If you ever need proof that Tim Conway could turn anything into comedy chaos, look no further than “The Fireman” — the sketch where his legendary slow-moving, mumbling old man returns, this time as a firefighter whose job is to save Harvey Korman’s life.

From the moment Conway shuffles into frame, dragging his feet one inch at a time, the audience already knows:
Harvey Korman is doomed.

In the sketch, Korman collapses on the floor and desperately needs mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Unfortunately for him, the only “first responder” available is Conway’s painfully slow, arthritic old man — whose idea of emergency speed is roughly one breath per geological era.

What follows is some of the funniest physical comedy ever aired:

Conway bending down so slowly it looks like he might fossilize mid-way

Korman trying not to break as Conway’s face gets closer… and closer… and closer

Conway mumbling instructions no one can understand (“Hhhmmmph… y’gotta… ffffh…”)

The world’s most awkward mouth-to-mouth attempt, complete with Conway’s dentures almost falling out

By the time Conway finally administers “rescue breathing,” Korman has completely lost whatever composure he had left. His shoulders shake, his lips twitch, and he tries — and fails — to keep a straight face as Conway smothers him in the slowest, most bumbling life-saving effort ever committed to television.

The audience roars.
Carol Burnett famously said she’d never heard Korman laugh harder.

“The Fireman” is peak Conway-Korman magic:
one man creating chaos,
the other desperately trying not to collapse laughing —
and failing every single time.