Tim Conway, the impish second banana to Carol Burnett who won four Emmy Awards on her TV variety show, starred aboard 鈥淢cHale鈥檚 Navy鈥� and later voiced the role of Barnacle Boy for 鈥淪pongebob Squarepants,鈥� has died. He was 85.

Conway died Tuesday morning in a Los Angeles care facility after a long illness, according to Howard Bragman, who heads LaBrea Media. Conway鈥檚 wife, Charlene Fusco, and a daughter, Jackie, were at his side.

A native of Ohio, Conway credited his Midwestern roots for putting him on the right path to laughs, with his deadpan expression and innocent, simple-minded demeanour.

鈥淚 think the Midwest is the heart of comedy in this country, and a little bit of the South, too,鈥� he told the Wisconsin State Journal in 2005. 鈥淔or some reason, we鈥檙e just more laid-back, more understanding. 鈥� And Midwesterners have a kinder sense of humour.鈥�

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

鈥淲e really didn鈥檛 attack people or politics or religion or whatever. We just made fun of, basically, ourselves,鈥� he said.

The show operated with just five writers, one producer, one director and without network interference. The ensemble cast surrounding the redheaded star included Vicki Lawrence and Lyle Waggoner.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think the network would allow a show like 鈥楾he Carol Burnett Show鈥� now because we had such freedom,鈥� Conway said in his interview with the State Journal.

While America was laughing at Conway, so were his co-stars: Burnett and Harvey Korman were often caught by the camera trying not to crack up during his performances.

The short, nondescript Conway and the tall, imposing Korman were a physical mismatch made in comedy heaven. They toured the country for years with a sketch show called 鈥淭ogether Again,鈥� which drew on characters from Burnett鈥檚 show.

Besides the four Emmys he won with Burnett (three as a performer, one as a writer), he won Emmys for guest appearances in 1996 for 鈥淐oach鈥� and in 2008 for 鈥�30 Rock.鈥�

Conway also had a modest but steady movie career, appearing in such films as 鈥淭he Apple Dumpling Gang鈥� (1975), 鈥淭he Shaggy D.A.鈥� (1976), 鈥淐annonball Run II鈥� (1984), 鈥淒ear God鈥� (1996) and 鈥淎ir Bud 2鈥� (1998).

Lynn Elber And Mark Kennedy, The Associated Press

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