72-480: James Bateman (September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009), known professionally as Henry Gibson , was an American actor, comedian and poet. He played roles in the television sketch-comedy series Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1971, was the voice of the protagonist Wilbur in the animated feature Charlotte's Web (1973), portrayed country star Haven Hamilton in Robert Altman 's film Nashville (1975),
144-534: A daytime standard on ABC from June 1971 to May 1974, and later in syndication, since it was readily edited down to a half-hour by the proper interweaving of the clips with a main segment. It effectively made nine seasons out of five. This allowed for heavy stripping . The 1985 film Back to the Future featured an homage to the series. The cinema marquee behind Marty and Jennifer when they discuss their forthcoming camping trip reads Orgy American Style . A decade after
216-487: A 1960s " mod " party backdrop, delivering one- and two-line jokes interspersed with a few bars of dance music. (This was similar in format to the "Word Dance" segments of A Thurber Carnival , and would later be imitated on The Muppet Show .) Another weekly segment was "Laugh-In Looks at the News", which began with the female cast members singing the segment's opening theme in a different costumed set piece each week, often with
288-563: A Brisk and Leaping Day with Michael Stipe . In 1996, he was also the voice of Adolf Eichmann in Keith Gordon 's film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut 's novel Mother Night . In 1999, Gibson made an appearance in Paul Thomas Anderson 's Magnolia as an eccentric barfly who antagonizes former child prodigy Donnie Smith, played by William H. Macy . Gibson worked frequently as a voice actor in animation, most notably portraying Wilbur
360-532: A batch of sketches leading into Gary Owens' introduction segment, in which the cast and announced guest star(s) would appear behind open doors of the show's iconic, psychedelically painted "Joke Wall". Owens would also insert offbeat lines in his monotone, deadpan style, in the introductions and occasionally throughout the episode, generally facing a microphone to his side with one hand cupped to his ear (Owens's character loosened up and became "hipper" in later seasons). After more short sketches leading into and out of
432-664: A contemporary pop beat, provided the "love" ambiance, which tied the stories together as a multifaceted romantic comedy each week. For the first season, the theme song was performed by the Cowsills . Beginning with the second season, the same theme song was sung by the Ron Hicklin Singers , also known as the voices behind the Partridge Family (based on the Cowsills), among others, featuring brothers John and Tom Bahler (billed as
504-415: A director and visual effects supervisor; and James Gibson, a screenwriter. Lois died on May 6, 2007, at age 77. Gibson died of cancer on September 14, 2009, one week before his 74th birthday. He was cremated at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery , and his ashes were given to his family. Rowan %26 Martin%27s Laugh-In Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (often simply referred to as Laugh-In )
576-544: A more avant-garde ambience. The Cocktail Party set now consisted of oversized cutouts of celebrity and historical figures. The show began to depart from both its Hippie -esque "vibe" and humor and its leanings toward the counterculture of the 1960s . There were now significantly fewer jokes and less commentary about race relations and anti- Vietnam War sentiment. New cast members: Dennis Allen , writer-actress Ann Elder , and tap dancer Barbara Sharma . Cast departures: Gibson left after episode 10 and Johnson left after
648-543: A purse. He also appeared in many of the Cocktail Party scenes, primarily Season 6, where he directed his band as they stopped and started between jokes. Composer-lyricist Billy Barnes wrote all of the original musical production numbers in the show, and often appeared on-camera, accompanying Johnson, Buzzi, Worley, or Sues, on a golden grand piano. Barnes was the creator of the Billy Barnes Revue of 1959 and 1960. For
720-466: A stage flat, wearing suit and tie and holding an outlandishly large artificial flower. He would bow stiffly from the waist, state "[Title of poem] — by Henry Gibson" in an ironic Southern U.S. accent, again bow stiffly from the waist, recite his poem and return behind the flat. Gibson's routine was so memorable that guests on the program occasionally performed it, including John Wayne in his own inimitable style: "The Sky — by John Wayne. The Sky
