Tim Conway: A Great Second Banana
Tim Conway was a comic genius, but he never became a top banana. He became the second most famous comedic second banana on American TV. Don Knotts was second banana numero uno: Barney Fife.
He began his career with a decision to adopt a stage name: Tim instead of Tom, his real name. That was because there was an obscure actor named Tom Conway. I recall that actor from my youth: a series of B detective movies. These were B-British movies, meaning B movies in a mostly B-movie industry during the Labor government's price controls era of rationing, 1945-1951. The word "obscure" may overrate Tom Conway's career. But he had a property right in his name, and Tim had to honor it.
Tim Conway's great breakthrough was his role as Ensign Charles Parker in McHale's Navy, which starred Ernest Borgnine, who was clearly not a comic genius. He was not a comedian at all. The show was popular mainly because of Conway's character. It lasted from 1962 to 1967. Two McHale's Navy films were made. The series was a spin-off of a one-shot segment of the Alcoa Theater, a drama series. Borgnine had starred as McHale. Conway was not in it. The TV series was modeled after Phil Silvers' character, Sergeant Bilko.
In January 1970, he got his own sitcom: The Tim Conway Show. It lasted 12 weeks before it was canceled. Then, in the fall, he got a second chance: The Tim Conway Comedy Hour. It was a variety show. It was low budget. Instead of a stage full of dancers, as in The Jackie Gleason Show, with the June Taylor dancers, Conway's show featured one young woman with skimpy tuxedo, a top hat, and a cane. She was introduced each week by the announcer as "the Tim Conway dancer." She barely danced. This was Sally Struthers, who became an icon a few years later as Archie Bunker's daughter Gloria on All in the Family. Conway's show lasted 13 weeks.
I remember only one show. It was the Christmas show. It ran in October. Conway introduced it as follows. "None of my shows has ever made it beyond 13 weeks. But I always wanted to have a Christmas show. This is it." Sure enough, the show was canceled before Christmas.
Conway had a custom license plate: "13WKS".
He got his second breakthrough on The Carol Burnett Show, which ran for 11 years, beginning in 1967. He was not a regular cast member initially, but Burnett invited him to join the cast after several guest appearances. He stole every scene he was in, or so most people recall.
In the 50th anniversary show, they ran this skit. It is one of the most famous, alongside Burnett's Scarlett O'Hara.
Burnett commented after the segment ran that Harvey Korman, who played the straight man in the chair, had so much trouble keeping from laughing that he wet his pants. She also said that Conway's routines were often ad libbed. The cast always had trouble keeping from laughing.
Conway understood that he was not going to be top banana. He seemed content with his position in his career. In this sense, he can serve as a good role model. There is nothing wrong with being a top second banana.