 |
Harvey Korman
Age: 81 (passed away May. 29th, 2008)
Height: 6' 3 1/2"
Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, USA
Born: Feb. 15th, 1927
+ Add to My Celebs
|
Harvey Korman's Main TV Roles
NOTE: Complete List of Works can be found at
IMDB
BIOGRAPHY: Lanky, popular TV comedy veteran with a flair for broad comic characterizations, who shone for a decade as leading man and second banana par excellence on "The Carol Burnett Show" (1967) but failed to find much success in his own projects. A persistent TV presence since the early 1960s, Korman's first big break was a stint as a featured performer on "The Danny Kaye Show" (1963), a lively musical variety series. Here Korman began working in the format which he would soon master--providing sturdy support to a multi-talented star in a wide variety of comedy sketches. Boasting large, expressive features and a wonderfully mutable voice, Korman could play a wide assortment of characters. Perhaps his first classic characterization was provided for "The Flintstones" (1960) wherein he was the distinctively snooty voice of The Great Gazoo, a little helmeted space man from the future consigned to the Earth's past in punishment for his crimes. Korman garnered four Emmys for his work with Carol Burnett over the years. Her show never recovered from his departure in 1977 to pursue other projects. Ironically Korman would never again find such a successful showcase for his talents though he certainly tried, appearing in several busted pilots and short-lived sitcoms. Like 'Dan Aykroyd', a later somewhat comparable talent, he fared best in sketch comedy. Almost exclusively a comic actor, he stretched a bit to play straight man Bud Abbott opposite Buddy Hackett's Lou Costello (I) in the disappointing TV biopic Bud and Lou (1978) (TV). Korman also directed and/or produced sitcom episodes and TV comedy specials. An occasional actor in films, Korman made his feature debut with a supporting role in The Last of the Secret Agents? (1966). Several film roles followed until he gained his widest exposure with a major supporting role in 'Mel Brooks''s classic Western spoof Blazing Saddles (1974). Korman also fared well in Brooks' High Anxiety (1977) and History of the World: Part I (1981). Korman acted in two 1994 features: the blockbuster live-action version of The Flintstones (1994) (providing the voice of the Dictabird) and the poorly received but lavishly produced Radioland Murders (1994).
TRIVIA:
- Korman had an operation in late January 2008 on a non-cancerous brain tumor and pulled through. Less than a day after coming home, he was re-admitted because of a ruptured aneurysm and was given a few hours to live. He survived another four months.
- Recreated his popular sketch role as aimless, philandering husband Ed, the husband of Eunice, in the Southern-fried series "Mama's Family" with 'Carol Burnett' (qv) and starring 'Vicki Lawrence' (qv) and 'Ken Berry (I)' (qv). He and Burnett made numerous appearances but did not stay long with the show.
- In 1960 Korman married Donna Elhart and they had two children, Maria and Christopher. They divorced in 1977. Two more children, Katherine (Kate) and Laura, were born of his 1982 marriage to Deborah Fritz.
- Son of Ellen (née Belcher) and Cyril Raymond Korman.
- Children: first marriage = Maria and Christopher; second marriage = Katherine and Laura.
- Following college he tried his luck on Broadway and in nightclubs (as 1/2 of a comedy duo) but failed and had to support himself as a restaurant cashier. He finally moved to Hollywood and found success.
- After 10 successful seasons, Harvey left the Burnett program in 1977 to appear in his own series. 'Dick Van Dyke' (qv) took Harvey's place on the popular variety show. "The Harvey Korman Show" failed to win an audience, as did other series starring or co-starring the comedian, including his regular stint on "The Tim Conway Show" in 1980.
- Born in Chicago, he left college for service in the U.S. Navy during WWII and later studied at the Goodman School of Drama at the Chicago Art Institute.
Harvey Korman Photos | powered by  |
Previous |
Next (1)
Harvey Korman Fans [1]
Page created in 0.1489 seconds
Facebook
Twitter
