Harvey Korman

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 alongside Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Vicki Lawrence on the CBS sketch comedy series The Carol Burnett Show (1967–1977) for which he won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

His early roles were on The Danny Kaye Show and The Lucy Show. Korman briefly starred in his own sitcom The Harvey Korman Show (1980) and continued to work with his The Carol Burnett Show cast mates in projects such as The Tim Conway Show (1980), and Mama's Family (1983–1984). He starred in several comedy films by Mel Brooks including Blazing Saddles (1974), High Anxiety (1977), and History of the World, Part 1 (1981). His other notable films include Herbie Goes Bananas (1980), Trail of the Pink Panther (1982), and Curse of the Pink Panther (1983).

Korman is known for his voice work, taking on roles such as The Great Gazoo in The Flintstones (1965–1966). He is also known for voice roles in Garfield and Friends, Alice in Wonderland, Dumb and Dumber, Hey Arnold!, The Wild Thornberrys, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.

Early life and education
Korman was of Russian-Jewish descent and born in Chicago, the son of Ellen (née Blecher) and Cyril Raymond Korman, a salesman. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. After being discharged, he studied at the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University) and at HB Studio. He was a member of the Peninsula Players summer theatre program during the 1950, 1957, and 1958 seasons.

1959–1966: Early years
Korman's first television role was as a head waiter in The Donna Reed Show episode, "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions". He appeared as a comically exasperated public relations man in a January 1961 episode of the CBS drama Route 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 the NBC medical drama The Eleventh Hour and a bartender in the 1962 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle". He frequently appeared as a supporting player on The Danny Kaye Show from 1963 through 1967. He was cast three times, including the role of Dr. Allison in "Who Needs Glasses?" (1962), on ABC's The Donna Reed Show. He also guest-starred on Dennis the Menace and on the NBC contemporary western series Empire. From 1964 to 1966, he appeared three times in consecutive years on the CBS comedy The Munsters starring Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo. During the 1965–1966 season, Korman appeared regularly on ABC's The Flintstones as the voice of The Great Gazoo in its final season on network television.

1967–1977: The Carol Burnett Show
The 1967 debut of The Carol Burnett Show gave Korman his greatest recognition. Korman starred alongside Carol Burnett, Vicki Lawrence, and Tim Conway. During his ten-year run on the show, he received six Primetime 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 four Golden Globes for the series, winning that award in 1975. In 1977, he left The Carol Burnett Show to headline his own sitcom on ABC, The Harvey Korman Show, which lasted only five episodes.

While appearing on The Carol Burnett Show, Korman gained further fame by appearing as the villainous Hedley Lamarr in the 1974 Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles starring Cleavon Little, Gene Wilder, and Madeline Kahn. Ron Pennington of The 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". He also starred in Brooks' High Anxiety (1977) as Dr. Charles Montague.

1978–2006
In 1978, he appeared in the CBS Star Wars Holiday Special providing levity in three of the special's variety segments: a cantina skit with Bea 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 of Julia Child, and one as a malfunctioning Amorphian android in an instruction video. In 1980, he played Captain Blythe in the Disney 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 the live-action film The Flintstones as well as for the animated The Secret of NIMH 2: Timmy to the Rescue. He also starred in the short-lived Mel Brooks TV series The Nutt House, and in his final Mel Brooks film, as the zany Dr. Seward, in Dracula: Dead and Loving It. In 1986, he starred in the failed CBS comedy series Leo & Liz in Beverly Hills with Valerie Perrine.

In 1982, he reunited with Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence in the TV movie Eunice reprising his role of Ed Higgins from “The Family” sketches from The 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.

He also reunited with fellow Carol Burnett Show alumnus Tim Conway, making a guest appearance on Conway's 1980–1981 comedy-variety series The Tim Conway Show. The two later toured the U.S., reprising skits from the show and performing new material. A DVD of new comedy sketches by Korman and Conway, Together Again, was released in 2006. Korman and Conway had been jointly inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.

Marriages
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.

Death
Korman died at age 81 on May 29, 2008, at UCLA Medical Center as the result of complications from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm he had suffered four months earlier. He is interred at Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Video games

 * The Flintstones (1994) as the Dictabird (voice)
 * The Flintstones: Bedrock Bowling (2000) as The Great Gazoo (voice)