THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 26, 1994 TAG: 9412240039
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
TIM CONWAY wants to make one thing perfectly clear: He's going for belly laughs, not chuckles.
His take-no-prisoners assault on the funny bone begins Tuesday when the Emmy-winning comic brings his own play, ``Just for Laughs, A Day with Gates and Mills,'' to Norfolk's Chrysler Hall for an eight-performance run. Tom Poston, another veteran TV comic, co-stars.
``It's not a subtle show,'' Conway said from California. ``We're thinking about putting a note in the program to state: `If you think there's a point to this, forget it.' ''
``Just for Laughs,'' in a way, marks Conway's debut as a playwright, although he quickly points out, ``It's not really a play. It's two sketches and seven monologues, but they're not really monologues. What it is, is two guys conversing. They're old-time comics.''
And while the play arrives in Norfolk under the ``Broadway at Chrysler Hall'' banner, Conway, 61, said it's unlikely the play will make it that far.
``It may be too funny, too broad,'' he said. ``Probably the New York critics wouldn't like it. We'd rather go directly to the real people. Broadway is a real mess right now. Union costs are so high that people don't want to go in. If Neil (Simon) can't make it there, who can?'' (Simon, the all-time champion of Broadway comedy, is opening his next show off-Broadway.)
Gates and Mills are two longtime partners who haven't worked in years. Why? One of them insulted a powerful TV talk-show host years ago on the air. ``It's a little like the feud between Jackie Mason and Ed Sullivan,'' Conway said.
Not inclined to give up, they show up at the office every day to work on new material for their Second Chance. When it comes, it's not exactly what they expected: playing leprechauns in a cable sitcom. Instead, Gates and Mills have other plans. They'll take over the show.
There may be a trace of Lucy here, but there is even more of a hint of ``The Sunshine Boys,'' the Neil Simon play and movie about two faded vaudevillians who snipe at each other while they wait for a comeback. ``Doc Simon is too rich to sue us,'' Conway said. ``Anytime you do two old comics, it's going to smack of `Sunshine Boys.' ''
Conway, 61, won four Emmys for his work on the ``Carol Burnett Show,'' one of the great ensembles in TV history, and still keeps in touch with Burnett and Harvey Korman.
While, he was a star as a second banana, his own TV shows were usually short-lived. He started on local TV in Cleveland in the 1950s, doing, among other things, comedy bits during the late movie. Comedienne Rose Marie saw him there and set up an audition for ``The Steve Allen Show.'' He made his national debut in 1961, then played the fumbling Ensign Charles Parker on ``McHale's Navy'' from 1962-'66.
He did five movies with Don Knotts. His flicks, mostly for the Disney studio, include ``The World's Greatest Athlete,'' ``The Apple Dumpling Gang,'' ``Gus,'' ``The Billion Dollar Hobo,'' ``The Longshot,'' ``The Prizefighter'' and ``The Private Eyes.''
``The scariest thing in show business is stand-up comedy,'' Conway said. ``You're selling yourself. It's always nice to be able to hide behind a character, to play someone else.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Tim Conway, left, and Tom Poston are the stars of "Just for
Laughs."
Graphic
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