From the first moment, chaos flirts back. The host proudly introduces the “swinging bachelor,” Milt Lucky — single, confident, ready for love. The audience cheers. Conway grins, awkward and earnest, already ten seconds behind on the script. You can practically see the cue cards melting.
Across the stage, the three bachelorettes purr their greetings: “Hi there, honey-poo,” “You gorgeous hunk of man,” and finally, a deep, unmistakably masculine “How you doin’, Millie?” The crowd erupts. Conway blinks twice — the only man in America who doesn’t yet realize that his third “bachelorette” is, in fact, another man in a wig.
As the questioning begins, Conway leans into his confusion with the precision of a comedy sniper. “If I were a cheese fondue,” he asks, “and you were a can of Sterno, what kind of flame would it take to make me bubble?” Carol Burnett’s disguised voice fires back, dry as dust: “That’s a good question, Milt. Not sure I follow the logic, but I guess… an old flame?” It’s the kind of deadpan exchange that makes studio audiences weep with laughter.
Meanwhile, the other “contestants” are busy sabotaging each other like it’s Real Housewives: The Golden Age. When one declares she doesn’t need a kitchen, the other snaps, “If she were your wife, you’d need a barn!” The host begs for order. Conway, blissfully bewildered, keeps smiling — a man in love with the sound of disaster.
When the moment of truth arrives, Milt makes his pick. “I’ll go with my instincts,” he declares nobly, “and choose mental over physical.” He chooses Bachelorette Number Three — the only one with five o’clock shadow.
The audience explodes. The wall slides open. There stands Tim Conway’s alter ego — a heavyset man in a cheap wig, batting his eyelashes like a burlesque bouncer. “The guys all call me Turk,” he says proudly. “It’s my first time, so be gentle.” Conway’s face collapses into a slow-motion horror movie as the host struggles not to pass out laughing.
They pose for photos. They blow kisses to the audience. Somewhere between Indiana and heartbreak, The Dating Game has officially jumped the shark — and Conway’s grin is the reason no one minds.
Because that’s the beauty of Tim Conway’s comedy: he never tries to win. He just lets the world spin out of control and smiles while it does. And somehow, he always ends up with the best punchline — even when his date has sideburns. 💕😂
