"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.
Contents
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, and toupee, pronouncing his secretary's name "Mrs. Uh-Whiggins". Mrs. Wiggins is his secretary, a "bimbo who the IQ fairy never visited". 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.
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."