BYE, FUNNYMAN
Tim Conway, Burnett’s sidekick, dies at 85
Tim Conway, the lovable actor and comedian best known for co-starring on “The Carol Burnett Show” and the “Dorf” films, died Tuesday at age 85.
“I’m heartbroken,” Burnett told the Daily News in a statement. “He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being. I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He’ll be in my heart forever.”
Conway died at 8:45 a.m. in Los Angeles at a long-term care facility following a long illness, his rep told The News. The rep said the actor was suffering from a brain disorder called normal pressure hydrocephalus, in which excess cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain’s ventricles, causing thinking and reasoning problems and other issues.
Conway is survived by his wife, Charlene, six kids, a stepdaughter and two granddaughters.
“The first time I can remember laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe was watching Tim Conway on ‘The Carol Burnett Show,’ ” comedian and actor Christopher Titus tweeted. “Every character infused with a lovable crazy that broke me week after week. Timing, commitment and roll on the floor funny.”
Filmmaker Judd Apatow echoed some of Burnett’s sentiments about the kind of person he was, posting, “The amount of joy Tim Conway brought my family as a child was immeasurable. The man was pure comedy. Riotously funny. I finally got to see him work when he guest starred on ‘The Larry Sanders Show’ and he was all I dreamed he would be. As kind as he was funny. He will be missed.” The Ohio-born Conway was a DJ at Bowling Green State University and joined the Army after graduating. Once he was discharged, he took TV gigs and comedy writing jobs and recorded a comedy album. Conway was also a regular on “The Steve Allen Show” and “McHale’s Navy” before eventually getting his own show and then landing his gig on “The Carol Burnett Show.” His stint on the sketch comedy show earned him four Emmys, and he picked up two more for guest appearances on the sitcoms “Coach” and “30 Rock.” He also played his Dorf character — a clumsy, height challenged man with a Scandinavian accent — in a series of comedy “how-to” videos, including “Dorf on Golf ” in 1987.
Conway was first married to Mary Anne Dalton from 1961 until 1978. They had six kids together. He married Charlene in 1984.
Conway’s daughter Kelly and Charlene had been fighting over Conway’s care.
In court documents filed last August, Kelly asked to be appointed conservator of her father to manage his medical plan. The daughter claimed that Charlene was “planning to move him out of the excellent skilled nursing facility he is currently at” and put him into one that wasn’t as good.
Kelly also stated that Conway could no longer “properly provide for his personal needs for physical health, food and clothing” and was “almost entirely unresponsive.”
In March, the Los Angeles Superior Court granted Charlene conservatorship over Conway.