View source for Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In

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{{quote|'''''Announcer:''' This show has been prerecorded to give the cast a chance to get away.
'''''German Soldier:''' Veeeeery eenteresting, but they'll never make it across the border.
''[laughs maniacally]'' }}

Iconic, anarchic hour-long sketch comedy series broadcast on [[NBC]] from 1968 to 1973. Created by George Schlatter, it broke new ground in television comedy with its rapid-fire jokes, outrageous characters and -- for the time -- utterly insane and over-the-top humor. The show's ostensible hosts were the urbane Dan Rowan and the somewhat dim Dick Martin, but this tuxedo-clad pair were frequently outshone by the platoon of seeming lunatics who made up the rest of the cast. 

The show is best known today for the future stars whose careers it launched -- Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, [[Tiny Tim]], Henry Gibson, Ruth Buzzi, Arte Johnson, Pat Paulson, and Joanne Worley among others -- and the incredible comic moments it managed to pull off (such as then-presidential-candidate Richard M. Nixon asking America to "sock it to him"). But until the birth of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' several years later, ''Laugh-In'' was the touchstone of modern American humor. (''SNL'' emulated it, in some ways -- unsurprisingly, because many ''Laugh-In'' writers later worked on ''SNL'', including the later show's producer, [[Lorne Michaels]].) It was possibly the single largest source of [[Running Gag]]s, [[Catch Phrase]]s and other pop culture contributions during the middle of the 20th century, and developed during its surprisingly brief run an utterly unique and frenetically subversive style that carried them directly into the subconscious of the viewer. Because of its wild and unpredictable yet ''intelligent'' style, it was also often very successful at getting surprisingly risque material (for the era) on the air -- usually by setting up apparently-innocent situations where the viewer's mind would fill in the blanks with suitably dirty punchlines and speculations of their own.

Regular features of the show included Rowan and Martin's opening "monologue", Gladys and Tyrone the [[Dirty Old Man]] on the park bench, the "cocktail party", the not-quite adventures of the Farkle family, "Laugh-In News" and the end-of-episode "joke wall". In addition to the videotaped studio sketches, there were also a large number of filmed bits, most of them running gags, including most famously Chelsea Brown, Judy Carne and Goldie Hawn [[Go-Go Dancing]], and the raincoated man on his tricycle. Every episode had a celebrity [[Special Guest]] who participated -- usually with gleeful good humor -- in the anarchic goings-on. Certain stars -- like Tiny Tim -- were particular favorites and were brought back episode after episode until they were almost members of the main cast themselves. Video clips of previous guest stars would also frequently show up on later shows as punchlines, setups or simple [[Reaction Shot]]s.

Part of the show's charm was due to Schlatter's tendency not to do retakes, leaving bungles, bloopers and cast crack-ups in place for broadcast. (In fact, he often deliberately provoked Goldie Hawn into fits of giggles on-camera just so he could film and broadcast her laughing.) This gave the impression of a show that was often completely out of control and on which almost anything could happen. The often psychedelic set design just added to it, although ''Laugh-In'' never did any kind of overt hard drug humor (although most episodes had a coy marijuana one-liner or two).

George Schlatter attempted to recreate the success of ''Laugh-In'' for ABC by cloning it into a show called ''[[Turn-On]]'', but the copycat series failed so miserably that it was cancelled during its first episode. Before the 1970s were over, Schlatter would try once again with a proper [[Laugh-In (1977 TV series)|revival of ''Laugh-in'']]. It too, failed, but even so, it proved that Schlatter's eye for comedic talent had in no way diminished -- the cast he assembled for the revival included several performers who later went on to stardom or superstardom, including a then-unknown [[Robin Williams]].

''Laugh-In''{{'}}s influence is extremely obvious in ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus]]'', ''[[Sesame Street]]'' and ''[[You Can't Do That on Television]]''.

Some of the [[Catch Phrase]]s ''Laugh-In'' made famous:
* You bet your sweet bippy.
* Sock it to me.
* Here come da judge! Here come da judge!
* Is that a chicken joke?
* Veeeeerrrrrrry eeenteresting...but stupid!
* Look ''that'' up in your Funk & Wagnall's!
* Blow in my ear and I'll follow you anywhere.
* Beautiful downtown Burbank.
* "Say Goodnight, Dick." "Goodnight, Dick."

In 1969, Brown & Bigelow made a deck of ''Laugh-In'' [http://a.trionfi.eu/WWPCM/decks03/d01900/d01900.htm playing cards], and NBC had a short-lived daytime game show, ''Letters to Laugh-In''.

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{{tropenamer}}
* [[Sock It to Them]]:  Although what we use the trope name to describe is considerably more violent than what they used it for.

