The Harvey Korman Show was created as a
star vehicle for Harvey Korman when he was offered a contract by ABC to headline his own television series. Following his successful run as a supporting player on
CBS's
The Carol Burnett Show from 1967 to 1977, Korman by this time had grown restless of the variety-show routine and was keen to pursue lead-character roles. The
pilot episode was originally broadcast on May 19, 1977 and varied slightly from the 1978 series: Korman portrays Francis A. Kavanaugh, a flamboyant, old-school actor and dramatic coach of an acting class he operates from the home he shares with his 19-year-old daughter Maggie (played by Susan Lawrence in the pilot). In the actual series, Korman's character name was changed to Harvey A. Kavanaugh and the role of Maggie was recast with
Christine Lahti in one of her early acting roles. The supporting cast includes
Barry Van Dyke as Stuart Stafford, Maggie's boyfriend and co-worker (whom Harvey dislikes), and
Milton Selzer as Jake Winkleman, Harvey's hard-working agent.
The Harvey Korman Show was broadcast Tuesday nights on ABC at 9:30 p.m. throughout its brief run. It was videotaped before a live audience at
NBC Studios in
Burbank, California. The theme song "Living Life Today", written by Ken Welch & Mitzi Welch, was performed by Korman in a Broadway-esque manner.
Garry Shandling was one of the scriptwriters and story editor for the series. ==Episodes==