The first time I saw this I couldn’t sleep (it was ~2:30 a.m.) and was flipping through the channels when I came across the Carol Burnett show rerun.
As I watched Conway tell this outrageous story, slaying all of his castmates one-by-one (except for Carol Lawrence, aka “Mama”) in the process, I ended up laughing so hard I had to cram a pillow in my mouth to keep from disturbing my neighbors (cheap apartment complex!).
A day or two later, I ended up at my opthalmologists’ office, who determined that I had burst a blood vessel (from laughing at Conway’s story!). I didn’t tell the opthalmologist but, knowing I laughed that hard was, somehow, satisfying.
Since then, I have seen the bit a few more times. It’s STILL one of the funniest moments EVER in television and I have NEVER figured out how Carol Lawrence managed to keep a straight face and stay in character through the whole thing. In fact, it is delicious irony that her line at the end, typical of Mama’s ascerbic nature, ended up destroying Conway!!
This was entertainment at its finest, IMO!!
Earth to DustyMoment - it was VICKI Lawrence, NOT Carol, fou fool!!
While she was generally stone-faced, Lawrence didn't make it completely through either take without laughing. At the 0:58 mark, she has to look down to conceal her laughter from the audience and at the 2:30 mark, she turns her face completely away from the audience to conceal laughter. Lawrence regrouped very quickly but she did break character a couple of other times, too. Who wouldn't? Carol Burnett and Dick Van Dyck had no chance.