In this legendary moment from The Carol Burnett Show, Tim Conway doesn’t need a setup, a prop, or even a punchline. All it takes is one word — stretched, twisted, and timed with surgical precision — and the entire studio falls apart.
It begins innocently enough: Conway, sitting in his chair, wearing that sly grin that always meant trouble, delivers a line so small it almost feels like an afterthought. But then comes the pause — that unbearable, brilliant pause — and the glint in his
eye that warns the cast and audience alike that something unforgettable is about to happen.Harvey Korman, ever the professional, braces himself. You can see it in the way he shifts, tightens his jaw, and stares down at his lap like a soldier facing an incoming storm. But once Conway opens his mouth, the game is over. The sound that comes out — that word, that drawl, that perfectly weighted silence afterward — detonates like dynamite in the studio.The audience roars. Carol Burnett can be heard laughing off-camera. Korman starts shaking, shoulders bouncing, his face turning red as he tries to hold it together. He buries his head in his hands, pleading silently for Conway to stop, but the laughter just keeps coming. Every extra second Conway waits, every half-smile and slow glance he throws across the set, only makes it worse.
Behind the scenes, crew members later said you could barely hear the next few lines over the laughter. Conway had achieved what few comedians ever could — a complete comedic takeover, where even the people paid to perform couldn’t stay in character. The sketch itself — long forgotten by title, but immortalized by that moment — became one of the most replayed clips in The Carol Burnett Show’s storied history.It’s comedy in its purest form: not written, not rehearsed, but felt. Conway understood rhythm the way a musician understands melody. He knew exactly when to speak, when to stall, and when to let silence do the heavy lifting. It wasn’t about the joke — it was about the wait before the joke.
Decades later, that clip still circulates online, shared by fans who weren’t even born when it first aired. They watch, and inevitably, they laugh — not because of what’s said, but because of what’s felt: that glorious, uncontainable joy of live comedy that could go off the rails at any moment.It’s a masterclass in timing, a study in chaos, and proof that the best laughs don’t come from the script — they come from the spark between performers who know, in that instant, that something magical just happened.
