Tim Conway
Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019)[1][2][3][4] was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. Conway is perhaps best known as a regular cast member (1975–1978) on the TV comedy The Carol Burnett Show where he portrayed his recurrent iconic characters Mister Tudball and the Oldest Man. Over his career he received numerous accolades including five Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. He received the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1999 and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002.
Tim Conway
May 14, 2019 (aged 85)
- Tim Daniel Conway
- Thomas Conway
- Toma Daniel Conway1
- Actor
- comedian
- writer
- director
1956–2016
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Mary Anne Dalton(m. 1961; div. 1978)
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Charlene Fusco Del Sardo Beatty(m. 1984)
7
Conway started his career acting in The Garry Moore Show and The Mike Douglas Show. He then gained recognition for his role as the inept Ensign Parker in the World War II TV situation comedy McHale's Navy from 1962 to 1966. The role garnered him a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. Conway starred on The Carol Burnett Show where he was admired for his ability to depart from scripts with humorous ad libs and gestures, which frequently caused others in the skit to break character with laughter.
Conway helmed his own series twice, The Tim Conway Comedy Hour (1970) and The Tim Conway Show (1980–1981). He also co-starred with Don Knotts in several films including The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975), its 1979 sequel, Gus (1976), and The Private Eyes (1980). He played Dorf in eight films from 1987 to 1996, and voiced Barnacle Boy in SpongeBob SquarePants (1999–2012). He received two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his roles in the ABC comedy series Coach in 1996 and the NBC sitcom 30 Rock in 2008.
Early life and education[edit]
Conway was born Thomas Daniel Conway1 on December 15, 1933, in Willoughby, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up in nearby Chagrin Falls, the son of Daniel and Sophia (née Murgoiu) Conway. Daniel was a groomer for polo ponies.[3][5][6][7] His father, who immigrated to the United States in 1927,[8] was born in Ireland to Scottish parents and his mother was a first-generation Romanian-American.[3]
Conway's legal name was Thomas, though he was also referred to as Toma, the Romanian language analog,1 and was typically known as Tom; he changed his stage name to Tim near the beginning of his acting career (quipping he "dotted the O") to avoid confusion with British actor Tom Conway.[5][9][10]
Conway attended Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, where he majored in television and radio and was a disc jockey,[11] and a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.[12] When he graduated, Conway enlisted in the United States Army, where he served between 1956 and 1958.[11][13]
Career[edit]
1960–1966: Rise to prominence[edit]
After his discharge from the Army, Conway returned to Cleveland and worked with Ernie Anderson on KYW-TV, an NBC affiliate, in 1958 and 1959. Early on, Conway and Anderson acted in TV commercials that built on their quirky brand of humor to supplement their income.[14]
From 1960 to 1962, Conway was on WJW-TV (then a CBS affiliate, now a Fox affiliate) on a weekday morning film show (under the Ernie's Place banner), where he also wrote material for the comedic skits shown during film intermissions. Conway also recorded a comedy album with Anderson, who gained national prominence as a voice-over announcer for ABC Television beginning in the 1970s.[15]
WJW-TV dismissed Conway in 1962, in part because he (and Anderson) misled station management into thinking he had experience as a director.[16] Because of this move, which deprived Anderson of his co-host and comic foil, the station asked Anderson if he could host a B-grade (and lower) horror film show on Friday nights instead. Conway continued to make many appearances alongside Anderson's alter ego Ghoulardi, in addition to "Big Chuck" Schodowski, a station engineer who Anderson got to assume much of Conway's sidekick status (and who ultimately succeeded Anderson as co-host of the horror film program).
After he became famous, Conway resurfaced periodically on Cleveland television on the Hoolihan and Big Chuck and Big Chuck and Lil' John shows on WJW-TV, in guest spots and occasional skits. Conway also made regular guest appearances at numerous "Ghoulardifest" functions held by WJW over the years, along with former Cleveland TV personality Bob "Hoolihan" Wells, in tribute to Anderson, who died in 1997.
Comedic actress Rose Marie visited WJW in 1961, as part of CBS's promotional practice of sending their major show stars directly to local affiliates: in this case, it was for The Dick Van Dyke Show. She viewed tapes of some of Anderson and Conway's skits and proceeded to take Conway under her wing. Following his departure from WJW, Conway moved to New York City; where, with Rose Marie's assistance, he auditioned for, and gained a spot on, ABC's The Steve Allen Show as a regular player.[17] During this time he also appeared on The Garry Moore Show and The Mike Douglas Show, and Thats Life.
McHale's Navy
Honors
Notes
Citations
Sources