792-557: A touring performer for the Mae Desmond Theatre for nine years. He appeared in many stage and theater productions. Gibson made many appearances on Tonight Starring Jack Paar between 1957 and 1962, often reciting his poetry. In 1962, his appearance coincided with guest-host Jerry Lewis . Lewis, charmed by Gibson's demeanor, cast him in The Nutty Professor (1963). Gibson's career took off following this film appearance. That
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#1732851993560864-520: A young character actor, James Hampton , who was known to television audiences of the era as Private Dobbs from the TV series F-Troop . These clips allowed the show to be padded to the required length without adding to the main segments. They generally consisted of risqué, burlesque -style comedy-of-manners visual jokes. During its first four years on ABC, Love, American Style was popular with viewers and received decent ratings, although it never ranked among
936-458: Is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to March 12, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin , originally aired as a one-time special on September 9, 1967, and was such a success that it was brought back as a series, replacing The Man from U.N.C.L.E. on Mondays at 8 pm (ET). It quickly became
1008-485: Is blue/The Grass is green/Get off your butt/And join the Marine(s)!", whereupon Wayne left the scene by smashing through the flat. Gibson regularly appeared in the "Cocktail Party" segments as a Catholic priest, sipping tea. He would put the cup on the saucer, recite his one-liner in a grave and somber tone, then go back to sipping tea. In 1962, Gibson recorded a comedy album on Liberty Records , titled Alligator . The album
1080-407: Is notable for being interspersed with film clips of some of the female cast members (most frequently Carne and Hawn) performing go-go dancing in bikinis to the segment's burlesque-inspired theme, with the camera periodically zooming into jokes or images that had been painted onto their bodies. The segment also usually included an additional musical number based on the topic, performed by cast members at
1152-491: The 66th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing in France from 1957 to 1960. Early in his career as a professional entertainer, he developed a comedy act in which he played a poet from Fairhope, Alabama . He adopted the stage name Henry Gibson, which is a same-sounding phrase for the name of famed Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen . He also is known to have used the name Olsen Gibson. Gibson began his acting career at 8 years old, working as
1224-492: The Charles Fox Singers). This second version of the theme was kept for the remainder of the series, as well as on most episodes prepared for syndication. The title is loosely derived from a 1961 Italian comedy film called Divorzio all'italiana (Divorce, Italian Style) , which received Academy Award nominations in 1962 for Best Director for Pietro Germi and for Best Actor for star Marcello Mastroianni . The film
1296-459: The 1969–1974 anthology Love, American Style . During the 1960s, Gibson had appeared on The Dick Van Dyke Show reading the poem "Keep a-Goin ' ", which he later turned into a song in the Robert Altman movie Nashville (1975). Notably, he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of Haven Hamilton in the film and won the National Society of Film Critics award for
1368-418: The 1989 Joe Dante comedy The 'Burbs , starring Tom Hanks , Gibson played the villain. In 1990, he reunited with director Dante when Gremlins 2: The New Batch was released, performing a cameo as the office worker who is caught taking a smoking break on camera and fired by the sadistic boss. 1996 saw him playing an unusual dramatic role as former train conductor Robinson, in the independent film Color of
1440-520: The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Cactus Flower , Goldie Hawn made a guest appearance in the third episode of the fourth season. She began the episode as an arrogant snob of an actress; however, a bucket of water thrown at her transformed her back to her giggling dumb blonde persona. On multiple occasions, producer George Schlatter attempted to get William F. Buckley Jr. to appear on
1512-579: The Ferengi Nilva in the 1998 episode " Profit and Lace ". Gibson also had a leading role in a season 5 episode of Stargate SG-1 entitled " The Sentinel " as the character Marul. His last major roles were in the 2005 film Wedding Crashers as Father O'Neil, and on the television show Boston Legal as recurring character Judge Clark Brown. On April 6, 1966, Gibson married Lois Joan Geiger. They had three sons together – Jonathan David Gibson, an executive at Universal Pictures ; Charles Alexander Gibson ,
