Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, most often shortened to *Laugh-In*, was an American sketch comedy series on NBC. It lasted six seasons, premiering on January 22, 1968, and ending on May 14, 1973. The show was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. It began as a one-time special on September 9, 1967, which proved so popular that NBC turned it into a weekly series, slotting it in the Monday 8 pm (ET) time slot previously held by *The Man from U.N.C.L.E.*. It rapidly became the highest-rated television program in the country.

The program's name was a twist on 1960s counterculture terms like "love-ins" and "be-ins," which themselves came from the "sit-ins" used in civil rights and antiwar protests. In the pilot, Dan Rowan described the show's concept: "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to television's first Laugh-In. Now for the past few years, we have all been hearing an awful lot about the various 'ins'. There have been be-ins, love-ins, and sleep-ins. This is a laugh-in and a laugh-in is a frame of mind. For the next hour, we would just like you to sit back and laugh and forget about the other ins."

While the humor drew from vaudeville and burlesque, its most direct forerunners were the free-form Broadway revue *Hellzapoppin* by Olsen and Johnson, the innovative TV work of Ernie Kovacs (George Schlatter's wife Jolene Brand had appeared on Kovacs' shows), and the topical satire *That Was the Week That Was*. The show was known for its fast-paced string of gags and sketches, many with political bite or sexual innuendo. The co-hosts kept up the straight-man (Rowan) and dumb-guy (Martin) double act they had honed as nightclub performers.

The cast included Gary Owens as the on-screen radio announcer, plus an ensemble. Ruth Buzzi was there for all six seasons. Others who appeared for at least three seasons included Judy Carne, Henry Gibson, Goldie Hawn, Arte Johnson, Jo Anne Worley, Alan Sues, Lily Tomlin, Dennis Allen, and Richard Dawson. In 2002, *TV Guide* ranked *Laugh-In* number 42 on its list of the 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time.

The show had a loose structure, built mainly from short comedic sketches. Some sketches returned several times in an episode with variations, while others featured recurring characters. Cast members and guest stars also appeared as themselves, telling jokes or reacting to earlier bits.