‘The Carol Burnett Show’ had many memorable unplanned moments when the cast burst into laughter. In this sketch, Carol shows up in a grandma outfit as ‘Mary Worthless,’ who finds a couple she thinks is in trouble.
Harvey and Vicki are a happily married couple until ‘Mary Worthless’ intervenes. Harvey and Vicki talk about their undying love for each other, and Carol shows up dressed as a maid. Carol comes in and says she’ll clean the dishes for dinner, and they say they’re already clean, but she disagrees. Carol pulls up a metal cup and asks, “Who’s the alcoholic?”
Carol gets rid of it in the flower pot, and the flowers die on the spot as she pours it. Vicki defends Harvey, and Carol says it’s ok if he didn’t tell her because he felt she was too stupid to understand. This causes unnecessary fighting between the otherwise happy couple.
Then, Carol sits Harvey on the couch, sits on his lap, and pats him on the face while telling him it’s good to bring these things into the open. Carol reveals their dirty secrets and how they have cheated and done nasty things. Although it isn’t true, Carol starts to sway their opinion, breaking their marriage apart.
Lyle Waggoner comes in as Harvey’s boss. He opens the door, swings his keys, and drops them, causing both to laugh and drop character. While they are laughing at each other, Harvey throws a punch at him as planned.
Carol returns with a pie she baked, and Vicki smashes it in Harvey’s face. Carol can’t stop laughing, and neither can Harvey. He pulls it together and cries out for his lost love.
He says he is going to kill himself, and he jumps out the window, making a funny sound. Carol bursts into spontaneous laughter and needs a minute to gather herself for her final lines. Nothing in the sketch went right, but it ended up being comedy gold.
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