Working with Korman a big kick for Conway

As far as Tim Conway is concerned, his career peaked, oh, about 1956, when he appeared on "The Steve Allen Show." Everything since then has been gravy.

"I never actually wanted to be in show business," Conway told the Deseret News. "I just happened to be in the wrong place at the right time all the time. I was actually going to be a jockey."

His father was a horse-trainer, and Conway was riding horses as a kid. "If it hadn't been for the fact that I fell off a lot, I think I probably would have continued with that employment."

After college and a stint in the Army, Conway returned to Cleveland, "where I mistakenly got a job" writing for a disc jockey at a radio station. The next thing I knew, I was doing promotional work on the station and getting on-air and things like that. One thing led to another, and I did Steven Allen's show."

He had returned to Cleveland when the call came offering him a role on a new sitcom, "McHale's Navy." "I said, 'Nah, I think if you've done Steve Allen, you've pretty much done it.' To me, that was the end. The guy at the station actually fired me so that I would go out and do 'McHale's Navy.' "

That 1962-66 sitcom led to a string of TV appearances, most famously as a member of the "Carol Burnett Show" ensemble. And that experience will, to a large extent, be re-created when Conway and fellow "Carol" alumnus Harvey Korman bring their act to town for three shows next weekend.

"We're trying to bring back vaudeville. I think it's going to work," he said with a laugh. "That damn TV is getting in our way. We're giving it a shot, anyway."

The traveling show includes Conway and Korman in five sketches (some familiar to fans of "Carol Burnett"), and there will be some stand-up comedy and celebrity impressionist Louise DuArt, who "kind of weaves in and out of the show."

Conway described it as "just old-fashioned comedy" that appeals to a wide range of ages, adding, "It's really a 'Burnett Show' on the road.

"Those people who saw the 'Burnett Show' are bringing their kids, and their kids' kids come because they know it's kind of a safe haven for them. It just never fails.

"And we're always sold out because we buy all the tickets to make sure of that." (Actually, tickets are still available.)