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Leave it Rhino to capture the very essence of the LAUGH-IN experience
by virtue of the packaging alone. Designed after the show's signature
Joke Wall (including punch-out doors that reveal cast pictures),
the attractive CD set gooses the memory circuits at first sight.
The collection does not disappoint, serving up six giddy hour-long
episodes from 1968-1970 with splendiferous menu designs and exclusive
interviews with cast members Gary Owens, Ruth Buzzi, and Arte Johnson.
LAUGH-IN was my family's favorite show at the end of the 1960s
(largely because we kids had to be in bed before STAR TREK came
on). My McCarthy (as in Eugene) liberal parents reveled in the
subversive political humor, while my sisters and I rejoiced in
the silly recurring characters (Ruth Buzzi's hostile spinster Gladys
Ormphy, Arte Johnson's elderly poster boy for Viagra Tyrone F.
Horneigh, the Farkle Family, Sammy Davis Jr.'s Judge, Lily Tomlin's
ageless Ernestine the telephone operator (still a popular character
in advertising and TV cameos nearly 35 years post LAUGH-IN), and
just about anyone Flip Wilson played. The brainchild of producer
George Schlatter, LAUGH-IN launched the careers of numerous comedic
talents and added a number of catch-phrases (from "Sock it
to me!" to "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnall's!")
to the pop culture dialogue.
With guest stars ranging from John Wayne to Liberace to Cher to
Richard Nixon, the show zigzagged between established entertainers
and promising newcomers rather like a manic Ed Sullivan show on
speed. No better evidence of this exists than Episode #60, featuring
the great Jack Benny. Watching Benny cut up with an uncontrollably
giggly Goldie Hawn is akin to watching comedy's torch pass from
the old guard to the new. The guests themselves often proved to
be seminal entertainment figures who would remain relevant over
thirty years later-Cher, Michael Caine, Hugh Hefner, Jack Lemmon,
James Garner. And who would have thought that Ralph Nader jokes
circa 1968 would remain all-too-timely in election-year 2004?
A typical LAUGH-IN show, hosted by the droll comedy team of Dan
Rowan and Dick Martin, would feature one major guest star (a Jack
Benny, Cher, Don Rickles), bolstered by cameo appearances by others
(anyone from Tim Conway to Tiny Tim to Andy Williams to John Wayne),
who would either show up as a guest in the weekly Cocktail Party
sketch, stick his head through the Joke Wall at the end, or just
drop in for a quick one-liner in between sketches. The Cocktail
Party offered plenty of shimmy-shaking go-go girls while the cast
members (Dick Martin usually trying to pick up the babes, Henry
Gibson dressed as a priest) commented on current topics.
The ladies of the cast (usually Judy Carne, Goldie Hawn, Ruth Buzzi,
and JoAnne Worley) would introduce the Laugh In Report (the precursor
to SNL's Weekend Update-do note that Lorne Michaels was one of
LAUGH-IN's staff writers) with a high-style song and dance number.
Sammy Davis Jr. might pop up in robes and a powdered wig for the "Here
Come The Judge" routine.
The show would cut away every 10 minutes or so to a silent routine
with Tim Conway failing miserably at track and field or Dan Rowan
trying to open a window that just won't budge. Gary Owens would
announce, "Meanwhile, back in Beautiful Downtown Burbank!" in
that deliciously over-modulated announcer voice of his. Arte Johnson,
master of the Eurotrash accent, would poke his WW2-helmeted head
through some bushes and quip, "Verrrry interesting-but stupid!" Ditzy
Alan Sues-always sporting scary, tight trousers in groovy stripes--would
bungle a sports report. Henry Gibson would appear with a large
daisy in his hand and recite some vaguely meaningful poetry (decades
before Jack Handy ever had a deep thought). Future Partridge Family
manager Dave Madden tossed confetti. JoAnne Worley (accompanied
on piano by the great cabaret songwriter Billy Barnes) would crack
a high note with her bombastic voice in defiance of the Geneva
Convention. It was still better than the subsequent song stylings
of Tiny Tim on his ukulele. The hip and beautiful Teresa Graves
then gyrated in a bikini. Someone off stage would hit Judy Carne
with a foam rubber hammer, pillow, or bucket of water every time
she said, "Sock it to me" (now rather unfunny in light
of the fact that she was a battered spouse in her private life).
