Comic Actor Korman Dies

BLAZING SADDLES star HARVEY KORMAN has died. He was 81.

The Emmy Award-winning actor passed away at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles on Thursday (29May08) after suffering complications from the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm - an often fatal swelling of one of the body's main arteries.

Korman's daughter Kate has paid tribute to her father, insisting he fought hard against his ailing health.

She says, "It was a miracle in itself that he survived the incident (the aneurysm) at all. Everyone in the hospital referred to him as 'miracle man' because of his strong will and ability to bounce right back after several major operations.

"Tragically, after such a hard-fought battle, he passed away."

Korman was best known for his role opposite Mel Brooks in 1974 spoof film Blazing Saddles. But his regular appearances on 1960s TV programme The Carol Burnett Show won him critical acclaim and four Emmy Awards. He also landed a Golden Globe for the show in 1975. He went on to front his own programme The Harvey Korman Show in 1978 and star in a variety of movies including 1995's Dracula: Dead and Loving It.

Korman is survived by his wife Deborah, daughters Kate, Laura and Maria, son Chris and three grandchildren.