TWO FOR TUESDAY TVXOHOF TRIBUTE TO TIM CONWAY

From Variety:
Tim Conway, the agile comedian who was a core member of the “The Carol Burnett Show” troupe and starred in a string of Disney film comedies in the 1970s, died Tuesday morning in Los Angeles. He was 85.

A rep for Conway tells Variety he died from water on the brain.

Over his long career, Conway was nominated for 13 Emmys and won six. For “The Carol Burnett Show,” he was nominated six times as a supporting performer in a variety or comedy series, winning in 1973, 1977 and 1978. He was also nominated as part of the writing staff for the show, drawing three nominations and winning in 1978. In addition to those four Emmy wins, he won in 1996 for outstanding guest actor in a comedy, “Coach,” and in 2008 for guest actor in a comedy for “30 Rock.”

“I’m heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being,” said Burnett in a statement obtained by Variety. “I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He’ll be in my heart forever.”

Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American comedic actor, writer, and director. He portrayed the inept Ensign Parker in the 1960s World War II situation comedy McHale's Navy, was a regular cast member on the 1970s variety and sketch comedy program The Carol Burnett Show, co-starred with Don Knotts in several films in the late 1970s and early 1980s, starred as the title character in the Dorf series of sports comedy films, and provided the voice of Barnacle Boy in the animated series SpongeBob SquarePants. He was particularly admired for his ability to depart from scripts with spontaneously improvised character details and dialogue, and he won six Prime-time Emmy Awards during his career, four of which were awarded for The Carol Burnett Show, including one for writing.  

Earlier today, Toobworld Central inducted Ensign Charles “Chuck” Parker of ‘McHale’s Navy’ into the Television Crossover Hall of Fame.  And now we’re inducting the televersion of the man who portrayed the fictional life of that fictional Navy man during WWII. 

The televersion of Tim Conway is more than just the comic actor in fictional settings.  There were aspects of his life in Toobworld that couldn’t have happened in the Real World.

Sesame Street
- Episode #2.49 (1971)
... Himself

O'Bservation - They should have invited him back.  It just doesn't seem right that we never saw him interact with a Muppet on that show.

Newhart
- Dick and Tim (1990)
... Tim Conway

From the IMDb:
Dick inadvertently drives Tim Conway away from his regular poker game.  

O’Bservations:

• Tim Conway goes overboard with paprika when making his dip.
• In the regular poker game among the “men” of Stratford, the players are George Utley, Michael Harris, Larry, Darryl, and Darryl, and Tim Conway (who had been coming to Stratford, Vermont for a year to play poker.) 
• The Darryls first met Conway when they were producing ‘The Carol Burnett Show’. 
• Tim proved to be so cheap, he stole Dick’s car.

This was the most revealing look at Tim Conway as his televersion in any TV show, but it was as a dream version of his televersion.  The splainin then is fairly simple in disabling the Zonks caused by the shows that were mentioned.

The entire series was a dream triggered by Japanese food eaten by Dr, Bob Hartley just before bedtime.  That Tim Conway probably showed up in that dream could mean that Bob saw a ‘Carol Burnett Show’ rerun on local TV while he was eating that Japanese food.  (One of the leftovers could have been a lobster dish….)  After all, that variety program came up during that segment of the dream. 

As for Tim Conway being tight with a buck, maybe that’s the fault of Buck Benny.  ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ of Toobworld might not be the same as the show seen in the Real World, as is often the case with other TV series which get mentioned but with non-existent episodes.  So perhaps Bob Hartley saw an episode of ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ with both Tim Conway and Jack Benny as her guest stars, something that never happened in the Real World.

Because his appearance as a near-as regular member of the cast of 'The Carol Burnett Show' is mentioned by a fictional character, then it counts as a valid entry in Tim's tally for membership requirements.

Dick:
I’m a big, big fan of yours. 
I think I’ve seen everything you’ve ever done.
Tim:
Really?  Okay. 
You seen my TV series ‘Rango’?
Dick:
No.
Tim:
‘Turn-On’?
Dick:
No.
Tim:
Some fan….

Let’s de-Zonk these references….

Rango (1967)    
.
In Toobworld, their version of ‘Rango’ would be an historical series based on an actual lawman in the old West and his “true-life” adventures.  The Televersion of Tim Conway was hired to play the role because he bore a resemblance to the actual Rango.

