Tim Conway: The Elephant Story (Outtakes from The Carol Burnett Show)

[Navy Chief]

Tim Conway: a comedic genius. This is one of the best adlibs he ever did.

Watching Carol Burnett and the others try in vain to keep a straight face is just as funny!!!

NC

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[Tako_Kichi]

Pure genius in terms of delivery and timing....and Vicki Lawrence's ad-libbed comeback line at the end was just brilliant too.

[luckydog]

[TARPSBird]

Tim Conway and Jonathan Winters were the two best adlib comedians in show business. In more recent years I would include Robin Williams, but he learned from those two guys.

[txnetcop]

I haven't laughed that hard since the original showing...thanks NavyChief!

[Cazzie]

Thanks Chief, Tim Conway remains one of my favorite comedians, so funny without having to result to being obscene. I think this is my favorite skit from the Carol Burnette Show.

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[Gdavis101]

I love these old shows, Tim Conway is hilarious!

[Rami]

What's always impressed me about that outtake clip is the restraint that Tim Conway showed, in addition to his timing. For most of his one-liners, Conway waits until the other three just about have themselves back under control, and then he drops the next one.

Tim Conway is a perfect example that a comedian does not have to be insulting or vulgar to be funny, either in content or language, something which is sadly becoming a lost art.

[Ken Stallings]

Had a trained comedian in my squadron. He told me that the best comedy is that which takes a serious situation and turns it on its ear, and that the longer the comedian can retain the serious approach, the funnier it becomes.

In that dentist skit, Conway keeps it serious the whole way. Long after any rational human would have laid down, Conway keeps charging ahead on his dutiful mission to perform the dentistry and keeps getting worse. Jabs his leg -- NO! I cannot give up! I will get a chair and stumble over!

Comic genuis, indeed! He made Burnette's variety show, and to her credit, she as much as said so herself.

And yes, it was a family-oriented show and it used a live audience, which is always a very brave thing to do. But, when it works, it produces laughter that feeds on itself. I also suspect that many a tape-recorded comedy show used laugh tracks recorded from Conway's antics on this live audience.

Ken

[Tom Clayton]

Vickie could give just as well as she took!

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[Ken Stallings]

I can't imagine any group of people ever had more fun doing a variety show than those folks did!

Ken