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#17328519935601584-862: The Illinois Nazi leader in The Blues Brothers (1980), and appeared in The 'Burbs (1989). His later film roles included starring in The Luck of the Irish (2001) and smaller parts in Magnolia (1999) and as Father O'Neil in Wedding Crashers (2005). His final major acting role was as Judge Clark Brown on the television show Boston Legal , from 2004 to 2008. Gibson was born September 21, 1935, in Germantown, Philadelphia ,
1656-669: The arch-villain Mariposa. In 1980, he appeared on The Dukes of Hazzard as Will Jason (Squirt) in the second-season episode "Find Loretta Lynn". The same year, he played the leader of the "Illinois Nazis" in the John Landis film The Blues Brothers . This became one of his better-known film roles. In 1981, he appeared in The Incredible Shrinking Woman . In 1982, he played con man Henry Beemus on "The Love Boat", S6 E11 "A Christmas Presence", which aired December 18, 1982. In
1728-500: The beginning and end of the segment, as well as in short bridges between sketches. At the end of every show, after a final dialogue, Rowan would turn to his co-host and say, "Say good night, Dick", to which Martin replied, "Good night, Dick!", leading into the final Joke Wall segment. The cast would pop out of their doors and either tell jokes to the camera, to each other, or to Rowan and Martin, who stood in front, or just yell out, "Good night, Dick!" This would lead into and continue under
1800-471: The closing credits. There would be one final batch of skits, including a closing appearance from Owens. Up until the finale of Season 4, the last gag would be Arte Johnson's character, Wolfgang, the German soldier. He would slowly rise up from among some plants, look into the camera and say with a thick German accent, "Veeeeery eeenterestingk!" This would bring the episode to a conclusion - almost. The very last thing
1872-574: The earliest work of future stars Diane Keaton ("Love and the Pen Pals"), Sally Struthers ("Love and the Triangle"), Albert Brooks ("Love and Operational Model"), and Harrison Ford ("Love and the Former Marriage"). Room 222 star Karen Valentine appeared in four episodes. Brady Bunch star Ann B. Davis and The Partridge Family star Dave Madden each appeared in two episodes. Each episode of
1944-418: The end of each episode. In keeping with Laugh-In 's groundbreaking nature, these messages strongly resembled 21st century GIFs . New cast members: Hogan's Heroes alumni Richard Dawson and Larry Hovis . Both had been part of season 1. Child actor Moosie Drier was also added, doing solo cameo jokes. Cast departures after the season 5 finale: Brown, Elder, Hovis, Sharma, and Sues. Dawson remained until
2016-435: The end of season 2. Judy Carne officially left the show after episode 11 but did return for a few appearances in season 3. Season 3 (1969–1970): New regulars included Johnny Brown , Byron Gilliam, Teresa Graves , Jeremy Lloyd , Pamela Rodgers, and Lily Tomlin . Gilliam was a dancer in seasons 1 to 2 and promoted to cast member this season. Both Brown and Tomlin joined late in this season. Cast departures and changes: After
2088-437: The end, when Rowan asked Buckley why he finally agreed to appear on the show, Buckley explained that Schlatter had written him "an irresistable letter" in which he promised to fly Buckley out to Burbank "in an airplane with two right wings". At the end, Rowan thanked him for appearing: "You can't be that smart without having a sense of humor, and you have a delightful one." The 100th episode featured John Wayne , Tiny Tim and
2160-430: The entire 141-episode series of Laugh-In , including the pilot, the show's musical coordinator was West Coast bebop jazz pianist and composer Russ Freeman . The show was recorded at NBC's Burbank facility using two-inch quadruplex videotape . As computer-controlled online editing had not been invented at the time, post-production video editing of the montage was achieved by the error-prone method of visualizing
2232-498: The evening, some recurring guest stars would appear unannounced multiple times through a season (which was easy to accomplish given the show's non-linear taping sessions). A trademark of the series was its (even shorter) blackout sketches, often involving rapid-fire cuts between two or more scenes or camera angles, set to a six-note musical sting (or at times, an elongated 16-note version). These were used as transitions into and out of commercials, among other places. The show started with
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2304-479: The first commercial break, Rowan and Martin would walk in front of the show's homebase set to introduce the show and have a dialogue, generally consisting of Martin frustrating Rowan by derailing his attempt to do a proper introduction via misunderstandings or digressions. Eventually, Rowan would end the introduction and invite the audience to the "Cocktail Party". This live to tape segment consisted of all cast members and occasional surprise celebrities dancing before
