Harvey Korman

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Lore & Background

Harvey Korman was born in Chicago, of Russian Jewish descent, the son of Ellen (née Blecher) and Cyril Raymond Korman, a salesman. He served in the United States Navy during World War II. After being discharged, he studied at the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (now at DePaul University) and at HB Studio. He was a member of the Peninsula Players summer theatre program during the 1950, 1957, and 1958 seasons. Korman's first television role was as a head waiter in "Decisions, Decisions, Decisions", an episode of The Donna Reed Show. He appeared as a comically exasperated public relations man in a January 1961 episode of the CBS drama Route 66. He was seen on numerous television programs afterwards including the role of Blake in the 1964 episode "Who Chopped Down the Cherry Tree?" on the NBC medical drama The Eleventh Hour and a bartender in the 1962 Perry Mason episode, "The Case of the Unsuitable Uncle". He frequently appeared as a supporting player in The Danny Kaye Show from 1963 through 1967. During the 1965–1966 season, Korman appeared regularly on ABC's The Flintstones as the voice of The Great Gazoo in its final season on network television. The 1967 debut of The Carol Burnett Show gave Korman his greatest recognition. During his ten-year run on the show, he received six Primetime Emmy Award nominations and won four, in 1969, 1971, 1972, and 1974. He was also nominated for four Golden Globes for the series, winning that award in 1975. In 1977, he left The Carol Burnett Show to headline his own sitcom on ABC, The Harvey Korman Show, which lasted five episodes. While appearing on The Carol Burnett Show, Korman gained further fame by appearing as the villainous Hedley Lamarr in the 1974 Mel Brooks film Blazing Saddles. Ron Pennington of The Hollywood Reporter praised his performance writing, "The performances are all comedy gems, with Korman especially delightful as Hedley Lamarr, scheming and plotting with all the finesse of a precocious brat". He also starred in Brooks' High Anxiety (1977) as Dr. Charles Montague. In 1978, he appeared in the CBS Star Wars Holiday Special providing levity in three of the special's variety segments: a cantina skit with Bea Arthur in which he plays a barfly who drinks through a hole in the top of his head, another as Chef Gormaanda, a four-armed parody of Julia Child, and one as a malfunctioning Amorphian android in an instruction video. In 1980, he played Captain Blythe in the Disney comedy, Herbie Goes Bananas. The following year, he portrayed Count de Monet in Brooks' History of the World, Part 1. In his final Mel Brooks film, he played the zany Dr. Seward in Dracula: Dead and Loving It. In 1982, he reunited with Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence in the TV movie Eunice reprising his role of Ed Higgins from "The Family" sketches from The Carol Burnett Show. He continued the portrayal on the spin-off series, Mama's Family in addition to introducing each episode of the series during its initial two-season NBC network run, portraying fictional television host Alistair Quince as well as directing 31 episodes of the series. Korman was married to Donna Ehlert from 1960 to 1977 and they had two children, Maria and Christopher Korman. He married Deborah Korman (née Fritz) in 1982 and was married to her until he died in 2008. They had two daughters together, Kate and Laura Korman. Korman died at age 81 on May 29, 2008, at UCLA Medical Center as the result of complications from a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm he had suffered four months earlier. He is entombed in a crypt at Santa Monica's Woodlawn Cemetery within its Unity Corridor Mausoleum.

Reader's Guide

Harvey Korman's significance lies in his long-running role on The Carol Burnett Show, where he was a key ensemble member for a decade, earning four Primetime Emmy Awards (1969, 1971, 1972, 1974) and a Golden Globe Award (1975). His work with Mel Brooks in several classic comedies, particularly Blazing Saddles (1974) as the villainous Hedley Lamarr, cemented his place in film comedy. Korman also contributed voice work to animated series and films, including The Great Gazoo in The Flintstones (1965–1966), and roles in Garfield and Friends, Alice in Wonderland, Dumb and Dumber, Hey Arnold!, The Wild Thornberrys, and Buzz Lightyear of Star Command. His collaborations with Tim Conway continued after the show, including a guest appearance on Conway's 1980–1981 comedy-variety series The Tim Conway Show, a joint tour of the U.S. reprising skits, a DVD of new comedy sketches titled Together Again (2006), and a joint induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002. Korman's legacy is that of a versatile comedic performer who excelled in both live-action and voice roles, and whose work on a landmark sketch comedy series influenced generations of comedians.

Did You Know?

• Korman served in the United States Navy during World War II.
• He won four Primetime Emmy Awards for The Carol Burnett Show, in 1969, 1971, 1972, and 1974.
• Korman voiced The Great Gazoo in the final season of The Flintstones (1965–1966).
• He played the villainous Hedley Lamarr in Mel Brooks' 1974 film Blazing Saddles.
• Korman and Tim Conway were jointly inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.