Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was a United States comedy television show broadcast for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968 through 1973 over the NBC network. The title Laugh-In was a play on a popular 1960s concept called a "love-in," where people would get together to protest war by singing songs and holding hands. Hosted by the comedy team of Dan Rowan and Dick Martin (Rowan played the exasperated straight man, Martin the horny, dumb guy), the show was characterized by a rapid-fire series of gags and sketches; many of them carried sexual innuendo, others were politically charged, and most were just silly.

Memorable moments and catchphrases

The show gave considerable publicity to singer Tiny Tim, an unusual-looking man with long hair who sang in a falsetto voice while accompanying himself on ukulele. Thanks to his appearances on the show, he achieved a hit single with his piercing version of the vintage 1920s song "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." Tiny Tim was later married on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson to a woman known as Miss Vicky.

Related Topics:
Tiny Tim - The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

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Other musical moments came in the first season with some of the first music videos ever seen on TV, with cast members appearing in film clips set to the music of The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Bee Gees, the Temptations and the First Edition.

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Cast members Lily Tomlin and Goldie Hawn later became noted film stars. Henry Gibson later starred in the Robert Altman film Nashville (which also featured Tomlin). Dave Madden, whose trademark on the show was to throw a handful of confetti while keeping a deadpan expression at the punch line of a joke, later played the role of Reuben Kincaid in the television sitcom The Partridge Family. Richard Dawson, who previously had a regular part in the sitcom Hogan's Heroes, went on to his defining role as host of the U.S. television game show Family Feud. Teresa Graves parlayed her one season on the show into the title role of the police drama Get Christie Love!

Related Topics:
Goldie Hawn - Film - Robert Altman - Nashville - The Partridge Family - Richard Dawson - Hogan's Heroes - Family Feud - Teresa Graves - Get Christie Love!

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Besides the ones mentioned above, the show created other popular catch phrases:

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• "I didn't know that." (Dick Martin's occasional response as to what will happen on an episode)
• "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnall's"
• "Go to your room"
• "Uncle Al had a lot of medicine last night" (famous line by Uncle Al, the Kiddies' Pal, played by Alan Sues)
• "You bet your sweet bippy"
• "Here come the judge!" (reprising a bit first made famous by comedian Pigmeat Markham and continued by frequent guest star Sammy Davis, Jr.)
• "'Ello, 'ello! NBC, beautiful downtown Burbank" (the response to the calls received by a switchboard operator played by Judy Carne). When it went to syndication in 1983 both the NBC logo that was featured in the segment and the network's name in the catch phrase was edited out.
• "One ringy-dingy...two ringy-dingies..." (Ernestine's responses to the rings that would occur while she was waiting for someone to pick up the receiver on the other end of the phone lines)
• "A gracious good afternoon. This is Miss Tomlin of the telephone company. Have I reached the party to whom I am speaking?" (Ernestine's greeting to people who she would call)
• "I just wanna swing!" (Gladys Ormphby's catchphrase)
• "Is that a chicken joke?" (Jo Anne Worley's outraged cry, a takeoff on the Polish jokes of the day)
• "Here comes the big finish, folks!" (usually before the last of a series of guest stars' bad puns)

There was also a Laugh-In Magazine published for about two years; it was similar to MAD Magazine. A comic strip was also seen in newspapers and published in paperback form.

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