2376-493: The first episode along with series regulars Pamela Austin , Eileen Brennan , Judy Carne , Ruth Buzzi , Henry Gibson , Larry Hovis , Arte Johnson , and Jo Anne Worley . Goldie Hawn joined the cast in the third episode. She had been under contract to Good Morning World at the time of the pilot. Eileen Brennan , Barbara Feldon , and Jack Riley made frequent appearances in both season 1 and 2. Riley usually did skits as President Lyndon Johnson . Ian Bernard (1930–2020)
2448-882: The first few episodes was a group of six women dancers called "The Downtown Beauties", referring to the show's running joke of "beautiful downtown Burbank". The members of this group were in the Cocktail Party scenes and the group was featured for many of the musical numbers. The known names of these dancers are Janice Pennington, Mary Rowan (Dan's daughter), and Adele Yoshioko. Cast (returning veterans): Allen, Buzzi, Dawson, Owens, and Tomlin. (New members:) child actor Moosie Drier , promoted to cast member and teamed with child actor Tod Bass, character comedian Brian Bressler (up to episode 10), comedienne Patti Deutsch , German model Lisa Farringer (episodes 13–24), Sarah Kennedy , folksy singer-comedian Jud Strunk , ventriloquist act Willie Tyler and Lester, and Donna Jean Young. Former regular Jo Anne Worley returned for two guest appearances, including
2520-655: The free-form Broadway revue Hellzapoppin' ), the innovative television works of Ernie Kovacs (George Schlatter's wife, Jolene Brand appeared in Kovacs' shows), and the topical TV satire That Was the Week That Was . The show was characterized by a rapid-fire series of gags and sketches, many of which were politically charged or contained sexual innuendo. The co-hosts continued the exasperated "straight man" (Rowan) and "dumb guy" (Martin) double act that they had established as nightclub comics. The show featured Gary Owens as
2592-552: The help of the guest star. The news varied in presentation over the years, but in the earlier seasons started with Martin reading the "News of the Present", with Rowan providing "News of the Future" and sketches depicting the "News of the Past". Alan Sues, as his "Big Al" character, would provide a typically clueless sports report. "Mod, Mod World" was a group of sketches introduced by Rowan and Martin that fit into an announced theme. This segment
2664-555: The mid-1970s. Menus, French fry bags, sandwich wraps, napkins, salt and pepper shakers and other memorabilia are still sold on EBay. Love, American Style Love, American Style is an anthology comedy television series that aired on ABC from September 29, 1969 to January 11, 1974. The series was produced by Paramount Television . During the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons, it was a part of ABC's Friday primetime lineup that included The Brady Bunch , The Partridge Family , Room 222 , and The Odd Couple . It featured some of
2736-559: The most popular television show in the United States. The title of the show was a play on the 1960s Hippie culture " love-ins " or the Counterculture " be-ins ", terms derived from the " sit-ins " common in protests associated with civil rights and antiwar demonstrations of the time. In the pilot episode, Dan Rowan explained the show's approach: "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to television's first Laugh-In. Now for
2808-810: The music of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band , the Bee Gees , the Temptations , the Strawberry Alarm Clock , and the First Edition . During the September 16, 1968, episode, Richard Nixon, running for president, appeared for a few seconds with a disbelieving vocal inflection, asking "Sock it to me ?" Nixon was not doused or assaulted. An invitation was extended to Nixon's opponent, Vice President Hubert Humphrey , but he declined. According to George Schlatter,
2880-475: The on-screen radio continuity announcer , and an ensemble cast. Ruth Buzzi was part of the ensemble throughout the show's six-year run, while others appeared in at least three seasons. This includes Judy Carne , Henry Gibson , Goldie Hawn , Arte Johnson , Jo Anne Worley , Alan Sues , Lily Tomlin , Dennis Allen and Richard Dawson . In 2002, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was ranked number 42 on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time . Laugh-In
2952-429: 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." Laugh-In had its roots in the humor of vaudeville and burlesque, but its most direct influences were Olsen and Johnson 's comedies (such as
Henry Gibson - Misplaced Pages Continue
