The Oldest Man

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The Oldest Man, sometimes called Duane Toddleberry, is a funny character Tim Conway created for The Carol Burnett Show. He uses a very slow shuffle, wears a wrinkled white wig and a suit, and speaks in a slurred, droning voice. The sketches let him play many roles opposite Harvey Korman, who often gets frustrated by the Oldest Man’s slow pace and silly tricks.

Conway introduced the character on The Carol Burnett Show and became a regular in the 1975–1976 season. The Oldest Man appears in many situations, such as a galley slave, a fireman, a clock-maker, a butcher, and a shoe store salesman. The humor relies on slapstick and exaggerated stunts, with the Oldest Man often getting hurt for laughs.

Notable moments include a very slow tumble down the stairs in “As the Stomach Turns” (1969) and a slow burn with a hot iron in “The Oldest Torturer” (1975). Conway has said the idea came from his own slow pace in life after breaking his back in high school, and the shuffling walk happened spontaneously during a sketch. He also noted that the spontaneity helped make Korman laugh, and Burnett has said Conway’s goal was to “destroy” Harvey by making him crack up.

The Oldest Man remained popular beyond the show. Conway toured with Harvey Korman in live shows from 2003 until Korman’s death in 2008, and they revived the character on The Queen Latifah Show in 2014–2015. The character also appeared in a Motion Picture & Television Fund sketch and on a collector’s edition DVD, Together Again, with new sketches.

Conway won five Emmy Awards for his work on The Carol Burnett Show and was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 2002. Carol Burnett named “Galley Slaves” as one of her All-Time Favorite Sketches from The Carol Burnett Show. Burnett has said that Conway’s main goal was to make Korman crack up on set.