Just read the news that Laugh-In co-host Dick Martin passed away at the age of 86.
Now there are those too young to remember Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In and that’s a damn shame. Comedy Central (or was it the Comedy Channel then?) aired it for a while in the late 80s, I think, but it really hasn’t been much seen on the small screen since the early 70s. Part Vaudeville, part cocktail party, the show was an overnight sensation and changed the face of comedy on television. Dick Martin was the sillier half of the Rowan and Martin duo, but the team, the show, the banter, the non sequiturs, the double entendres make it a classic that will always be beloved in my heart.
My favorite exchange – my pal George and I still reference it on occasion – goes a little something like this:
Dan: Say, I’m going to the Virgin Islands. Can I bring you back anything?
Dick: Well, my second choice would be an alligator belt.
Ah, yes. Comedy gold. Rest in peace, Dick Martin. May you and Dan turn the afterlife into one swingin’, sockin’ hilarious party!
And you can look that up in your Funk and Wagnall’s!