3024-488: The pig in the popular Hanna-Barbera children's movie Charlotte's Web (1973). He later worked for the company again on the cartoon The Biskitts . Gibson's voice work was featured on The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy as Lord Pain, King of the Hill as reporter Bob Jenkins, and Rocket Power as grouchy neighbor Merv Stimpleton. Later television work included a guest role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine playing
3096-432: The problematic video at the edit point and then slowing down the video image just before the edit point; time-expanding the slowed-down section long enough to allot enough time to seamlessly reinsert the audio portion from the removed portion of video. Frequently recurring Laugh-In sketches included: The first season featured some of the first music videos seen on network TV, with cast members appearing in films set to
3168-706: The producer of Saturday Night Live ) and Hart Pomerantz , Jack Douglas , Jeremy Lloyd , John Carsey, Dennis Gren, Gene Farmer, John Rappaport and Stephen Spears, Jim Abell and Chet Dowling, Barry Took , E. Jack Kaplan, Larry Siegel , Jack S. Margolis , Don Reo and Allan Katz , Richard Goren (also credited as Rowby Greeber and Rowby Goren ), Winston Moss, Gene Perret and Bill Richmond , Jack Wohl, Bob Howard and Bob DeVinney. Script supervisors for Laugh-In included Digby Wolfe (comedy consultant, season 1), Phil Hahn and Jack Hanrahan (season 2), Allan Manings (season 3), Marc London and David Panich (seasons 3–6), and Jim Mulligan (season 6). The musical director for Laugh-In
3240-413: The recorded track with ferrofluid and cutting it with a razor blade or guillotine cutter and splicing with adhesive tape, in a manner similar to film editing. This had the incidental benefit of ensuring the preservation of the master tape, as a spliced tape could not be recycled for further use . Laugh-In editor Arthur Schneider won an Emmy Award in 1968 for his pioneering use of the " jump cut " –
3312-408: The rest of the cast. The producer mollified him by having on-screen radio continuity announcer Gary Owens read Johnson's credit as a separate sentence: "Starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin! And Arte Johnson! With Ruth Buzzi..." This maneuver gave Johnson the star billing he wanted, but it also implied that he was still part of the ensemble cast. Cast departures: Chelsea Brown and Dave Madden left at
3384-579: The return of several former cast members. Wayne, with his ear cupped, read the line "and me, I'm Gary Owens" instead of Owens himself. Wayne also shook Tiny Tim's hand, pretending that his grip was too overpowering. In addition to those already mentioned, the show created numerous catchphrases (for a full description of characters and recurring characters, see above sections.): A chain of Laugh-In restaurants opened in several states during 1968–69; primarily in Michigan, Ohio and Florida. Psychedelically-themed like
3456-494: The role. The Nashville Tennessean called Gibson "the male superstar most surely to be in line for an Academy Award" and hailed his performance as being "so real to Music Row habitués as to be frightening." Gibson appeared in three other films directed by Altman: The Long Goodbye , starring Elliott Gould , A Perfect Couple , and Health . In 1978, he appeared in The New Adventures Of Wonder Woman as
3528-493: The season 4 finale. Notable visits for season 4: Goldie Hawn made a guest appearance in episode 3. After she left Laugh-In she made two movies, There's a Girl In My Soup and Cactus Flower , for which she won an Academy Award . Teresa Graves made two consecutive appearances toward the end of season 4. She made history in her own right by being the first African-American woman to star in her own TV show, Get Christie Love! Season 5 (1971–1972): Another new set design
3600-468: The season finale, Gilliam returned to being a regular dancer in The Cocktail Party scene and in occasional skits. He remained until the end of the series. Graves, Hawn, Lloyd, and Worley left after the season 3 finale. Tomlin remained until the series ended in 1973. Season 4 (1970–1971): There were major changes to the set and new additions to the cast. The overall psychedelia look was replaced with
3672-473: The series ended. During season 5 the show also celebrated its 100th episode. Former cast regulars Carne, Gibson, Graves, Johnson, and Worley returned for the festivities. Frequent guest stars Tiny Tim and John Wayne were also on hand to celebrate. This was Wayne's first guest appearance since 1968. Season 6 (1972–1973): This was Laugh-In 's final season. Rowan and Martin assumed the executive producer roles from George Schlatter and Ed Friendly . A new set
