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January 22nd, 2008 - This Day in History
By Allie | January 22, 2008
1968 - Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In Premieres
On this day in 1968, Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In makes its debut. This classic TV comedy-variety show was an instant smash that ran for five years on NBC.
The show had aired as a one-time special in September 1967, but its huge popularity led to a series several months later. A stable of about 40 wacky (and previously unknown) cast members, including Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, and Eileen Brennan, played regular roles during the show’s five-year run and went on to enjoy successful careers in Hollywood.
The show, a fast-paced blend of unstructured comedy sketches, jokes, one-liners, and sight gags, was the most-watched show in America from 1968 to 1971. It poked fun at politics, social issues, and people in general. Each week, Gary Owens introduced cast members and special guests before Dan Rowan and Dick Martin came out to do their brief comic monologue. Then it was off to “The Cocktail Party,” where cast members danced and told jokes. Other skits followed the party. Regular sketches included “Letters to Laugh-In,” “Laugh-In Looks at the News,” and the “Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award.” At the end of each show, cast members proceeded to the “Joke Wall” and took turns poking their heads out of windows to tell a quick joke or to toss a bucket of water at someone while the credits rolled. At the end of the show, the only sound was a single person applauding slowly.
Many jokes were politically or sexually oriented, but they managed to get past the censors. Classic catchphrases included “You bet your bippy,” “Sock it to me,” “Verrrry interesting,” “Here come da judge,” and “Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls.” A variety of celebrities and politicians, including Richard Nixon, appeared as surprise guests on Laugh-In. The show ended in 1973, as many of the most popular cast members had left to pursue careers launched by Laugh-In. The program was revived with a cast of lesser-known comics in the 1977-78 season, but the show fell flat. However, one of the then-unknown comics to star in Laugh-In’s reincarnation went on to star in a wildly popular comedy hit in 1978-Robin Williams catapulted to fame in Mork and Mindy, a Happy Days spin-off about an alien from the planet Ork who is sent to Boulder, Colorado, in an oversized eggshell to study earthlings.
Topics: Wired Gossip, Wired Television, Wired Videos |
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One Response to “January 22nd, 2008 - This Day in History”
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January 22nd, 2008 at 3:35 pm
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