Some comedy sketches fade with time — and then there are the legendary ones. The kind that fans revisit decades later because nothing else has ever matched their perfect blend of chaos, surprise, and brilliantly absurd humor.
Among those timeless treasures is what viewers now affectionately call “the gas station sketch” from The Carol Burnett Show. In it, Tim Conway plays the most cheerful yet hopelessly incompetent gas station attendant imaginable, while Harvey Korman portrays the poor customer who simply wants a routine fill-up. Instead, he finds himself trapped in one of the funniest, most disastrously unforgettable service experiences in TV history.
A Routine Gas Stop Spirals Into Hilarious Disaster
From the moment Conway appears on screen — smiling innocently, holding a gas nozzle as if he’s never touched one before — you know trouble is coming.
What begins as mild confusion quickly erupts into full-blown slapstick mayhem:
- Conway sprays gas everywhere except where it belongs
- He slips, tumbles, rolls, and somehow ends up upside down inside the car
- The hose tangles, the tools fall, and every attempt to help only makes things worse
Harvey Korman fights desperately to stay composed — but Conway’s unpredictable antics make that nearly impossible.
The Moment Harvey Korman Finally Cracked
Midway through the sketch, Conway begins improvising lines that weren’t in the script. Each new ad-lib grows more outrageous: nonsensical “policies,” ridiculous explanations, and impossibly goofy facial expressions.
And then it happens — the moment fans still laugh about.
Korman completely loses it.
He bends over, shaking with laughter, unable to keep a straight face while Conway continues flawlessly in character, as if the chaos unfolding next to him doesn’t exist. It’s the exact spark that made their comedic chemistry so iconic.
Why This Sketch Still Feels Fresh Decades Later
Even among the show’s many memorable moments, this one stands out. It’s messy, physical, unpredictable — and so genuine that you can feel the energy of the live performance bursting through the screen.
No retakes.
No polishing.
Just two masters of comedy pushing each other until one finally breaks.
That spontaneity is why fans still circulate the clip today. It’s comedy at its purest — timing, instinct, and a touch of glorious chaos.
The Perfect Contrast: Conway & Korman
Their dynamic was simple but magical:
- Tim Conway: quiet, mischievous, unpredictable
- Harvey Korman: polished, refined, constantly on the edge of cracking
Together, they could turn even the most ordinary setting — like a gas station — into a circus of laughter.
More than 40 years later, this sketch is still one of the most replayed clips from The Carol Burnett Show. It remains a shining example of what happens when two comedic giants collide: pure, unforgettable television magic.