“WHEN A GAS STATION DISASTER BROUGHT AN ENTIRE STUDIO TO ITS KNEES.”  It was supposed to be a tiny role — a couple of simple moves and done. But then Tim Conway walked in… and everything fell apart in the funniest way possible. He slipped, climbed into the car, twisted the gas hose like he’d never seen one in his life. Each new clumsy move pushed Harvey Korman closer to completely losing it on live TV. Behind them, the audience was laughing so hard they were holding their stomachs. Carol Burnett always said the best comedy comes from real reactions — and this sketch proves it. No matter how many years pass, it still hits just like the first time.

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.