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#17328519935603744-403: The series finale. Although Owens was not in the 1967 pilot and Buzzi was not in two episodes of season 1, of the more than three dozen entertainers to join the cast over the years only Rowan, Martin, Owens, and Buzzi were present from beginning to end. This last season was not George Schlatter's property, so it was not included in the edited and condensed rerun package of half-hour episodes that
3816-402: The show featured multiple stories of romance, usually with a comedic spin. Episodes were stand-alone, featuring various characters, stories and locations. The show often featured the same actors playing different characters in many episodes. In addition, a large, ornate brass bed was a recurring prop in many episodes. Charles Fox 's music score, featuring flutes , harp and flugelhorn set to
3888-404: The show left the air, a new version aired on ABC's daytime schedule from December 23, 1985 to August 15, 1986 entitled New Love, American Style (including an updated version of the theme performed by Lou Rawls ), but was canceled after only eight months because of low ratings against The Price Is Right on CBS. A third edition, starring Melissa Joan Hart and Mariska Hargitay among others,
3960-452: The show's creator, "Humphrey later said that not doing it may have cost him the election ", and "[Nixon] said the rest of his life that appearing on Laugh-In is what got him elected. And I believe that. And I've had to live with that." In an episode of the ill-fated 1977 revival, Rich Little as Nixon says, "I invited the American people to sock-it-to-me.... you can stop now". After winning
4032-408: The show, only to be refused each time until he suddenly agreed to an appearance. In the episode that aired December 28, 1970, Buckley appeared in an unusual sit-down segment (portions of which were scattered throughout the episode) flanked by Rowan and Martin and fielding questions from the cast (which included Lily Tomlin doing her Babbler and Ernestine shticks) and giving humorous answers to each. Near
4104-420: The show, they offered such menu items as Bippy Burgers, Is That A Chicken Joke Chicken, Fickle Finger Of Fate Fries, Beautiful Downtown Burbank Burgers, Fickle Finger Franks, Verrrry Interesting Sandwiches, I'll Drink To That beverages, Sock It To Me soups, Laugh-In Fortune Cookies and Here Come Da Fudge sundaes. Staff often rode around on red tricycles wearing yellow raincoats and hats. All locations were closed by
4176-602: The sixth of seven children of Edmund Alberts Bateman (1896–1980) and his wife Dorothy (née Cassidy) (1903–1975). He attended Saint Joseph's Preparatory School , where he was president of the drama club. Gibson had English, Irish, German and distant Dutch ancestry. After graduating from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., he served as an intelligence officer in the United States Air Force with
4248-450: The television audience would hear is one pair of hands clapping several seconds after all the credits had rolled. This was the conclusion to almost every show up to the Season 5 finale. For Season 6, the television audience would hear a woman laughing (Ruth Buzzi) very strangely long after the credits had rolled. Other segments and recurring characters, listed below, would come and go throughout
4320-541: The top 30 shows in the Nielsens . For a few seasons, it was part of a lineup of ABC Friday night programs that included The Brady Bunch , The Partridge Family , Room 222 , and The Odd Couple . Some of the show's segments also served as pilots for proposed television series. Many never made it beyond the pilot stage, but two resulted in a series: The series was also flexible enough to include repurposed pilots that had already failed or been retooled. One first-season example
4392-504: The unique editing style in which a sudden cut from one shot to another was made without a fade-out. When the series was restored for airing by the Trio Cable Network in 1996, the aforementioned edits became problematic for the editors, as the adhesive used on the source tape had deteriorated during 20+ years of storage, making many of the visual elements at the edit points unusable. This was corrected in digital re-editing by removing
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#17328519935604464-403: The years. The September 9, 1967, was meant to be a special, sponsored by Timex , with guest stars: Pamela Austin , Ken Berry , Judy Carne , Barbara Feldon , and featuring Ruth Buzzi , Henry Gibson , Larry Hovis , Arte Johnson , Monte Landis , Jo Anne Worley , and Paul Weston and His Orchestra Season 1 ran from January to April 1968 with 14 episodes. Gary Owens joined the cast in
