Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In – Sock it to me!

Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In was a comedy television show that aired on NBC from 1968-1973. The title of the show was a word play on the sit-ins and love-ins that had become rampant with the 1960’s civil rights and anti-war demonstrations of the hippie counterculture. The show’s hosts were Dan Rowan and Dick Martin; Rowan being portrayed as the smarter of the two and Martin as the dumb one.

Laugh-In followed basically the same format each week, depicting recurring sketches with hysterical characters and rapid-fire jokes with a go-go themed dance party as the backdrop. Also included in the show was the infamous joke wall where characters would pop in and out of little doors with one and two-line jokes; some of which were sexually suggestive and/or politically charged.

Laugh-In enjoyed epic success during its 5-year run, receiving many awards including Golden Globes and Emmy's. It also rated No. 1 in television rankings for 1968 to 1970.