Alas, the All-Time Master of the the freeze-frame double-take has left the Party!:
TV's 'Laugh-in' comic Dick Martin dies at 86
May 24, 2008, 11:51 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Dick Martin, the zany half of the comedy team whose "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" took television by storm in the 1960s, making stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and creating such national catch-phrases as "Sock it to me!" has died. He was 86.
Martin, who went on to become one of television's busiest directors after splitting with Dan Rowan in the late 1970s, died Saturday night of respiratory complications at a hospital in Santa Monica, family spokesman Barry Greenberg said.
"He had had some pretty severe respiratory problems for many years, and he had pretty much stopped breathing a week ago," Greenberg said.
Martin had lost the use of one of his lungs as a teenager, and needed supplemental oxygen for most of the day in his later years.
He was surrounded by family and friends when he died just after 6 p.m., Greenberg said.
"Laugh-in," which debuted in January 1968, was unlike any comedy-variety show before it. Rather than relying on a series of tightly scripted song-and-dance segments, it offered up a steady, almost stream-of-consciousn ess run of non-sequitur jokes, political satire and madhouse antics from a cast of talented young actors and comedians that also included Ruth Buzzi, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley and announcer Gary Owens.
Presiding over it all were Rowan and Martin, the veteran nightclub comics whose standup banter put their own distinct spin on the show.
Like all straight men, Rowan provided the voice of reason, striving to correct his partner's absurdities. Martin, meanwhile, was full of bogus, often risque theories about life, which he appeared to hold with unwavering certainty.
Against this backdrop, audiences were taken from scene to scene by quick, sometimes psychedelic-looking visual cuts, where they might see Hawn, Worley and other women dancing in bathing suits with political slogans, or sometimes just nonsense, painted on their bodies. Other times, Gibson, clutching a flower, would recite nonsensical poetry or Johnson would impersonate a comical Nazi spy.
"Laugh-In" astounded audiences and critics alike. For two years the show topped the Nielsen ratings, and its catchphrases— "Sock it to me," "You bet your sweet bippy" and "Look that up in your Funk and Wagnall's" — were recited across the country.
Stars such as John Wayne and Kirk Douglas were delighted to make brief appearances, and even Richard Nixon, running for president in 1968, dropped in to shout a befuddled sounding, "Sock it to me!" His opponent, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, was offered equal time but declined because his handlers thought it would appear undignified.
Rowan and Martin landed the show just as their comedy partnership was approaching its zenith and the nation's counterculture was expanding into the mainstream.
The two were both struggling actors when they met in 1952. Rowan had sold his interest in a used car dealership to take acting lessons, and Martin, who had written gags for TV shows and comedians, was tending bar in Los Angeles to pay the rent.
Rowan, hearing Martin was looking for a comedy partner, visited him at the bar, where he found him eating a banana.
"Why are you eating a banana?" he asked.
"If you've ever eaten here, you'd know what's with the banana," he replied, and a comedy team was born.
Although their early gigs in Los Angeles' San Fernando Valley were often performed gratis, they donned tuxedos for them and put on an air of success.
"We were raw," Martin recalled years later, "but we looked good together and we were funny."
They gradually worked up to the top night spots in New York, Miami and Las Vegas and began to appear regularly on television.
In 1966, they provided the summer replacement for "The Dean Martin Show." Within two years, they were headlining their own show.
The novelty of "Laugh-In" diminished with each season, however, and as major players such as Hawn and Tomlin moved on to bigger careers, interest in the series faded.
After the show folded in 1973, Rowan and Martin capitalized on their fame with a series of high-paid engagements around the country. They parted amicably in 1977.
"Dan has diabetes, and his doctor advised him to cool it," Martin told The Associated Press at the time.
Rowan, a sailing enthusiast, spent his last years touring the canals of Europe on a houseboat. He died in 1987.
Martin moved onto the game-show circuit, but quickly tired of it. After he complained about the lack of challenges in his career, fellow comic Bob Newhart's agent suggested he take up directing.
He was reluctant at first, but after observing on "The Bob Newhart Show," he decided to try. He would recall later that it was "like being thrown into the deep end of the swimming pool and being told to sink or swim."