4536-661: Was "Love and the Good Deal," which was actually the original, unaired pilot for the sitcom adaptation of the Neil Simon play and movie Barefoot in the Park , with a different cast than the series. At the start of the 1973–1974 fall season, the ratings for Love, American Style and Room 222 had plummeted. As a result, both shows were canceled mid-season. The series received several Emmy nominations, including two for Best Comedy Series for 1969–70 and 1970–71. The show subsequently became
4608-418: Was Ian Bernard. He wrote the opening theme music, "Inquisitive Tango" (used in Season 1 and again permanently from season 4), plus the infamous "What's the news across the nation" number. He wrote all the musical "play-ons" that introduced comedy sketches like Lily Tomlin's character, Edith Ann, the little girl who sat in a giant rocking chair, and Arte Johnson's old man character, Tyrone, who always got hit with
4680-457: Was designed that mixed abstract art with muted psychedelia colors. There was once again a visible studio audience. Ian Bernard, the show's musical director, and five other musicians became participants in the Cocktail Party scenes as the house band known as "Ian Bernard and His Band at Large". Owens would often incorrectly introduce them as "Ian Bernard and His Band of Irvine Quickies", " ...His Band of Lard" or "...His Band of Lies". Also new for
4752-428: Was designed to be very lightly structured and consisted mainly of short comedic sketches. Some of these would reappear multiple times throughout an episode with variations on a theme, while others involved reoccurring characters created by the cast. In others, cast members and guest stars would simply appear as themselves, delivering jokes or reacting to a previous sketch. In addition to the announced guest star or stars of
4824-495: Was followed in 1964 by his poetry-reciting cowboy character Quirt Manly on the popular show The Beverly Hillbillies . Around this time, Gibson appeared in an episode of My Favorite Martian . Gibson spent three years as part of the Laugh-In television show's cast, where he was nominated for a Golden Globe in 1971. He often played "The Poet", reciting poems with "sharp satirical or political themes". Gibson would emerge from behind
4896-488: Was introduced that combined abstract art with avant-garde . The Cocktail Party set now consisted of a main wall covered in mirrored tiles. The jokes, commentary and overall humor became even more mainstream in Season 5, and there were more schtick and vaudeville -styled musical numbers. The few political jokes told were mostly aimed at the Nixon administration . Around mid-season, the show began to air brief anti-drug messages at
4968-455: Was later spoofed in 1967 by Divorce, American Style , starring Dick Van Dyke . The snowclone "(xxx), (nationality) Style" became a minor cultural catch-phrase as the 1960s progressed. The original series was also known for its 10- to 20-second blackouts between the featured segments. These were performed by a house troupe that featured future Rockford Files cast member Stuart Margolin , future Vega$ leading lady Phyllis Davis and
5040-510: Was reissued in 1968, now titled ...by Henry Gibson , following his success on Laugh-In . The liner notes perpetuated the origin story of being a country boy from Fairhope, Alabama. The album did not reach the Billboard Top 200 in either release. In 1968, Gibson appeared on the television show Bewitched as Napoleon Bonaparte. He appeared on Bewitched in 1970 as Tim O'Shanter, a leprechaun. Around this time, Gibson made recurring appearances in
5112-761: Was syndicated (through Lorimar Productions ) to local stations in 1983 and later to Nick at Nite in 1987. Season 6 ultimately was shown for the first time since its original 1972 -1973 run when the entire series of full, uncut episodes began airing on Decades in 2017. *Indicates an extended guest performer and not a regular cast member The writers for Laugh-In were: George Schlatter, Paul W. Keyes ( head writer ), Larry Hovis (pilot only), Digby Wolfe , Hugh Wedlock Jr. and Allan Manings , Chris Bearde (credited as Chris Beard), Phil Hahn and Jack Hanrahan , Coslough Johnson (Arte Johnson's twin brother), Marc London and David Panich, Dave Cox, Jim Carlson , Jack Mendelsohn and Jim Mulligan, Lorne Michaels (before he became
5184-611: Was the musical director for all 6 seasons. He composed the show's theme song along with numerous other pieces. Billy Barnes composed special comedic and topical songs for the show's cast and guest stars. He was regularly seen playing a golden grand piano to accompany solos by cast members such as Ruth Buzzi, Alan Sues, and Jo Anne Worley and guest stars such as Dinah Shore and Lena Horne . Cast departures: all continued on into Season 2 but Hovis. Season 2 (1968–1969): New regulars included Chelsea Brown , Dave Madden and Alan Sues . Arte Johnson now insisted on star billing, apart from
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