"Mrs. Wiggins" (also known as "Mr. Tudball and Mrs. Wiggins") is a series of

comedy sketches Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term origin ...

featured on ''

The Carol Burnett Show ''The Carol Burnett Show'' is an American variety/sketch comedy television show that originally ran on CBS from September 11, 1967, to March 29, 1978, for 279 episodes, and again with nine episodes in fall 1991. It starred Carol Burnett, Har ...

'', with one installment airing on ''

Carol Burnett & Company ''Carol Burnett & Company'' is an American four-episode summer variety/ sketch comedy television show starring Carol Burnett, Tim Conway, Vicki Lawrence, Kenneth Mars and Craig Richard Nelson. The series served as a continuation of ''The Carol Bur ...

''. ''The Carol Burnett Show'' introduced the skit series during its ninth season in 1975–76 and continued to air new installments 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. All together, there were 19 installments of "Mrs. Wiggins" sketches.

Premise

"Mrs. Wiggins" features two characters created by

Tim Conway Thomas Daniel "Tim" Conway (December 15, 1933 – May 14, 2019) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and director. From 1966 to 2012 he appeared in more than 100 TV shows, TV series and films. Among his more notable roles, he portrayed the ...

: Mr. Bernie Tudball (played by Conway) and Mrs. Wanda Wiggins (played by

Carol Burnett Carol Creighton Burnett (born April 26, 1933) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and writer. Her groundbreaking comedy variety show ''The Carol Burnett Show'', which originally aired on CBS was one of the first of its kind to be hosted ...

Vicki Lawrence Vicki Ann Lawrence ( Axelrad; born March 26, 1949), sometimes credited as Vicki Lawrence Schultz, is an American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best known for her character Mama (Thelma Harper). Lawrence originated multitudes of charact ...

would occasionally play Mr. Tudball's wife. Mr. Tudball is a businessman with an off-color toupee and a mock

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania **Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language *** Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language ** Romanian cuisine, tradition ...

accent, pronouncing his secretary's name "Mrs. Uh-Whiggins". Mrs. Wiggins is his

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

, a "bimbo who the IQ fairy never visited". She was notably recognized by how she walked in her skirt, as designed by

Bob Mackie Robert Gordon "Bob" Mackie (born March 24, 1939) is an American fashion designer and costumier, best known for his dressing of entertainment icons such as Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, Diahann Carroll, Carol Channing, Cher, Doris Day, Marle ...

, and her near-constant fingernail filing. The sketches center on Mr. Tudball's frustration over Mrs. Wiggins' dimwittedness, such as not being able to properly use 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. Mrs. Wiggins was originally written to be a little old lady, but Bob Mackie decided to go another route. 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. 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."

Sketches

References

{{The Carol Burnett Show Wiggins Comedy sketches Wiggins Wiggins Wiggins Carol Burnett