"Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1967) TV series 1967-1973

Creator:

Digby Wolfe

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Release Date:

9 September 1967 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Music

Plot:

The original rapid fire sketch comedy show.

Plot Keywords:

Sketch | Sketch Comedy | Acting | Cult Comedy | Variety

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 7 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 2 of 187)

Dan Rowan	...	Himself - Host / ... (74 episodes, 1967-1973)
Dick Martin	...	Himself - Host / ... (74 episodes, 1967-1973)

Also Known As:

Laugh-In

Runtime:

60 min (124 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:TV-PG

Filming Locations:

Burbank, California, USA

Company:

George Schlatter-Ed Friendly Productions

Trivia:

The show provided a much-needed source of comic relief for a country torn apart when it premiered. Among the segments featured on the show were the Cocktail Party; New Talent (early shows only); Letters to Laugh-in; Laugh-in Looks at the News: Past, Present, and Future; the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award; and the Joke Wall at the end of each show. Other segments included the drunk couple sitting in a bar; the dirty old man hitting on the old woman on a park bench; the telephone operator (Judy Carne, later Lily Tomlin); the resident poet (by Henry Gibson); and the man in a yellow raincoat falling off his tricycle (Arte Johnson)). The main element used each week was schtick, a word or phrase repeated over and over until it became associated with a certain performer. Thus Judy Carne was best known for getting drenched every time she would say, "Sock it to me!" Other catch phrases included Dick Martin's "You bet your sweet bippy"; Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Here come the judge"; "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls"; and "Is that another chicken joke?" which Jo Anne Worley would say any time poultry came up during the Joke Wall segment.

Quotes:

Goldie Hawn: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall; Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king's horses and all the king's men had omelets!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Saturday Night Live: Kate Hudson/Radiohead (#26.2)" (2000)

Mod, decadent, and reflective of the times!

In the evolution of television humor Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was probably the forerunner of Saturday Night Live. It's relevant social commentary combined with incredibly adroit acerbic wit allowed this show to cover social, personal, political, and moral territory no show had ever dared attempt on prime time television.

For those who watched regularly the catch phrases were priceless and introduced them into our mainstream lexicon. Sayings such as "sock it to me" were not only uttered by business execs, secretary's, hosuewives, and everyday working people wishing to emulate the awakening of social moree's but also spoken freely by media and political types wishing to be thought of as in touch with the younger hip generation.

Laugh-In spared no one in it's sarcasm and very often stepped dangerously close to the edge with network execs. Once the show caught fire with TV viewers it became sheik for actors, actresses, and politicians to lobby for a position on next week's show.

Unlike SNL Laugh-In could not sustain and reinvent itself and by 1973 the nations TV watchers were ready to move on. Most of the regulars on the show fell into guest shots on other shows and eventually drifted out of site of the public. A couple of the alumni went on to great success in movies and tv. Goldie Hawn was a "graduate" of the show and went on to win an Academy Award for Cactus Flower in 1969 and has become a certifiable star in Hollywood. Lily Tomlin, and who can forget her priceless portrayal of Ernestine the telephone operator at the switchboard, went on to become one of America's most beloved and cherished comedic performers who also showed her acting agility in dramatic roles as well.

All in all Laugh-In is a part of television history and deserves its place as a cherished memory and deserving of re-run time on TV Land.