Tim Conway improvised during much of his appearances on the show which would cause the other cast members - especially Harvey Korman - to laugh during taping. The cast breaking character became a popular part of the series.
It was revealed years later that each week's show was taped twice in front of different audiences and the best parts from each taping were edited together. It was stated that the first performance had the actors sticking closely to the scripts, but the second was where the actors improvised and ad-libbed, which were usually the funnier versions.
Carol Burnett's trademark tugging of her ear was a message to her grandmother. When Burnett's grandmother died during the run of the series, Burnett continued to tug her ear in every episode as a tribute to her.
Burnett ended the series with the 1977/78 season even though CBS wanted to renew it for a twelfth year. Burnett felt that the show had run out of ideas. The series ended its run Sunday nights after eight years on Saturdays; Harvey Korman had quit the show the previous season and Dick Van Dyke - who replaced him - left after half a season. At the time, Carol was quoted as saying she wanted to go out while she was still "on top."
The show had many break ups, but three are consider classics. One being The Dentist Sketch where Harvey Korman could not keep a straight face with Tim Conway. Secondly, The Family Sketch in the game Sorry when Vicki Lawrence completely went off script causing Carol Burnett to lose it in both tapings. The third and most famous is the Family Sketch called the Elephant Story when Tim Conway dragged on a story about two elephants causing the cast to break up. When he finally finished, Vicki Lawrence stole the scene by saying 'Are you sure the little a**hole is through' causing Tim Conway, Carol Burnett, and Dick Van Dyke to fall to pieces.