A mysterious figure in a yellow rain slicker (whose identity was
never revealed, but I like to think it was Gary Owens) would ride
a tricycle until he fell over. Tyrone would put the moves on Gladys
and get whupped upside the head with her handbag. Then everyone
would pop their heads out from the zany joke wall while the credits
ran. Somehow, it was all very, very, VERY funny and remains so
to this day.
George Schlatter's wonderful liner notes (a booklet, actually)
offer a fascinating look at the show's attempts to offer political
balance through its writers. LAUGH-IN had two head writers-riotous
liberal Englishman Digby Wolfe from the series THAT WAS THE WEEK
THAT WAS and stalwart Republican Paul Keyes, who penned the racier
gags on the old DEAN MARTIN SHOW. Wolfe favored an imaginative,
anarchist's approach to humor, while Keyes (a Nixon speechwriter
who actually had an office in the White House) served up double-entendres
only slightly tamer than the Playboy jokes page. As my ex-sweetheart,
the ultra conservative Dr. Jan Libourel would say, Digby's and
Keyes' philosophies of life were incompatible, but the dichotomy
sure made for great comedy. Between the two of them, gags would
show up (often in body paint on Goldie Hawn's tummy) about abortion
and the draft, and the wonderful Fickle Finger of Fate award (a
gilded hand with the index finger-thank you-pointed skyward) poked
fun at all sorts of government bungling.
LAUGH-IN's ongoing influence on American culture can be measured
in the sheer numbers of talents it launched. Writer Lorne Michaels
created SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. Goldie Hawn remains a popular leading
actress in comedies. Few one-man shows can top Lily Tomlin's incredible
Broadway hit THE SEARCH FOR INTELLIGENT LIFE IN THE UNIVERSE. Tomlin,
Hawn, Eileen Brennan, and Henry Gibson were all nominated for Academy
Awards (Tomlin and Gibson for NASHVILLE, Brennan for PRIVATE BENJAMIN,
and Hawn for PRIVATE BENJAMIN and for CACTUS FLOWER, which she
won). More recently, Gibson delivered a particularly chilling performance
in Paul Thomas Anderson's MAGNOLIA. Flip Wilson took cross-dressing
to gut-splitting new heights with his mini-skirted character Geraldine
and his series THE FLIP WILSON SHOW. Gary Owens was the voice of
the original SPACE GHOST and can still be heard in radio commercials
everywhere. Richard Dawson and Larry Hovis enjoy DVD immortality
now that the entire run of HOGAN'S HEROES has been released. JoAnne
Worley still performs live shows. Ruth Buzzi, when she isn't catching
record salmon in Alaska, has popped up in videos for Kinky Friedman
and Weird Al Yankovic, along with her 30+-year stretch with SESAME
STREET.
My only negative comment on the collection is purely cultural.
It is painful to watch black comedian Pigmeat Markham (his name
alone gives me the shudders) doing mostly minstrel-style shtick.
At best, the jokes are cringe-inducing. To fully appreciate why
this is painful, do check out Spike Lee's BAMBOOZLED, especially
the montage footage at the end. I don't believe in any form of
censorship, so I don't have a problem with including this material
in the collection. It is what it is, it was part of the show, and
I think it's good to watch Markham's appearances just to see how
far entertainment has come (and how far it still has to go, as
Spike Lee shows us).
For fans of the show, or for those who need a good video capsule
to get acquainted with the sixties and the origins of contemporary
American political humor, THE BEST OF ROWAN AND MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN
is for you. My parents beamed from ear to ear when I brought this
baby home, and you will, too. For my money, the funniest moment
in the collection belongs to Dick Martin delivering the news while
perched like Hugh Hefner on the front of his news desk, where he
greets us with a chirpy, "Greetings, news buffs!"
LAUGH-IN TRIVIA
- Dan Rowan's friendship with mystery writer John D. Macdonald
resulted in the book A Friendship: The Letters of Dan Rowan and
John D. Macdonald, 1967-1974.
