Co-star on The Carol Burnett Show

Veteran US comedian Tim Conway, best known for his co-starring on The Carol Burnett Show for more than a decade has died at 85.

His publicist said he died yesterday morning in Los Angeles, according to his publicist.

He started his entertainment career on local radio in Cleveland in the late 1950s after his discharge from the Army. He was spotted by comic actress Rose Marie, when she visited his station WJW for a promotional tour, and persuaded to move to New York.

Conway came to prominence as the bumbling, naive Ensign Charles Parker, in the 1960s sitcom McHale's Navy, alongside Ernest Borgnine.

He won three Emmys for co-starring in The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1978, and a fourth as a member of its writing team He also had his own short-lived variety show.

In his later years,  he made guest appearances on the likes of Coach and 30 Rock, where he played Bucky Bright, one of Jack Donaghy's friends who traumatises naive Kenneth with horrifying backstage stories about the early days of television.

Burnett told CNN: ‘I'm heartbroken. He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian but as a loving human being. I cherish the times we had together both on the screen and off. He'll be in my heart forever.’

Published: 15 May 2019