Tim Conway was equally great as the straight man in Carol Burnett’s “Mrs. Wiggins” sketches

By Gwen Ihnat | May 14, 2019 | 8:14pm

Aux Features Tim Conway

Tim Conway was equally great as the straight man in Carol Burnett’s “Mrs. Wiggins” sketches

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Tim Conway died today at the age of 85, leaving behind a decades-long history of sketch-inspired laughs. After starting out on the sitcom McHale’s Navy, Conway became best-known for his stint on the legendary Carol Burnett Show, where he was famous for over-the-top characters like the world’s oldest fireman and a dentist who shoots his own leg with novocaine.

But Conway, a generous and gifted performer, was always willing to share the spotlight with someone else—like his co-star Carol Burnett, in the beloved series of “Mrs. Wiggins” sketches. She plays an absent-minded secretary while he’s her toupéed, Swedish-accented boss, Mr. Tudball. “The Intercom… Again” is one of the finest examples of the pair’s comedic chemistry, as the two face off through a series of miscommunications—until they wind up switching places entirely, even mimicking each other’s elaborately extended voices and bizarrely angled postures. Conway can’t help killing it even with a throwaway line, like when Burnett’s Mrs. Wiggins takes a while to reach his office: “You’re a regular Jesse Owens.”