Tim Conway and Harvey Korman were a hilarious comedy duo that fits like a glove. Laughter between both men was certain when they were on screen. One of the most memorable instances was a sketch that featured Tim and Harvey on The Carol Burnett Show.
Tim told Conan O’Brien that Harvey had wet his pants from laughing on the show. On that memorable episode from The Carol Burnett Show, Tim played a dentist, while Harvey was the nervous patient. Tim added that the skit, titled The Dentist was based on true events that happened when he (Tim) was a soldier and visited a dentist.
‘The Dentist’
The skit begins with Harvey arriving at the dentist’s, who is not present for the appointment. However, the nurse recommends a new dentist, who she claimed is qualified and just graduated. Tim, who plays the dentist, is nervous to attend to patients but summons the courage and proceeds to pull out Harvey’s tooth.
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An incompetent Tim sticks the novocaine needle—an injectable anesthetic into his own skin and paralyzes his right hand for a moment. He then attempts to continue the procedure but ends up jabbing his right foot as a result of the effect of the anesthesia. Harvey, who was struggling to hold a straight face all along, broke character and let loose a good laugh.
Tim, on the other hand, maintains his straight face but ended up losing his cool while sharing the hilarious moment with his partner and the audience. “Harvey never saw what I was going to do until he was actually doing the sketch,” Tim told Hollywood Reporter. “As a matter of fact in the dentist sketch, you can actually see Harvey wet his pants from laughing.”
The funny skit was based on a real occurrence
Tim said the sketch was based on true events that happened to him while he served in the military. The comedian said he visited the dentist during his final weeks of service, and the dentist poked himself with the novocaine needle. As portrayed in the skit, the dentist insisted on continuing the procedure on Tim at the time.
Tim left the military and worked at a local station in Cleveland before venturing into comedy. “I had no professional training. I had a sense of humor and had been in front of a microphone,” Tim recalled. The Carol Burnett Show helped establish many comedy icons, including Tim who was a guest star for eight seasons before becoming a regular.
