BOOTLEG FILES 918: “Laugh-In” (short-lived 1977 reboot of the classic comedy show).
LAST SEEN: On YouTube.
AMERICAN HOME VIDEO: None.
REASON FOR BOOTLEG STATUS: Legal issues are keeping it out of commercial re-release.
CHANCES OF SEEING A COMMERCIAL DVD RELEASE: Not likely.
In 1977, NBC offered its audience “Laugh-In,” a reboot of the classic 1968-73 comedy series “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” George Schlatter, the producer on the original series, was brought back to helm this new effort. However, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin, the stars of the original production, were unaware this new series was being created – and considering that they owned a piece of that franchise, the lack of communication created more than just ill-will. Rowan & Martin sued Schlatter for using the original show’s format without their permission – the lawsuit was settled out of court in 1980.
Were Rowan & Martin justified in attempting to stop this reboot? You bet your sweet bippy they were – and if you don’t know what a “bippy” is, then look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls. And if you still have no idea what those two previous sentences are all about, then you’ve never experienced the humor of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” which introduced a glut of catchphrases while helping to launch the careers of multiple performers including Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, Henry Gibson, Ruth Buzzi, Teresa Graves and Tiny Tim.
But, truth by told, “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” was a lightning in a bottle achievement – and halfway through the show’s six-season run, the lightning began to evaporate with most of the vibrant on-screen talent departing while lesser performers were brought in as replacement. Also, the show’s format – a zany mix of vaudeville-style humor with topical jokes on social and political issues – started to become stale. The show was the #1 rated program on American television during its peak second and third seasons, but it sank to #51 by the sixth season, and few people mourned its departure.
Even fewer people welcomed back the 1977 “Laugh-In,” which only ran for six episodes. The absence of Rowan & Martin didn’t help – on the original show, they anchored the wacky, free-flowing spirit of the program as the hosts who launched and closed each episode. They were also wonderfully funny in the skits, especially as the insouciant anchormen in the “Laugh-In” news segments.
This version of “Laugh-In” kept some of the trademark shtick of the predecessor show, including the cocktail party segment where the cast members dropped one-liners and the joke wall where the cast popped out from doors on a giant wall to offer more one-liners. The reboot also attracted big name talent as guests – Frank Sinatra was the biggest star and he was laughing all through the show, while Tina Turner, Bette Davis, James Stewart, Senator Barry Goldwater, Congresswoman Bella Abzug, Kareem-Abdul Jabar, James Garner and Henry Winkler also made appearances.
But by 1977, comedy was changing. “Saturday Night Live” redefined American television comedy while a new breed of stand-up comics brought an edgier and grittier humor into the mainstream. The humor of “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” seemed to come from a different era, even though that show was off the air for only four years before the reboot.
And without Rowan & Martin, “Laugh-In” pinballed aimlessly. As a result, the ensemble cast worked overtime to steal the spotlight from each other. In this environment, a few performers were able to shine while others made almost no impression.
The one cast member whose career skyrocketed after this production was Robin Williams, whose frenetic ebullience cracked up unsuspecting guests including Frank Sinatra and Tina Turner. Williams used his appearance on this show, along with work on Richard Pryor’s short-lived comedy series on NBC, as a launchpad for the proverbial bigger and better.
Puppeteer Wayland Flowers and his risqué old lady puppet Madame were also scene stealers on “Laugh In.” Unlike Williams, Flowers already gained attention thanks to his work in the ensemble of “Keep on Truckin’,” a short-lived sketch comedy show on ABC that aired in 1975, and he was also in the film “Norman…Is That You?” that opened in 1976. With help from Paul Lynde, Flowers went on from “Laugh-In” for multiple guest appearances on “Hollywood Squares,” which led to other television work until his untimely death in 1988.
But beyond Williams and Flowers, the cast didn’t resonate with audiences and most of their subsequent careers were not notable. Among the few cast members who enjoyed mild levels of fame after the show were Bill Rafferty and John Barbour, who later went on to host NBC’s “Real People,” and Ben Powers, the sole Black cast member who later turned up on the final season of “Good Times.” A pair of stand-up comics who had already generated a small level of fame before “Laugh-In,” Ed Bluestone and Lenny Schultz, continued with their respective careers, but without any boost from being in the series. And cartoonist Sergio Aragones tried his hand at sketch comedy with “Laugh-In,” but later went back to the drawing board (sorry about that one).
“Laugh-In” was never included in the DVD and Blu-ray collections of the Rowan & Martin version, but the episodes can be found on YouTube in unauthorized postings. The Sinatra episode is probably the best and is presented here for your viewing curiosity.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: While this weekly column acknowledges the presence of rare film and television productions through the so-called collector-to-collector market, this should not be seen as encouraging or condoning the unauthorized duplication and distribution of copyright-protected material, either through DVDs or Blu-ray discs or through postings on Internet video sites.
Listen to Phil Hall’s award-winning podcast “The Online Movie Show with Phil Hall” on SoundCloud and his radio show “Nutmeg Chatter” on WAPJ-FM in Torrington, Connecticut, with a new episode every Sunday. You can also follow his book reviews at The Epoch Times.