Watch Tim Conway Cracking Everyone on Set Up With The Infamous ‘Elephant Story’

One of my favorite shows growing up was the Carol Burnett Show. While there have been about a million sketch shows on TV, there’s a good reason why this show stood out. For one thing, it didn’t have a huge cast; it had a total of six cast members, with five performing at any given time.

With a cast this small, chemistry was vital; everyone had to have it with each other. And if there was one person on the show, aside from Carol, who knocked it out of the park each time with whoever he worked with, it had to be Tim Conway.

There are legendary stories about how Tim used to improv and made actors break character left and right. He was a master at it. Now, keep in mind that the cast on The Carol Burnett Show was not young, inexperienced, giggly actors. Everyone on the show was a bit older and very seasoned performers. Making actors of their caliber break character is like reducing an experienced comedian to tears by telling a joke; it’s not easy. But Tim Conway had a special talent for doing just that.

And honestly, I think this is one thing that made his sit so special, his comedy was hilarious, but their reactions to his antics made the whole thing hysterically funny!

Check out some of his best work in this clip of two outtakes in which Tim tells the infamous “Elephant Story.”

Was that not the funniest or what? One thing I love that Tim does is let the joke sit and marinate. He doesn’t have to keep talking and rushing it like so many tend to do. His expertly timed pauses while his castmates try to compose themselves just amplifies the humor. And then when he finally adds something (after they’ve composed themselves a little bit), it just compounds the impact and gets them going all over again! Be sure to show this video to your friends and family, especially younger ones. It’s always fun to see how young people react to stuff like this; it’s like exposing them to another universe. Thanks for reading; we hope you had a great laugh!