Star Trek's Leonard Nimoy Had A Random Spock Cameo On A Popular Sketch Comedy Show

On the December 4, 1967 episode of "The Carol Burnett Show," Burnett played the title character in a comedy sketch called "Mrs. Invisible Man." Her character has married the Invisible Man, and it's made her a nervous wreck. The beginning of the sketch sees Mrs. Invisible talking to her aunt (Barbara Morrison), complaining about how scary it is that she can never see her husband. She's always tripping over his feet and is never sure when he's going to touch her. When Mr. Invisible Man comes home, audiences see that he is also a lascivious drunk who likes to paw at his wife without her consent. The Invisible Man is voiced by Harvey Korman, but is visually realized through automated props and objects dangled from strings.

The gag doesn't play terribly well to modern eyes, as there is little funny about a mean, drunken husband who gropes his wife against her will. "The Carol Burnett Show" wasn't dark enough to make gags like that. The physical comedy is first-rate, however, as Burnett contorts and throws herself around the set as if she's being forced to dance. 

In the second part of the sketch, Mrs. Invisible Man emerges from a nursery holding her son, an invisible infant. She laments that he looks like his father, yuk-yuk. She can't find the baby's mouth to feed him milk. A doctor arrives, delivering a special elixir: a potion that might turn the baby visible. Mrs. Invisible Man is ready to feed it to the baby when Mr. Invisible Man takes the bottle, insisting that he try it first; he doesn't want it to be harmful to his son. He leaves the room to drink. 

It works! Mr. Invisible Man shouts from the other room that he's visible again, and that Mrs. Invisible Man can feed the potion to the baby. 

Then, in a very surreal punchline, Mr. Invisible Man emerges from the bedroom ... and it's Spock (Leonard Nimoy) in his full "Star Trek" costume. End scene.

What?

So, yeah, the punchline of the sketch is that Mr. Invisible Man was actually Spock all along. Not Leonard Nimoy, but specifically Spock. From a comedy standpoint, this makes no sense. The Mr. Invisible Man we "saw" in the first part of the sketch was a very un-Spock-like lout, a man who drank too much and spanked his wife. Also, he didn't sound like Spock, but Harvey Korman. Revealing that he was Spock all along didn't enhance the comedy, provide a twist, or make any logical sense. It was just weird. 

Of course, given Burnett's reaction to Nimoy's entrance, it's wholly possible that his guest spot was a surprise. "Star Trek" was being filmed at the same CBS studio lots where "The Carol Burnett Show" was being shot, and it's likely someone merely walked across the lot, talked to Nimoy, and had him walk over while he was still in costume. This was 1967, so "Star Trek" was likely at the beginning of its second season. When Mr. Invisible Man was meant to emerge, Nimoy came out instead, giving Burnett a hearty chuckle. She looks genuinely surprised. She then laughs. It's worth noting that "The Carol Burnett Show" was famous for leaving in flubs and allowing the actors to do some improvisation. If someone cracked up in the middle of a scene, they aired it as-is. 

Nimoy has no lines. He merely walks on set and smirks, handing Burnett a glass of water (the bottle of elixir transformed). Nimoy would have happily agreed to make a last-minute guest appearance in his Spock costume if he had no lines at all. This makes it all the more likely that the appearance was unscripted. 

If it was scripted, well, it doesn't make any sense. Also, it would mean that Burnett is an expert at comedically feigning surprise. Which, of course, she is. Watch the sketch in question above.