Turn-On (1969)

I think everybody who saw this piece of schlattershit knows that it never should have been allowed on the air, no matter what world where it was seen!  (I can say that.  I saw it that night in 1969. I was just barely a teenager and I survived it.)

The show is mentioned by name in Toobworld by other citizens of that world, like Harry from ‘Mad Men’.  So Dr. Hartley was probably familiar with the tele-travesty. 

Ace Crawford... Private Eye (1983)

I don’t remember hearing this reference at all.  But it would be a similar situation to ‘Rango’.  It just wouldn’t be an historical drama; instead the real Ace Crawford probably sold the rights to his story to a TV producer who saw the comedy potential in Ace’s investigations.

The Larry Sanders Show
- The Matchmaker (1997)
... Tim Conway

From the IMDb:
Larry has trouble firing a staff member that is consistently messing up. Hank does something nice for his assistant and it results in a rumor that he might be gay.

This was another example of how the televersion of Tim Conway was different from the real life original.  I don't want to think that Conway would be as mean to a show's assistant in the Real World as he was to MaryAnn in this episode.

Here are the references made by Tim Conway, but all of them to movies that exist as such in Toobworld.  Which is good - that way we don't have to splain away any Zonks.

The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)
Tim Conway jokes he hasn't had any sex since filming the movie.
 

Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997)
Marylou pre-interviews Tim Conway and asks if anything funny happened between him and Sandra Bullock in the movie.  

O’Bservation – So there were aspects in the life of Tim Conway’s televersion which hewed closely to the life of the  real Tim Conway... at least as far as his movie credits go.  But definitely not personality-wise!

Ellen
- Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute: Part 1 (1998) 
... Comedian

From the IMDb:
A "mokumentary" hosted by Linda Ellerbee hosts a tribute to a 75-year career of Ellen, which traces her career as a vaudevillian, ventriloquist and hostess of the 1950's game show called "Who's the Commie?" to her show with spoofs from the TV shows 'I Love Lucy', the Dick Van Dyke' and Mary Tyler Moore shows too, as well as interviews with celebrities Jennifer Anniston, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Helen Hunt Ted Danson, Phil Donahue, Tim Conway, and many others.  

Conway was one of the talking heads in the mockumentary, speaking about how he used to work on the road with Ellen & Dave, until the day when Dave headed to Hollywood to work in television which Ellen thought was a passing fad.
 

Two and a Half Men
- Bite Me, Supreme Court (2014)
... Tim

From the IMDb:
After multimillionaire Marty Pepper proposes to Evelyn, Walden and Alan throw him a bachelor party with several of his old friends (comedy legends Tim Conway, Steve Lawrence and Garry Marshall) who help him celebrate his last days of bachelorhood.  

O’Bservation - According to the cast list at the IMDb, Conway is only listed as “Tim”.  He’s played other Tims in the past, twice on ‘Diagnosis Murder’ as “Tim Conrad”.  But since Garry Marshall is listed as “Garry” and Steve Lawrence is listed as “Steve”, I think the odds are good that they are all playing themselves.  And it’s believable that a multimillionaire like Marty Pepper would have celebrity friends around his own age.

By the way, Conway was wearing those dark glasses because he had just come from seeing his eye doctor who had given him drops to dilate his pupils.  Conway claimed that the doctor was robbing him blind, but O’Bviously it was all in service to the joke.

Tim Conway also exists in The Tooniverse….

The New Scooby-Doo Movies
- The Spirited Spooked Sports Show (1973)
... Himself (voice)

The Simpsons
- The Simpsons Spin-Off Showcase (1997)
... Himself (voice)

O’Bservation - Despite the difference in artistic style, these depictions are of the same Tim Conway in the Tooniverse.

If he ever had another appearance in a cartoon series as himself, then he could be inducted yet again for his tooniversion.  

If you know of another appearance in a cartoon by Tim Conway as himself, let me know!  (Apparently Barnacle Boy in 'SpongeBob Squarepants' was an actual character.  I thought he was fictional with that fictional world.)

Welcome to the Hall, Mr. Conway.  On the same day, you’ve been inducted with the man you played in Toobworld and in Toobworld movies, Ensign Chuck Parker.  It’s a rare honor.

Good night and may God bless…