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Lore & Background

Conway started his career in local television in Cleveland as Ernie Anderson's collaborator. He gained national exposure on *The Steve Allen Show*, *The Garry Moore Show* and *The Mike Douglas Show* and then wider 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.

Reader's Guide

Conway was born Thomas Daniel Conway on December 15, 1933, in Willoughby, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, and grew up in nearby Chagrin Falls. He attended Bowling Green State University, where he majored in television and radio and was a disc jockey, and he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. When he graduated, Conway enlisted in the United States Army, where he served between 1956 and 1958. After his discharge from the Army, Conway returned to Cleveland and worked with Ernie Anderson on KYW-TV in 1958 and 1959. From 1960 to 1962, Conway was on WJW-TV on a weekday morning film show, where he also wrote material for the comedic skits shown during film intermissions. WJW-TV dismissed Conway in 1962, in part because he misled station management into thinking he had experience as a director. Comedic actress Rose Marie visited WJW in 1961, 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. Conway gained a national following from his role as the bumbling, naive Ensign Charles Parker in *McHale's Navy*, alongside Ernest Borgnine and Joe Flynn. Starting with the 1975–76 season, Conway became a regular on *The Carol Burnett Show* (replacing Lyle Waggoner), after having been a frequent guest for the show's first eight seasons. Conway's work on the show earned him four Emmy Awards — one for writing and three for performance. Two of Conway's memorable characters on the Burnett Show were The Oldest Man and Mr. Tudball, a businessman whose intentions of running a "ship-shape" office were usually sunk by the bored indifference of his secretary, Mrs. Wiggins (Burnett). Although the character was widely thought to be Swedish, Conway used a Romanian accent learned from his mother.

Did You Know?

• Conway changed his stage name from Tom to Tim near the beginning of his acting career, quipping he 'dotted the O', to avoid confusion with British actor Tom Conway.
• Conway's legal name was Thomas, though he was also referred to as Toma, the Romanian-language analog, and his mother was a first-generation Romanian-American.
• Conway was part of an infamous network TV programming catastrophe, *Turn-On*, a counter-cultural sketch comedy show on ABC that was derided as a rip-off of NBC's *Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In*; the show's premiere party was also the cancellation party.
• Conway used a Romanian accent learned from his mother for his character Mr. Tudball on *The Carol Burnett Show*, though the character was widely thought to be Swedish.
• Conway received two Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his roles in *Coach* (1996) and *30 Rock* (2008).