Top 10 Funniest The Carol Burnett Show Bloopers

Peggy Lee, Jerry Stiller, Anne Meara

A parody of the Mary Worth comic strip sees Carol Burnett as a wide-eyed, dopey busybody terrorizing everyone with her annoying optimism. But the biggest laughs in this sketch start with a delayed soundcue. Harvey Korman accidentally says his line before the ringing doorbell goes, and things just fall apart from there. Lyle Waggoner cant hold on to his prop. Everyone is smirking and giggling. Theres no saving this segment. By the time Korman jumps out the window, we have no idea whats scripted and whats not. By the end, Burnett just gives up and breaks the fourth wall.

Ronnie Schell, Vikki Carr

Carol Burnett breaks with tradition and addresses the audience, telling them that this sketch isnt going to go on as scripted. She lets us in on the secret. While theyve been rehearsing the sketch one way all week, shes decided to play a little prank on her co-star, Harvey Korman. Shes going to leave him hanging on the big punchline. Shes supposed to push the door into him, but she decides instead to make him sweat a little. The audience can barely contain their excitement. And, somehow, it ends up being even funnier this way.

Tim Conway, Steve Lawrence

Some of Tim Conways best sketches on The Carol Burnett Show are just him pretending to be the oldest person ever. In this one, he plays a backstage dresser trying to help an actor through a costume change. Conways antics have Korman going up on his lines halfway through. Once the old man starts getting dragged away by the moving clothesline, theres no hope. Each time he reappears, Conway is hanging from the clotheslines in increasingly ridiculous poses. Korman does what he can but hes barely managing to get his lines out as hes seized by laughter.

Eydie Gorme, Tim Conway

Its difficult to play off like things are going well when even the audience can see something has gone wrong. Burnett plays an escape artist being interviewed by Kormans character. Surprisingly, this time, Korman is the one who stays in character and were really not sure how. There are a few prop malfunctions and credit where its due, Burnett does her best not to get so thrown off by them. At a certain point, though, shes powerless to keep from cracking up, particularly when the crate that was initially supposed to break ends up stuck to her rear end. The whole thing goes astray but we get a ton more laughs out of it that way.

Pat Carroll, Karen Wyman, and Tim Conway

Physical comedy was Tim Conways strong suit. Once again playing opposite Harvey Korman, this time, hes a mans best friend. No, actually, he plays a man who thinks hes a dog. He sniffs, pants, and licks at Korman throughout the sketch. Conways scene partner is almost able to play off his laughter. He has the advantage of looking down for part of the scene. But then you hear his unmistakable whimper of laughter. Conway is merciless, never giving Korman a chance to recover. Theres plenty of footage of Korman breaking character, but this is one of the few times we see Conway break too.

Tim Conway, Valerie Harper

Tim Conway plays a very sloooow fireman called to the scene of a fire. Then, Harvey Kormans character, the homeowner experiencing the fire, inhales smoke and requires mouth-to-mouth resuscitation at least according to Korman. What ensues is an apparent shift in genre as Conway starts flirting. Even more hilarious is how Korman tries to cover his laughter with cries of pain. It fools no one. Hes hopeless to get through the rest of the sketch, and you can tell Conway is loving every second of making him squirm.

John Byner and Helen Reddy

Mama and Eunice Harper are two of the The Carol Burnett Shows most enduring characters. Their relationship, which you could call strained, makes for some of the shows most withering insults. Here, a heated board game night at the Harper House gets out of hand. As she unleashes a tirade of insults in this particular sketch, Carol Burnett makes it clear that some of the jokes werent in the script. Vicki Lawrence seems completely at home in the role of Mama, as she stays stony-faced, but Burnetts resolve isnt so strong.

Ethel Merman and Tim Conway

In yet another sketch about a Tim Conway character being completely inept at his job, we find ourselves at the dentist. Conways character keeps accidentally injecting himself with novocaine and, as he continues with the exam, parts of his body keep going dead. Itd be fair to say it tests the limits of his physical comedy, but Conway doesnt seem to have limits. He almost manages to stay completely in character while a helpless and captive Korman can only desperately try to hide how affected he is. But, as more of the dentists limbs fail him, Korman ends up laughing harder than the audience.

Ken Berry


Heres one big mistake that didnt make it to air. Originally, this spoof of an old-fashioned Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney musical featured a horse standing behind Carol Burnett while she sang her number. She tries her best, but when the horse, uh, leaves a present on stage for Burnett, everything grinds to a halt. Burnett, after cracking up herself, makes a joke that leaves the audience in stitches. The imagery might have been worth the trouble, but the smell probably wasnt and, once the show aired, the horse was gone.

Family Show

Breaking character was a hazard of the trade when Tim Conway was on stage. The ensemble knew he could improvise and throw in any ridiculous flair he wanted, and he would always be the last to break. But Vicki Lawrence, in character as Mama Harper, finally got him. As his character tells a story about sideshow elephants conjoined at the trunk, the entire cast is having a hard time keeping it together. Even Conway is stifling a smile at his own performance. By the end, Lawrence has finally had enough. Mamas primetime-unfriendly punchline puts a perfect button on the scene. Conway falls off the couch, finally bested at his own game.



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