Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In

"At the Dance", a recurring Muppet Show sketch inspired by Laugh-In.

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was a comedy variety series that debuted on NBC in 1968 and ran until 1973. The series, hosted by Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, featured a troupe of character comedians, whose ranks changed over the years, and featured oddball topical humor and swinging 60s decor and costuming. In addition to introducing several previously unknown comics who would become stars and placing an emphasis on creating catch phrases (ranging from "Sock it to me" to "Is that a chicken joke?"), the series influenced many subsequent sketch comedy shows, from Saturday Night Live to The Electric Company, and including the Muppets.

As Lewis Bernstein recalled, the series influenced the initial format of Sesame Street, in particular the emphasis on short, fast-moving sketches: "At the time, we were competing with cartoons, so we kept everything very short and varied, like 'Laugh-In,' which was the best show on TV then."

The Muppet Show also showed signs of Laugh-In influence. A Laugh-In mainstay, "the Cocktail Party," in which assorted eccentrics from gurus to poets to parsons gathered at a swinging party to drink and exchange one and two-liners, was reworked to become "At the Dance".

References

• An early Sesame Street animated insert, "J Commercial," featured the line "Here comes de judge," which was popularized on Laugh-In.

• In Muppets Tonight episode 101, the 60s-style "Muppet Dating Game" sketch features Dr. Bunsen Honeydew making repeated references to his "bippy," one of several nonsense words popularized on Laugh-In.

Appearances

Several Laugh-In regulars have appeared in Muppet/Henson productions, reprising their roles from that series.

Arte Johnson as Wolfgang, the German soldier, in Sesame Street inserts

Lily Tomlin as Edith Anne in an insert with Herry Monster

Lily Tomlin as Ernestine in Sesame Street Stays Up Late!, and also in Here Come the Muppets and Kermit Unpigged

Ruth Buzzi reprised her role of spinster Gladys Ormphby in multiple sketches.

Connections

• Dennis Allen was a Laugh-In regular from 1970 until 1973
• Tim Conway was a guest performer five times.
• Micky Dolenz made a guest appearance on the show.
• Goldie Hawn, who got her start as the bubble-headed blonde on Laugh-In, appeared with the Muppets several times.
• Joe Namath made three appearances on the show, including one as guest host.
• Leonard Nimoy made a guest appearance on the show.
• Gary Owens was the ear-cupping Laugh-In announcer for the entire run of the series.