Farewell, Harvey Korman

Bonnie Burton of Lucasfilm has posted an homage to comedian Harvey Korman, who died this week at 81 years of age:

I can still remember being on the edge of my seat in the movie theater watching Korman as Captain Blythe in Herbie Goes Bananas. Heck, I even liked him during my full-blown Goth days when he played Dr. Jack Seward in Dracula: Dead and Loving It.

So it really shouldn’t be a surprise when years later, I was brave enough to admit in a crowded Lucasfilm marketing meeting that I was a big fan of the “Star Wars Holiday Special.”

I justified my adoration of the hardly-seen TV show by saying that, in addition to Bea Arthur as the Cantina barkeep Ackmena, it was Korman’s three bizarre characters that made me want to watch the cult classic over and over again. Korman portrayed the Ackmena-smitten Cantina patron Krelman, the multi-armed Julia Child-in-outer-space Chef Gormaanda, and an Amorphian instructor that practically drives Chewie’s son Lumpy to tears.

I was devastated to hear of his passing this week. Not only did an iconic comedian leave our galaxy, but sadly I’ll never get the chance to interview him about those roles he played in “The Star Wars Holiday Special.” I had so many questions for him!

Link to Bonnie's post on the Official Star Wars Blog. Here's the LA Times obituary for Korman.

• [minTphresh]

  thanks, meastro. you helped make my childhood bearable! you caused my gut to ache with laughter. your stories on carson’s show about vacations with the newharts, just priceless. hell, you almost made ‘mama’s place’ worth watching. you left a mighty legacy, and you will be missed.

• [Agent 86]

  what does two-thirds of a Methodist look like?

  Thank you, JIMH, that was a great reminder. Never seen a more exciting board-game.

• [Dan]

  I think I will always remember how mind-shreddingly hilarious it was whenever Harvey Korman and Tim Conway got together and tried to crack each other up while also trying not to laugh. How many times did you see tears on one or both of their faces during a sketch?

  Even thinking about some of them now just makes me laugh.

  One of the best comedy duos ever.

  Goodnight, funny man. Thank you for the laughs.

• [noen]

  I was sad to hear he passed away. But that clip from the Star Wars Holiday Special….. the mind reels.

• [Bobdotcom]

  Rest in peace, Count D’Money, Hedley Lamarr, The Great Gazoo, and a thousand other characters.

• [Cheqyr]

  HED-leeeeey …..

• [jimh]

  One of the greats.

  Part 1
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmdfSXWVW1M
  Part 2
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJLVgPPF40M

• [Mikey Likes BoingBoing]

  #1: Right you are, Dan. RIP Mr. Korman, and thank you for years of laughs.

• [pauldrye]

  I hope that in Heaven he receives 72 rustlers, cut throats, murderers, bounty hunters, desperados, mugs, pugs, thugs, nitwits, halfwits, dimwits, vipers, snipers, con men, Indian agents, Mexican bandits, muggers, buggerers, bushwhackers, hornswogglers, horse thieves, bull dykes, train robbers, bank robbers, ass-kickers, s**t-kickers and Methodists as rquested.

  (Two and two-thirds of each, if my math is right.)