Mrs. Wiggins
"Mrs. Wiggins" (also known as "Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins") is a series of comedy sketches featured on The Carol Burnett Show, with one installment airing on Carol Burnett & Company. The Carol Burnett Show introduced the skit series during its ninth season in 1975–76 and continued to air new installments of the skit for the remainder of its 11-season run, through its final season in 1977–78. However, the final installment of "Mrs. Wiggins" would not air until August 18, 1979, on a different four-week summer series titled Carol Burnett & Company. This was the only installment of "Mrs. Wiggins" that did not air on The Carol Burnett Show which had completed its run almost a year and a half earlier on March 29, 1978. Altogether, there were 18 installments of "Mrs. Wiggins" sketches.[1]
Premise
"Mrs. Wiggins" features two characters created by Tim Conway: Mr. Tudball (played by Conway) and Mrs. Wanda Wiggins (played by Carol Burnett). Vicki Lawrence would occasionally play Mr. Tudball's wife. Mr. Tudball is a businessman, most notably recognized by his mock Romanian accent,[2] and toupee, pronouncing his secretary's name "Mrs. Uh-Wiggins". Mrs. Wiggins is his secretary, a "bimbo who the IQ fairy never visited".[3] She was most notably recognized by how she walked in her skirt, as designed by Bob Mackie, and her nail filing. The sketches follow Mr. Tudbull becoming extremely frustrated by Mrs. Wiggins' dimwittedness, such as not being able to answer the office intercom system.
Background
Tim Conway created the sketch after The Carol Burnett Show writers' office secretary, Charlene, would constantly press the wrong button on the intercom.[4]
Mrs. Wiggins was originally written to be a little old lady, but Bob Mackie decided to go another route.[5] He decided to base the look of Mrs. Wiggins on the kind of secretary that would sit around and file her nails and go to lunch.[6] In the costuming of Mrs. Wiggins, Mackie put Burnett in a very tight skirt that would control the way she walked. He told Burnett to stick her behind in the bagging part in the back of the skirt, and this gave her the "Wiggins walk."[7]
Sketches
| Season | Episode | Airdate | Title & Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 9 | Ep 17 | January 10, 1976 | The Intercom – Mr. Tudball has a time teaching Mrs. Wiggins how to use the office's new intercom system. |
| Season 9 | Ep 20 | February 7, 1976 | Enter Mrs. Tudball – Mr. Tudball is thrown out of the house by his wife for playing poker. |
| Season 9 | Ep 21 | February 14, 1976 | The Intercom…Again – Mr. Tudball again has a time teaching Mrs. Wiggins the workings of the office intercom. |
| Season 9 | Ep 24 | March 13, 1976 | The Birthday Party – Mr. Tudball attempts to surprise Mrs. Wiggins on her birthday. |
| Season 10 | Ep 4 | October 16, 1976 | The Vending Machine – Mr. Tudball does battle with a difficult coffee vending machine. |
| Season 10 | Ep 6 | October 30, 1976 | Buzz Off – Mr. Tudball gets into trouble with a newly-installed door buzzer system, and Mrs. Wiggins is no help. |
| Season 10 | Ep 10 | November 27, 1976 | Mr. Tudball tries to get Mrs. Wiggins to cover for him by lying to his wife. |
| Season 10 | Ep 14 | December 25, 1976 | Mrs. Wiggins at Lunch – Mr. Tudball treats Mrs. Wiggins to a lunch in honor of National Secretary Week. |
| Season 10 | Ep 17 | January 29, 1977 | Mrs. Wiggins' Date – Mrs. Wiggins has a millionaire date (Rock Hudson) for lunch, but she wants to dump him. |
| Season 10 | Ep 19 | February 12, 1977 | The Vacation – Mr. Tudball teaches Mrs. Wiggins to play blackjack in preparation for her Las Vegas vacation. |
| Season 10 | Ep 23 | March 26, 1977 | The Fire Drill – Mr. Tudball has a hard time coordinating a fire-safety plan with Mrs. Wiggins. |
| Season 11 | Ep 4 | October 15, 1977 | Mr. Tudball offers to pay for the funeral of Mrs. Wiggins' deceased canary and then regrets it. |
| Season 11 | Ep 6 | October 29, 1977 | Ol' Paint – It's painting day at the office and Mr. Tudball relies on Mrs. Wiggins for help. |
| Season 11 | Ep 11 | December 3, 1977 | Mr. Tudball nudges Mrs. Wiggins to clean up her desk which leads to office chaos. |
| Season 11 | Ep 13 | December 18, 1977 | Christmas Eve – Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins enjoy a champagne-laden Christmas Eve. |
| Season 11 | Ep 20 | February 26, 1978 | The Phone Call – Mr. Tudball takes a telephone call from Mrs. Wiggins' car repairman, thinking it's her doctor. |
| Season 11 | Ep 24 | March 29, 1978 | Mr. Tudball is moving his office but does not give Mrs. Wiggins the new address. |
| Carol Burnett & Company | Ep 1.1 | August 18, 1979 | Mrs. Wiggins and the Energy Crisis – Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins make a mess of energy conservation. |
References
- ^ "THE CAROL BURNETT SHOW: THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION". Time Life. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
- ^ King, Susan. "Tim Conway's life off script", Los Angeles Times, November 11, 2013. Accessed September 21, 2016.
- ^ "Carol Burnett and Tim Conway: bonded through comedy". Los Angeles Times. April 25, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
- ^ Herman, Karen (29 April 2004). "Interview: Tim Conway". Archive of American Television.
- ^ "Carol Burnett and Tim Conway: bonded through comedy". Los Angeles Times. April 25, 2010. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
- ^ "Bob Mackie". Archive of American Television. June 29, 2000. Retrieved Jun 26, 2016.
- ^ "Carol Burnett". Archive of American Television. April 29, 2003. Retrieved June 26, 2016.