- Born
- DiedMay 29, 2008 · UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, USA (complications from rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm)
- Birth nameHarvey Herschel Korman
- Nicknames
- Mr. Happy Go-Lucky
- Harv
- Height6′ 3¼″ (1.91 m)
- Harvey Korman was a 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).
Harvey Herschel Korman was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Ellen (Blecher) and Cyril Raymond Korman, a salesman. His parents, both immigrants, were from Russian Jewish families. A persistent television presence since the early 1960s, Korman's first break was a stint as a featured performer on The Danny Kaye Show (1963), a lively musical variety series in which 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. 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. Almost exclusively a comic actor, he stretched a bit to play straight man Bud Abbott opposite Buddy Hackett's Lou Costello in the disappointing TV biopic Bud and Lou (1978). He 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' classic Western spoof Blazing Saddles (1974). He fared well in Brooks' High Anxiety (1977) and History of the World: Part I (1981). He 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).- IMDb Mini Biography By: VidMan
- SpousesDeborah Fritz(September 8, 1982 - May 29, 2008) (his death, 2 children)Donna Ehlert(August 27, 1960 - August 1978) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- Rich smooth voice
- Towering height
- Wild, over-the-top acting
- He 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.
- Along with Carol Burnett helped mentor comedian Vicki Lawrence.
- Recreated his popular sketch role as aimless, philandering husband "Ed", the husband of "Eunice", in the Southern-fried series Mama's Family (1983) with Carol Burnett and starring Vicki Lawrence and Ken Berry. He made three guest appearances and helped direct the episodes in the first two seasons.
- Following college he tried his luck on Broadway and in nightclubs (as half of a comedy duo) but failed and had to support himself as a restaurant cashier. He finally moved to Hollywood and found success.
- The only performer to have worked on all three "Flintstones" iterations: The Flintstones (1960), The Flintstones (1994) and The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas (2000).
- [on the success of The Carol Burnett Show (1967)] We were an ensemble, and [Carol Burnett] had the most incredible attitude. I've never worked with a star of that magnitude who was willing to give so much away.
- [in 2005 interview] It takes a certain type of person to be a television star. I didn't have whatever that is. I come across as kind of snobbish and maybe a little too bright . . . Give me something bizarre to play or put me in a dress and I'm fine.
- [on Vicki Lawrence] I don't think she knew [how] enormously talented she is.
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