Three legendary comedic actors couldn’t keep themselves from breaking character in yet another classic sketch from The Carol Burnett Show.
It’s been said that comedy is tougher than drama. Why? Well, comedy is so subjective. What makes one person laugh probably isn’t going to make the next guy double over in laughter.
The talented cast of The Carol Burnett Show had no problem keeping audiences laughing. In fact, clips of the program’s zany skits and off-the-wall characters are still keeping viewers laughing all these decades later. Often what was most difficult for Carol Burnett, Tim Conway and Harvey Korman was going an entire sketch without cracking up in laughter themselves.
A clip posted to YouTube is an excellent example of when cast members couldn’t keep it together. The skit begins with Carol’s character introducing herself – Mary Worthless.
Mary Worthless, as she explains, is a “do-gooder” and believes “everyone was put on Earth for some purpose.” As the viewers quickly learn, it appears Mary’s purpose is to wreck a perfectly happy and weird relationship.
The next scene begins with Harvey Korman and Vicki Lawrence playing a married couple who cannot keep their hands off one another. They describe themselves as “the most happily married couple in the whole world.” However, that marital bliss doesn’t last long after Mary Worthless arrives at their front door.
In seconds, Mary has the previously happy couple yelling and screaming at one another. They quickly appear to be on the rocks, their marriage in utter shambles. Near the end of the clip, Harvey ends up with a face full of pie and the cast busting out in laughter.
It gets to the point where Harvey and Carol cannot get through a line without laughing! Carol even buries her face in her hands, unable to contain her laughter any longer.
Proverbs 17:22 “A cheerful heart makes good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”