Tim Conway never wanted a solo spotlight. As he told the Television Academy Foundation in 2004, “I would much rather stand in the background and make small, funny things than be up at the head of the class.”

This philosophy served Conway well—first as bumbling Ensign Charles Parker on McHale’s Navy, and especially on The Carol Burnett Show, where Conway may have been the most valuable player in its seamless dream-team ensemble. The show ran from 1967 to 1978; Conway was a frequent guest star and, from 1975 on, a full-time cast member. Burnett was heartbroken to learn Tuesday that he had died at the age of 85: “He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being,” the actress and comedian said in a statement. “I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He’ll be in my heart forever.”

When asked in the Academy interview how he’d like to be remembered, Conway responded, “With a smile. I don’t think there’s any great shakes about what I’ve done where people gotta say, ‘Let’s go visit the grave again’ . . . In this life . . .if you do want to visit somebody again, all you gotta do is go buy a tape or punch it up. So you’re never really actually gone.” These clips of his funniest characters and sketches—a collection of virtuosic ad-libs, meticulous pratfalls, and endlessly memorable lines, plus one very heartwarming Emmys remembrance—certainly prove that point.

The Dentist Sketch

Conway delighted in getting original ensemble member Harvey Korman to break—and Burnett has long maintained that the indelible moments when Conway’s clowning reduced Korman to hysterics were genuine. This is perhaps the most famous example; Conway swore that Korman actually wet himself during this sketch.

The Elephant Story

In this “Mama’s Family” sketch, Conway went off script, telling an increasingly absurdist ad-libbed story about a circus elephant. The fun here is watching even a seasoned pro like Burnett try to hold it together. After roughly five minutes, it is Vicki Lawrence who calls out “that little asshole” in the series’s most infamous blooper.

The Oldest Man

“It was obvious that something would have to be done about Gramps.” Conway’s Oldest Man character makes his first Carol Burnett appearance in this installment of the recurring soap-opera parody “As the Stomach Turns.” The decrepit 90-year-old character would show up in later sketches as a fireman, a doctor, a clock repairman, hot-dog vendor, a butcher, and other guises, but this one feels like the most organic. His slow-motion tumble down the stairs is a marvel.

The Monkey Man

Conway was an excellent physical comedian, as further demonstrated in this sketch in which a man, meeting his girlfriend’s father for the first time, turns simian after he is bitten by a chimp. Conway is fully committed, and finds many hilarious grace notes in his characterization—while Korman, for once, is able to stay in character and keep a straight face. See also “Dog’s Life,” in which Korman is less successful against Conway’s canine antics.

A nice little sketch with Burnett and Conway, in which a wife’s jealousy is triggered by an innocent (or is it?) late-night hang-up telephone call.

My Emmy Moment

Conway was awarded four Emmys for his Carol Burnett Show work—and his Emmy acceptances were also Emmy-worthy. In this clip, Conway and Korman recall their most memorable Emmy-night triumphs. Today, they would be played off after about 45 seconds.

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