- A devoted needlepoint artist, Arte Johnson (remember him as Renfield
in LOVE AT FIRST BITE?) has a needlepoint stitch named in his honor-The
Arte Johnson. He has narrated a number of books on tape, including
Michael Moore's STUPID WHITE MEN. He is currently being treated
for cancer, so put some good thoughts out for him, eh?
- Teresa Graves, who received a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination
for her groundbreaking TV series GET CHRISTY LOVE!, succumbed during
a fire in her South Los Angeles home-eerily in the same week that
a Hollywood Hills fire took the life of DALLAS and DARK SHADOWS
character actor Dennis Patrick.
- When Rowan and Martin (and Goldie's torso) made the cover of
TIME Magazine 10/11/68, the caricature illustration was rendered
by none other than Gerald Scarfe, the genius behind Pink Floyd's
THE WALL.
- An anemic attempt to revive LAUGH-IN in 1979 failed rather dismally,
which wound up being good news for unknown cast member Robin Williams,
who then went on to star in MORK AND MINDY. His fellow LAUGH-IN
'79 refugees included Wayland Flowers and Madame and Sergio Aragones,
the MAD Magazine illustrator whose unforgettable gag cartoons appeared
in that magazine's page margins.
- I am my kid's dad: radio announcer Gary Owens is the son of radio
talk show host Bill Balance. Bill Balance not only launched Dr.
Laura Schlessinger's career on the air, he had an affair with her,
which resulted in those scandalous nude pix of Dr. Laura. When
Dr. Laura became such an insufferable, sanctimonious scold, Balance
publicly released the pictures. As Ralphie Wiggins would say, "Ha-HAH!"
- Dan Rowan passed away in 1987. Dick Martin became a successful
TV director, helming such series as IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT and
FAMILY TIES. He still pops up in guest acting stints
- Other series regulars of note: ventriloquist Willie Tyler (and
Lester), singer Jud Strunk (Daisy A Day, anyone?), Partridge family
manager Dave Madden, and deejay Dick Whittington.
- And speaking of MAD, LAUGH-IN actually ran its own MAD-style
magazine for two years.
LAUGH-IN LINKS
http://www.timvp.com/laughin.html
http://www.fact-index.com/l/la/laugh_in.html
http://www.televisionheaven.co.uk/rowan.htm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062601/
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/R/htmlR/rowanandmar/rowanandmar.htm
http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/2125/
Sound clips? You bet your sweet bippy!
http://www.geocities.com/Broadway/1276/laugh-in.html
Individual Performers (Official Sites, Unofficial Fan Sites, and
TV Tribute Sites)
Ruth Buzzi
http://www.ruthbuzzi.com/base/indexbase.html
http://www.echonyc.com/~jkarpf/ruth/buzzi.html (her yearbook)
Judy Carne
http://www.judycarne.com/
http://www.swinginchicks.com/judy_carne.htm
Henry Gibson
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/DetailsServlet/epid-0/showid-0/personid-16085/moduleid-38
Teresa Graves
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1970/Teresa_Graves_actress_with_conviction
http://www.tvparty.com/popup/popup2.html
Goldie Hawn
http://www.swinginchicks.com/goldiehawn.htm
http://www.topix.net/who/goldie-hawn
http://www.who2.com/goldiehawn.html
Larry Hovis
http://www.larryhovis.net/
Arte Johnson
http://www.rowanandmartinslaughin.com/arte.html
http://thegongshow1976.com/artejohnson.htm
Dave Madden
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/PersonDetail/personid-13948
Gary Owens
http://www.voicechasers.org/Actors/G_Owens.html
http://shop.store.yahoo.com/laughstore/garyowens.html
http://www.radiohof.org/discjockey/garyowens.html
Dan Rowan
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/PersonDetail/personid-40814
Alan Sues
http://www.tvtome.com/tvtome/servlet/PersonDetail/personid-10715
Lily Tomlin
http://www.lilytomlin.com/
Flip Wilson
http://www.livetheatregang.com/vintage_jokes_and_legends.htm
JoAnne Worley
http://www.joanneworley.net/
And finally, here's A Poem By Henry Gibson
THE THUMBNAIL
Did you ever stop to figure
Why the thumbnail is so hard?
Well it hasn't any choice
With all that skin to guard.
It may look fat and pudgy
But its heart is good and true.
It's prettier than a toenail
And easier to chew.
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