“Bringing Your Wife & Your Secretary to Hawaii” — When a Vacation Turns into Television’s Funniest Disaster

Carol Burnett waxes nostalgic in a collection of funny clips from her show

There are moments on The Carol Burnett Show that don’t just make audiences laugh — they make even the cast lose control on live TV.
“Bringing Your Wife & Your Secretary to Hawaii” is one of those rare sketches.

It starts innocently enough: a middle-aged man (Harvey Korman) just wants a quiet getaway under the Hawaiian sun. But his dream vacation collapses spectacularly when he’s forced to face the unthinkable — his wife and his secretary showing up on the same trip.

Carol Burnett, in a blazing floral swimsuit and an outrageously oversized hat, plays the not-so-clueless wife. Vicki Lawrence — deadpan, sharp, and mischievous — plays the secretary who’s “innocent” only on paper.
Caught between the two, Harvey Korman’s character sits frozen in despair, clutching his towel and what’s left of his dignity.

The scene quickly descends into chaos — beach chairs collapsing, props failing, lines cracking — and by the time Carol starts hurling her razor-sharp one-liners, even Harvey can’t keep a straight face.
The audience’s laughter becomes unstoppable; filming had to pause while everyone regained composure.

What makes this sketch iconic isn’t just the writing — it’s the chemistry between Carol, Harvey, and Vicki.
Carol remains the commanding center — elegant yet unhinged in all the right ways.
Harvey Korman is the eternal victim of comedic disaster, the man who somehow makes humiliation look classy.
And Vicki Lawrence? One eyebrow lift from her is all it takes to bring the house down.

When this clip resurfaced on YouTube decades later, it exploded once again — racking up millions of views and endless comments from fans around the world:

“No CGI. No dirty jokes. Just pure comic genius.”
“Carol Burnett could make a folding chair funnier than most shows today.”

More than forty years later, “Bringing Your Wife & Your Secretary to Hawaii” still shines as a reminder of what television comedy once was — clever, chaotic, and effortlessly human.
No shock value, no controversy — just timing, teamwork, and talent.

And if there’s a lesson buried in all that laughter and sunscreen, it’s probably this:

“Never take your wife and your secretary on the same vacation… unless you’re in The Carol Burnett Show.”