mermaid Man's retirement due to Ernest Borgnine's death.[citation needed]
In 2018, Conway was diagnosed withdementia due tonormal pressure hydrocephalus. He had surgery to have aventricular shunt placed.[58] His daughter Kelly and his wife Char both wanted sole conservatorship over his health, and a suit was filed at the Superior Court of Los Angeles. Kelly wanted him to be in his home, not in a facility, for privacy reasons.[59] Judge Robert Wada ruled against Kelly, and in March 2019 his wife was appointed as his conservator.[60]
Conway died on May 14, 2019, at the age of 85 from complications of normal pressure hydrocephalus at a care facility in Los Angeles. He is buried atWestwood Village Memorial Park.[3][61][62]
Close friendBob Newhart made the following statement:
"We lost one of the greatest today – Tim Conway may be the greatest ever. I will never forget on an Emmy Awards when Harvey Korman won and Tim did not. Harvey went up to accept his award, Tim went up and stood right next to him, not saying a word. Ginnie and I will miss him greatly."[63]
Close friendCarol Burnett made the following statement:
"I'm heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being. I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He'll be in my heart forever."[67]
^ Shared with Ed Simmons, Roger Beatty, Rick Hawkins, Liz Sage, Bob Illes, James R. Stein, Franelle Silver, Larry Siegel, Bill Richmond, Gene Perret, Dick Clair, and Jenna McMahon. The episode withKen Berry.
^ Shared with Ed Simmons, Roger Beatty, Rick Hawkins, Liz Sage, Bob Illes, James R. Stein, Franelle Silver, Larry Siegel, Bill Richmond, Gene Perret, Dick Clair, and Jenna McMahon.
^ Shared with Roger Beatty, Rick Hawkins, Liz Sage, Bob Illes, James R. Stein, Franelle Silver, Larry Siegel, Bill Richmond, Gene Perret, Dick Clair, Jenna McMahon, and Ed Simmons (supervising). The episode withSteve Martin andBetty White guest-star.
^"Aout", MacBeth Fund website."Why Do We Need The Fund?".Don MacBeth Memorial Jockey Fund. Archived fromthe original on August 13, 2006. RetrievedSeptember 22, 2006.
