Thanks, Harvey Korman, for doing that voodoo you did so well.
By Burbanked on May 30, 2008 in Celebrities, Movies | 666 views |
Of course a lot is being said and written about the passing of comic actor Harvey Korman at the age of 81. And from what I’ve seen so far, much of the movie bloggers’ tributes rightly focus on Korman’s terrific turn as Hedley Lamarr in Mel Brooks’ classic Blazing Saddles.
But as it happened, I never saw Blazing Saddles in the theater; I would come to love its deviant comedy and thrilling satire much later in life. Instead, my cinematic introduction to Korman outside-of-the-Carol-Burnett-oeuvre came as a result of this scene:
While the comedy in High Anxiety is certainly broad, watch Korman again and you’ll notice some delightful subtleties, some snide looks of pure cruelty and malice that are just treasures. He may not have been a prolific or A-list actor, but his contributions to both TV and movie comedies will certainly endure. Ironically, the sarcastic punchline to the scene above, provided by Korman’s Dr. Montague, does a nice little job of summing up how his passing makes me feel tonight:
“I know. It is sad. It tears your heart apart.”
Dedicated screenwriting 101 here: From an interview with Harrison Ford on the MTV Movies Blog in which the inevitability of another Indiana Jones movie is mentioned:
How do I get out of this? I love going to the movies with my boys, opening up their minds to the great pleasures of cinema and all that, but this is a hard one. Please help me: do I suck it up and just go, or can anyone out there provide me with a plausible, kind-hearted, permanent way out? (
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Ray | May 30, 2008 | Reply
My first and primary exposure to Korman was on THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW. I always felt he was the weakest performer on the show, primarily because he could rarely stay in character. His role on that show is similar to Phil Hartman’s on SNL - the versatile actor who can handle a bunch of background roles - although I don’t consider him to be in the same league as Hartman.
Geez … it kinda sounds like I am pissing all over his freshly-dug grave. It’s not my intention … I just have that way about me LOL
Piper | Jun 2, 2008 | Reply
Fuck. When did this happen? Shit. I love Korman. He rode that incredible line where he could be funny and clean and funny and dirty. Most comics usually have one tone. Korman proved you could live both lives. He was just as funny on the Carol Burnett Show as he was in a Mel Brooks film.
Well done Alan. Proper respect to a great comic.