Harvey Korman never stood a chance from the moment Tim Conway stepped into the scene. What was meant to be a routine sketch on The Carol Burnett Show quickly transformed into a masterclass in controlled comedic chaos, led by Conway’s impossibly slow sheriff.
Every movement was deliberate. Each hesitant step felt stretched beyond reason, every exaggerated squint held just long enough to make the tension unbearable. Conway didn’t rush the joke — he lived inside it, letting time itself become the punchline.
The longer he delayed, the louder the audience responded. Laughter didn’t arrive all at once; it built gradually, swelling with each painfully drawn-out pause. The anticipation became just as funny as the action.
Across from him, Harvey Korman fought bravely to stay in character. You could see the effort in his face, the tightening jaw, the desperate attempts to regain control. But Conway’s commitment was relentless.
The outlaw began cracking almost immediately, and with every slow turn or awkward stare from the sheriff, Korman’s resistance weakened. The audience sensed it too, feeding off the growing instability on stage.
Conway understood something essential about comedy: restraint can be devastating. He didn’t rely on noise or exaggeration. He trusted silence, timing, and the audience’s patience — and was rewarded for it.
As the sketch dragged on, the laughter became uncontrollable. Harvey’s composure finally collapsed, and when he broke, the entire studio followed. What remained of the sketch was pure, joyful disorder.
By the end, the saloon setting felt irrelevant. It was no longer a scene about sheriffs and outlaws, but about one performer methodically dismantling another with nothing more than timing and nerve.
The audience roared not just because it was funny, but because it was real. Nothing felt forced. Nothing felt planned. It was comedy unfolding in the moment.
Moments like this are why The Carol Burnett Show remains so deeply missed. It was simple, brilliant, and fearless — and Tim Conway’s slowest sheriff stands as one of television’s most unforgettable reminders of how powerful pure comedy can be.
