Man fought through disabilities during a Hollywood childhood

Just call him Christopher. His full name is Christopher Peter Korman, but he prefers to not stand in the shadow of his famous father, late comedic actor Harvey Korman.

Harvey Korman made sure Christopher knew he valued his children far more than his career. Christopher, of Summerlin, had a learning disability that delays the process of retaining information.

He also was born with Hyaline membrane disease, which disrupts the body’s ability to get oxygen; had surgery at age 2 to correct being cross-eyed; and had reconstructive surgery on his jaw at 14.

“It made me feel good to see my father was putting his celebrity-hood second, his fatherhood first,” Christopher said. “… He would (say), ‘There’s nothing wrong with you being different. It’s who you are.’”

Each summer, when school was out, Harvey Korman would teach his son words “like you’d hear on ‘Jeopardy’” and challenged him to use them in sentences. He knew people would judge his son on how well he articulated and expressed himself.

Christopher went to a private speech pathologist and decided to put himself out there socially. He took theater in high school and college, learning all he could about acting and stage managing. He said theater was an inclusive atmosphere, that — “It wasn’t, ‘Oh, Chris has a learning disability.’”

Harvey Korman’s fellow cast members from “The Carol Burnett Show” were friendly with his family. As a child, he knew them by their first names. Sometimes, he’d come home to find his father’s colleagues visiting.

His grandfather, Raymond Ehlert, had emphysema, and when Christopher was in his 20s, he saw how it affected Ehlert’s quality of life. The empathy he felt led to him to work in elder care.

“I was the first activities director to do stand-up, because I loved doing schitck,” he said.

Christopher is a dad himself, to Scott, 14. He and wife Patricia have been married 15 years. It wasn’t until after a couple of dates that he told her his father was “the funny one” on “The Carol Burnett Show.”

Christopher is now an artist liaison, matching a handful of jazz and country singers and TV personalities with talent agents.

Ed Robertson, host of “TV Confidential,” has known Christopher for years.

“His parents) didn’t treat him with kid gloves,” Robertson said. “They got him extra training and instilled in him the values of working hard. With Chris, there’s no pity party.”

After years of performing around the country with Tim Conway, Harvey Korman learned he had a tumor in his head. He held on for eight months and died in 2008. Christopher visited him before he died and called it the “worst day of my life.”

Christopher said he’ll always remember his father’s advice on having name recognition: “If you ever use my fame, use it to elevate other people’s lives and do it with humility.”

Contact Jan Hogan at jhogan@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2949.