Few comedy pairings ever matched the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of Tim Conway and Harvey Korman. Whenever they shared a stage, chaos was inevitable — and no sketch proves that better than “The Dentist” from The Carol Burnett Show. In this unforgettable bit, Korman plays a tightly wound patient, while Conway steps into the role of a painfully unprepared dentist, and together they reduce the audience to helpless laughter.
Conway later revealed that the sketch went so far off the rails that Korman literally laughed until he lost control — a claim he jokingly confirmed years later during an interview with Conan O’Brien. From the moment Korman arrives at the dental office, nerves take center stage. The regular dentist is unavailable, and a reassuring nurse insists the substitute is fully qualified… though she casually mentions he’s fresh out of school.
When Conway finally appears, it’s clear he’s even more terrified than his patient. Summoning every ounce of courage, he attempts to extract Korman’s aching tooth — and immediately turns the procedure into a disaster. The novocaine needle goes astray, numbing Conway’s own hand. Undeterred, he presses on, only to jab his foot next, leaving himself half-paralyzed and wildly determined to continue the job anyway.
At this point, Korman completely unravels. Any attempt at composure disappears as he watches Conway transform clumsiness into a masterclass in physical comedy. The audience roars as Conway fumbles through the sketch with a numb hand and foot, never breaking character, while Korman openly collapses into laughter. It’s the rare moment where the breakdown becomes part of the brilliance.
Remarkably, Conway stays stone-faced almost until the end, finally cracking only in the final moments to share a genuine laugh with his partner. The sketch has since entered comedy legend — and if Korman laughed a little too hard, it’s hardly surprising.
What makes the bit even more legendary is that it was inspired by real life. Before comedy, Conway served in the military and once visited a dentist near the end of his service. As he later explained, the dentist accidentally pushed the novocaine needle straight through Conway’s cheek and into his own thumb, numbing himself — then insisted on finishing the procedure anyway. That true story became the backbone of the sketch.
The Carol Burnett Show itself became a launching pad for countless comedians, earning eight Golden Globes and 25 Emmy Awards over its run. Conway appeared as a guest for eight seasons before becoming a regular in 1975, where he made it his personal mission to catch his castmates off guard. “Harvey never knew what I was going to do until we were already in the sketch,” Conway once said. “My job was to break everybody.”
Beyond the show, Conway went on to voice Barnacle Boy on SpongeBob SquarePants, while his early career began at a local Cleveland television station with no formal training — just instinct, timing, and a gift for making people laugh.
Decades later, “The Dentist” remains a shining example of what happens when fearlessness, trust, and pure comedic instinct collide. It wasn’t just a sketch — it was comedy history being made in real time.