In this hilarious clip from ‘The Carol Burnett Show,’ Tim Conway portrays Lloyd Adams, President of Vortex Industries. He’s sitting at a desk, delivering a speech to a television audience. ‘Lloyd’ Conway tells viewers that Vortex will be viable in the industrial field.
The microphone then begins to cut off. Conway masterfully cuts his voice in and out while moving his mouth. This creates the appearance of the microphone failing. The audience is laughing!
A stagehand crawls on the floor behind the desk to assist Conway with his microphone. He first tries to manipulate it, and then he pulls out a screwdriver. Static is audible, as Conway continues to speak about the difficulties.
Conway begins to narrate a story, but the stagehand takes away the microphone. Conway’s story is being heard by no one, yet he keeps moving his mouth. ‘Testing 2, 4, this thing is broken,’ shouts the stagehand over the mike, and everyone laughs. A new microphone is installed by the stagehand just in time for Conway to deliver the story’s punchline.
Conway then continues to play with the cord, making a dreadful noise. Still lurking behind the desk, the stagehand grabs Conway’s hand and pulls him away from the cable. Finally, the cable snaps as the stagehand strikes Conway’s hand with a hammer.
Toward the end of the routine, a stagehand places a lapel mike on Conway, but it keeps falling off due to a short wire. We hear Conway’s heartbeat over his speech when the stagehand resets it for the third time. The stagehand inserts Conway’s hand inside his suit jacket to grip the lapel mic and secures it with a staple gun. In anguish, Conway’s face contorts.
He tries to make a motion with his hand but is unable to do to the staples. The stagehand places his own hand on the desk to signal Conway. The audience erupts in laughter, and Conway is finally poked in the eye. Finally, a stagehand attaches the microphone to Conway’s nostril, and he proceeds to deliver the speech in a comical voice, as if his nose had been clipped shut. Tim Conway is hilarious, and the audience can be heard laughing throughout the video!