{{tropelist}}
* [[Alliterative Family]]: Frank Farkel and his wife Fanny, and their kids (some alliterated, some rhymed, and some were just puns) - Sparkle (and her sometimes twin Charcoal) Farkel, twins Simon & Gar Farkel, Mark Farkel, Fritz, Flicker, and Fred Farkel.
* [[Ambiguously Gay]]: Alan Sues' characters often fit into this slot, so to speak.
* [[Animated Adaptation]]: ''[[Baggy Pants and the Nitwits]]'' featured among its cast animated versions of Gladys and Tyrone -- with ''super powers''.
* [[Call Back]]
* [[Cloudcuckoolander]]: Oh boy, Tiny Tim. Goldie also vacillated between this trope and [[The Ditz]].
* [[Catch Phrase]]: Listed above.
* [[Corpsing]]: Everyone, constantly, all the time. And often left in. Although special mention should be made of Goldie, who practically made it her trademark.
* [[Cutaway Gag]]
* [[Dirty Old Man]]: One of Artie Johnson's signature characters, always getting rebuffed by Ruth Buzzi's repressed spinster with a handbag blow to the head.
* [[Distinguished Gentleman's Pipe]]: Dan Rowan.
* [[The Ditz]]: Played absolutely straight by Goldie.
* [[Gag Series]] 
* [[Getting Crap Past the Radar]]: Just about everything out of Dick's mouth.
* [[Go-Go Dancing]]: Chelsea Brown, [[Goldie Hawn]] and [[Judy Carne]] were frequently shown go-go dancing, wearing bikinis with various slogans, [[Catch Phrase]]s and punch lines painted on their bodies.
* [[Handbag of Hurt]]:  Wielded by Ruth Buzzi's Gladys Ormphby against Arte Johnson's Tyrone F. Horneigh.
* [[Her Child, but Not His]]:  The fabulous Farkle Family. Parents Frank and Fanny were both brunettes with good eyesight, but their dozen or so children were all freckled redheads with glasses -- just like "friend and trusted neighbor" Ferd Berfel. [[Played for Laughs]] in that Frank clearly never suspected Fanny of dallying with Ferd.
* [[It Is Pronounced "Tro-PAY"]]:  Arte Johnson's dirty old man, Tyrone F. Horneigh, insists his last name is pronounced "hor-NIGH".
* [[Laugh Track]]
* [[Lovable Sex Maniac]]: Dick Martin's comic persona in a nutshell.
* [[Moral Guardians]]: Lily Tomlin's "Tasteful Lady" character was a parody of this trope.
* [[Narrator]]: Sort of -- Gary Owens as the announcer.
* [[News Parody]]: Several variations, including Dick doing a standard satiric look at today's headlines, Alan Sues' sportscaster, Ruth Buzzi's gossip columnist, and Dan providing the "News of the Future" -- a couple of which proved to be [http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=MfoUMZAbuQg#t=67s startlingly accurate], including [[Hilarious in Hindsight|the fall of the Berlin Wall and Ronald Reagan becoming President.]]
* [[No Fourth Wall]]
* [[Nostalgia Filter]]: Much of the show's humor hasn't aged particularly well, and will likely be lost on non-Baby Boomer viewers, although it is not without its fans among young audiences today.
* [[Only Sane Man]]: Dan Rowan often played this role, reacting to the other regulars' zaniness.
* [[The Operators Must Be Crazy]]: "We don't care. We don't have to. We're the telephone company."
** This also qualifies as [[Beam Me Up, Scotty]] since the line wasn't from ''Laugh-In'', but a later Lily Tomlin appearance on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.
* [[The Other Darrin]]: Dick Martin missed a taping, so the producers ran over to ''[[The Tonight Show]]'' and drafted Johnny Carson to play Dick's part. Carson was essentially playing Martin's on-screen character -- during Dan and Johnny's monologue segment Dan continually called Johnny "Dick."
* [[Panty Shot]]: A very quick blackout had the wind of an unseen fan blow Judy Carne's dress up.
* [[Reunion Show]]: ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In 25th Anniversary Celebration''.
* [[Revival]]
* [[Revolving Door Band]]: A non-musical example. Other than the hosts, announcer Gary Owens and Ruth Buzzi were the only constant members.
* [[Richard Nixon]]: "Sock it to meeeeeeeee?".
** The 1977 revival had a Nixon impersonator:
{{quote|'''"Nixon":''' In 1969, I appeared on ''Laugh-In'' and said "Sock it to me. Sock it to me." Well, you can stop now!}}
* [[Running Gag]]
* [[Special Guest]]: Just about every star of the day, often popping up unannounced in the midst of sketches. Sammy Davis Jr was probably the most frequent, but Nixon was by far the best-known example.
* [[Subverted Kids Show]]: "Uncle Al".
* [[Those Wacky Nazis|That Wacky Nazi]]: Arte Johnson's Wolfgang.
* [[Totally Radical]]: Humor about and for sixties youth culture, presented by middle-aged comedy veterans. Sometimes it worked better than others.
* [[Trap Door]]
* [[Unintentional Period Piece]]
* [[Vanity Plate]]: The sound of George Schlatter laughing and clapping as an animated logo displays.

{{reflist}}
{{TV Guide's 50 Greatest}}
[[Category:American Series]]
[[Category:Sketch Comedy]]
[[Category:TV Series]]
[[Category:Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In]]