Tim Conway is dead: The star of "The Carol Burnett Show" dies today at the age of 85

Tim Conway, the Emmy-awarded actor and known for his role in "The Carol Burnett Show," died Tuesday morning in Los Angeles after a long illness, said his publicist, Howard Bragman. He was 85 years old. His wife, Charlene Fusco, and a daughter, Jackie, were at his side.

Conway also starred in "McHale's Navy" and later performed the role of Barnacle Boy in "Spongebob Squarepants". Originally from Ohio, Conway recognized his Midwestern roots for putting him on the right path of fun, with his impassive expression and his innocent and simple-minded behavior.

"I think the Midwest is the heart of comedy in this country, and also a bit of the South," he told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2005. "For some reason, we're just more laid back, more Comprehensive … and Midwestern people have a smoother sense of humor. "

These qualities probably contributed to his wide popularity on "The Carol Burnett Show", which he joined in 1975 after frequent guest years. The show aired on CBS from 1967 to 1978 and had a brief summer stint on ABC in 1979.

The show worked with only five authors, a producer, a director and without network interference. Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Wagoner are part of the cast around the red-haired star.

"I'm heartbroken." He was one in a million, not only as a brilliant comedian, but as a loving human being – I cherish the moments spent together on screen and off It will be in my heart forever "Carol Burnett said in a statement Tuesday.

While the United States mocked Conway, his co-stars did it too: Burnett and Harvey Korman were often surprised by the camera trying not to crack during his performances. Conway, small and indisputable, and Korman, tall and imposing, were a physical imbalance in the paradise of comedy. They traveled the country for years with a sketch show entitled "Together Again", inspired by the characters of the Burnett show.

In addition to the four Emmys he won with Burnett (three as an interpreter and one as a writer), he was rewarded for appearing in 1996 as a guest for "Coach" and in 2008 for "30 Rock".

Conway also had a modest but stable film career, appearing in such films as "The Apple Dumpling Gang" (1975), "The Shaggy D.A.". (1976), "Cannonball Run II" (1984), "Dear God" (1996) and "Air Bud 2" (1998).

"The Apple Dumpling Gang" and "Cannonball Run II" allowed him to work with his comic hero, Don Knotts, who died in 2006.

"There's a reason at all that I'm in business, I think it's Don," said Conway once. "He is an icon in this area, he is an icon that will never be duplicated."

He also found success in the 1980s in a series of humorous videos based on a strangely short character named Dorf. (Carefully dressed, Conway executed the bits on his lap.) Among them were "Dorf on Golf" and "Dorf Goes Fishing." More recently, Conway has played the role of Barnacle Boy in the popular children's series "SpongeBob SquarePants".

He was born Thomas Conway in 1933 in Willoughby in the suburbs of Cleveland. He attended Bowling Green State University and served in the US Army. He began his career on local television in Cleveland in the 1950s, where he was responsible for broadcasting television comedies.

He was spotted by Rose Marie of "The Dick Van Dyke Show", which earned him an audition for "The Steve Allen Show". He became a regular in the series in the early 1960s. It was Allen who had advised him to change his name from Tom to Tim to avoid being confused with a British actor.

After the Allen show, Conway drew attention as an incompetent spokesman Charles Parker on the sitcom Ernest Borgnine's "The Navy of McHale" from 1962 to 1966. This led to his own series, including "Rango" and "The Tim Conway Show", but they were short-lived.

"The fans of" McHale's Navy "loved watching Ensign Parker enraged Captain Binghamton, still flammable (played by Joe Flynn), but that's Conway's work in the Burnett series that will bring him a lasting fame.

Conway and his wife, Mary Anne Dalton, were married in 1961 and had six children. The marriage ends with a divorce. He then married Charlene Fusco.