Like many lightning-in-a-bottle moments, Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins began as an original, one-off sketch on The Carol Burnett Show. However, the characters became so popular that the sketch was frequently repeated and became a golden spot in an already incredible variety series.

According to Tim Conway, a mainstay on the series, he originally based Mrs. Wiggins on a very real and very inept secretary he had previously worked with.

“She couldn’t figure out how to use the intercom system we had with the writers,” said Conway during an interview with the Ventura County Star. “We had to go down the hall and tell her not to talk while she’s pressing the button. She’d go ‘Hello? Hello?’ And I’d have to go, ‘Don’t press the damn button while I’m talking!’”

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Of course, Conway had no idea that audiences would adore the sketch. “When I wrote the sketch, we never intended to go beyond that one time,” said the actor. “But the thing just took off, so we ended up doing a lot of Tudball and Wiggins.”

Conway also became known for his portrayal of The Oldest Man, another original character that took shape during a live performance.

“I actually didn’t walk that slowly until we started taping,” said Conway. “As I walked in the door that slowly and over to the couch, I was thinking, ‘This sketch is going to go three days if I keep doing this.’ I thought they’d stop me when I got to the couch, and they’d say cut. But they let it go, and a sketch that was supposed to be seven minutes turned out to be 17.”