Well, another childhood memory gone, Dick Martin of ROWAN & MARTINS LAUGH IN has passed away.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080525/ap_on_en_tv/obit_martin

May he rest in peace; You bet your sweet bippy!

"Say goodnight Dick " & when someone asks, "wanna see my walnetto " they can "look it up in their funk & wagnals"
AH Yes, 1968 what a year !

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Learned some interesting trivia from Dick Martin's obit. I never knew that he had lost the use of a lung at age 17, and needed an oxygen bottle almost continuously in his later years. Or that he became a prolific TV director in the 1970s and ’80s -- or that he was married to former [I]Playboy Playmate and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls star Dolly Read.

Rest in peace, Dickie Bird.

Oh, man... That is quite sad. I didn't even that he's actua done quite a bit mroe than I'd thought since the 80's. Dick Martin's IMDb Entry (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0552189/) I can vaguely remember watching some of the episodes as a kid. :(

Never missed a 'Laugh In' show...non stop humor ...I remember when Dan & Dick gave the Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award to Auroras' Guillotine model...my Dad asked me if I had that Model...I responded ' Sort of...my Aurora Guillotine was made in Canada '....My Dad just laughed and laughed....
.....Rest in Peace Dick...
Mcdee

Wow, that's wierd - we just finished watching the"best of" Laugh-In DVDs this week.

Good night, Dick. :(

"Say goodnight Dick " & when someone asks, "wanna see my walnetto " they can "look it up in their funk & wagnals"
AH Yes, 1968 what a year !

Yes it was! Laugh-In and The Smothers Brothers were probably my two favorite shows that year. I've recently watched a few Laugh-Ins and find them somewhat irritating. "Context" is everything.

Time To Go To The Party Dick.

Sock It To Him!

Very Interesting....But Stupid!

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. . . I've recently watched a few [I]Laugh-Ins and find them somewhat irritating. "Context" is everything.Laugh-In was so much a product of its time, it's really a case of "Ya hadda be there." It's probably difficult for today's younger people to understand just how different, daring and outrageous that show was in the late 1960s. It threw out all the scripted, vaudeville-like conventions of traditional TV comedy-musical-variety shows and went for an almost stream-of-consciousness approach. In fact, producer George Schlatter originally wanted to do the show without a host; the network insisted on having a host or hosts to provide a focal point for the audience to relate to, to keep everything from getting TOO anarchic.

Of course, for those of us who were in our teens when Laugh-In premiered, the real reason to watch was to see body-painted Goldie Hawn dancing in a bikini.

http://povonline.com/images3/goldie1.jpg[/IMG-LEFT]
[I]Laugh-In

Of course, for those of us who were in our teens when Laugh-In premiered, the real reason to watch was to see body-painted Goldie Hawn dancing in a bikini.

You've got that straight, scotpens...:thumbsup:
Mcdee

I recently recorded and watched The Maltese Bippy. I was surprised to enjoy it as much as I did. I think it was on TCM.

Otherwise I haven't seen anything from these guys for years. If I remember right, both Rowan and Martin are now both dead. While much in the Laugh-In skits was humorous, I also have to agree that much was... very interesting, but stupid.

In today's wild times, I think people do not know just how daring and subversive it really was. And, sometimes, far-sighted. Imagine in 1968 a skit that mentions "President" Ronald Reagan.

I would argue that The Smothers Brothers was far more subversive. But as I said, 1968 was a heck of a year. Things were changing so fast culturally that it was almost impossible to keep up. And Laugh-In was certainly one little earmark of that cultural change.

http://www.curtispublishing.com/images/NonRockwell/9681130.jpg

In today's wild times, I think people do not know just how daring and subversive it really was. And, sometimes, far-sighted. Imagine in 1968 a skit that mentions "President" Ronald Reagan.Yes -- as a JOKE!

A B-list actor becoming Governor of California, let alone President of the United States? Why, the very idea!

In today's wild times, I think people do not know just how daring and subversive it really was. And, sometimes, far-sighted. Imagine in 1968 a skit that mentions "President" Ronald Reagan.

The show couldn't have been that subversive, or you wouldn't have had the Duke appear on the show...Dressed in a bunny suit! :lol:

Scroll to the bottom of the page for a photo. http://www.webpan.com/thelaughin/laughin_photos.htm

David.

It was quite subversive in many ways. So was "The Smothers Brothers". Laugh-In was the first show to do a "Getting High" Joke on TV and broke many other boundaries with sex and politics. CBS canceled the Smothers Brothers for their political content. It is very mild for people of today, but, also a good place for people to stay in the public eye at the time. Look at Nixon appearing saying "Sock it to me, baby".

What Nixon actually said was, "Sock it... ...to ME?"

- GJS

G'night Dick...

okee dokee. I haven't seen it in 40 years. So, sue me if it's a bit paraphrased :D

BTW, that innocent-sounding catchphrase, "Sock it to me," was originally black slang referring to the sex act.

BTW, that innocent-sounding catchphrase, "Sock it to me," was originally black slang referring to the sex act.

And "Heah Come Da' Judge" as well as "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls" were yet more "black" "catch phrases" lifted specifically from Durham, North Carolina-born African-American comedian "Pigmeat" Markham.

And "Heah Come Da' Judge" as well as "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnalls" were yet more "black" "catch phrases" lifted specifically from Durham, North Carolina-born African-American comedian "Pigmeat" Markham.

http://www.analogartsensemble.net/blog/markham2.jpg

Do da name RUBY BEGONIA strike a familiar note?

- GJS

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigmeat_Markham

They say Sammy Davis first did it as a guest.

Look that up in your wikipedia.

or here;

http://www.livetheatregang.com/vintage_jokes_and_legends.htm

Ironically, Markham's most famous routine was 'discovered' by the general public only after Sammy Davis, Jr. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sammy_Davis%2C_Jr.) had performed it as a guest on Laugh-In. Due to the years of racial discrimination in the entertainment world, Markham had almost exclusively performed on the "chitlin' circuit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chitlin%27_circuit)" of vaudeville, theatres, and night clubs[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigmeat_Markham#cite_note-allmusic-0) and appeared in several race films (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_movie); thus, he was not widely known by white audiences.
The success of Davis's appearance led to Markham's opportunity to perform his signature Judge character during his one season on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rowan_%26_Martin%27s_Laugh-In).[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigmeat_Markham#cite_note-6) Archie Campbell (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archie_Campbell) later adapted Markham's routine, performing as "Justus O'Peace," on the country (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_country_music) version of Laugh-In, Hee Haw (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hee_Haw), which borrowed heavily from the minstrel show (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minstrel_show) tradition.

...And that's the way I remember it.

- GJS

Oh, what a bummer. I loved watching that show when I was younger, though for sure I caught it in reruns. Pops & I would watch & laugh for the whole show. :)

Sock it to 'em, Dick.

Rest in peace Dick. Dan has been gone close to 20 years I believe. They were a duo before Laugh-in.