Photo: timconway.com
Tim Conway, the comedic actor probably best known for his work on The Carol Burnett Show has passed away at the age of 85. He passed Tuesday morning in Los Angeles after a long illness reportedly linked to dementia. His rep confirmed the news and his daughter Kelly stating that he is, "at peace now." Kelly stated to FOX News "The love he gave us, and the laughter he gave the world will never be replaced, but will be remembered forever," adding "I will miss him every second of every day until we meet again in heaven."
After a public legal battle about his elder care between Kelly and Conway's second wife, Charlene made headlines, the duo finally settled their differences last month and Charlene was granted conservatorship of Conway as a court deemed it necessary since the actor's health continued to fail he wasn't able to provide himself with basic care needs.
Conway, who was born in Willoughby, Ohio on December 15, 1933, and rose to Hollywood fairly fast from a staff job at a Cleveland TV station to regular work on The Steve Allen Show. Conway would portray Ensign Charles Parker on McHale’s Navy in the 1960s and after that came an 11 year run on The Carol Burnett Show where he was first a guest star then became a regular by 1975 and often goofed around with his friend Harvey Korman. While on The Carol Burnett Show, Conway earned critical reviews and won six Emmys and a Golden Globe.
After TCBS, Conway put three of his own variety shows and one sitcom under his belt, most recently he was the voice of Barnacle Boy on SpongeBob SquarePants and a guest role on 30 Rock where he received another Emmy. And who can forget the Dorf series of how-to home videos about a goofy, short Scandinavian man.
Conway appeared in movies as well family films like The World’s Greatest Athlete, The Apple Dumpling Gang, and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, Gus, The Billion Dollar Hobo, The Prize Fighter, and Private Eyes, that garnered him the most acclaim. Conway wrote some of these films and you'd often see him paired along with another comedy legend, Don Knotts.
Conway also starred on the stage as well including a run as Felix on the stage production of The Odd Couple and he wrote/starred in Just for Laughs: A Day with Gates and Mills.
In 1989, Conway received a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Academy of Television Arts & Science’s Hall of Fame in 2002. Conway reunited with the rest of The Carol Burnett Show cast in 2005 to receive TV Land’s Legend award.