Soon he was one of the industry's busiest TV directors, working on numerous episodes of "Newhart" as well as such shows as "In the Heat of the Night," "Archie Bunker's Place" and "Family Ties."
Born into a middle-class family in Battle Creek, Mich., Martin had worked in a Ford auto assembly plant after high school.
After an early failed marriage, he was for years a confirmed bachelor. He finally settled down in middle age, marrying Dolly Read, a former bunny at the Playboy Club in London. Survivors include his wife and two sons, actor Richard Martin and Cary Martin.
At Martin's request there will be no funeral, Greenberg said.
Martin lost the use of his right lung when he was 17, something that never bothered him until his final years, when he required oxygen 18 hours a day.
Arriving for a party celebrating his 80th birthday, he fainted and was treated by doctors and paramedics. The party continued, however, and he cracked, "Boy, did I make an entrance!"
Gone With or Without fanfare
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moira finnie
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Thanks for posting that sweet tribute to Dick Martin, Klondike.
I hadn't realized that his career as a director of tv sitcoms was quite so extensive.
In other news, it may have slipped by many of us increasingly forgetful baby boomers, but...Dick Sutcliffe, who, working with the inventor of the immortal Gumby, Art Clokey, created the much mocked but beloved claymation figures of Davey and Goliath, has passed away at 90. I was always fascinated by the storylines of Davey and Goliath, and amused by the fact that the dog was infinitely brighter than his boy, Davey. Here's a nice obit for Mr. Sutcliffe, whose little parables may have done more to plant those nagging seeds of ethics than a thousand lecturers.
Davey & Goliath in happier times.
I hadn't realized that his career as a director of tv sitcoms was quite so extensive.
In other news, it may have slipped by many of us increasingly forgetful baby boomers, but...Dick Sutcliffe, who, working with the inventor of the immortal Gumby, Art Clokey, created the much mocked but beloved claymation figures of Davey and Goliath, has passed away at 90. I was always fascinated by the storylines of Davey and Goliath, and amused by the fact that the dog was infinitely brighter than his boy, Davey. Here's a nice obit for Mr. Sutcliffe, whose little parables may have done more to plant those nagging seeds of ethics than a thousand lecturers.
Davey & Goliath in happier times.
And on Monday, May 26, we learn Sydney Pollack died at age 73. He's directed some favorite films of mine (Three Days Of The Condor, Tootsie, Jeremiah Johnson, Absense of Malice, Out Of Africa, a surprisingly good remake of Sabrina, plus a lot of other films I enjoyed - Bobby Deerfield, The Firm, The Swimmer).
On the other side of the camera, he delivers one of my favorite comedic scenes as the doctor examining the dead Meryl Street in DEATH BECOMES HER. Just perfect timing, reactions, etc. He had a lot of good acting stints.
Thanks for all of those, SP!
On the other side of the camera, he delivers one of my favorite comedic scenes as the doctor examining the dead Meryl Street in DEATH BECOMES HER. Just perfect timing, reactions, etc. He had a lot of good acting stints.
Thanks for all of those, SP!
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klondike
Arguably, his supporting role in Kubrick's denouement Eyes Wide Shut was the best job of acting in that visually impressive, but structurally flawed mini-epic.Ollie wrote: On the other side of the camera, he delivers one of my favorite comedic scenes as the doctor examining the dead Meryl Street in DEATH BECOMES HER. Just perfect timing, reactions, etc. He had a lot of good acting stints.
Thanks for all of those, SP!
Other than THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON"T THEY, I generally preferred his appearances in front of the camera. Regardless of the character he portrayed, there was a twinkle in his eyes that I found enjoyable. And I agree with you, Klon -- his performance in EYES WIDE SHUT was outstanding.
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
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klondike
Sha-Zamm!
Earle Hagen, 'Andy Griffith' composer, dies at 88
May 27, 2008, 10:25 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Earle H. Hagen, who co-wrote the jazz classic "Harlem Nocturne" and composed memorable themes for "The Andy Griffith Show," "I Spy," "The Mod Squad" and other TV shows, has died. He was 88.
Hagen, who is heard whistling the folksy tune for "The Andy Griffith Show," died Monday night at his home in Rancho Mirage, his wife, Laura, said Tuesday. He had been in ill health for several months.
During his long musical career, Hagen performed with the top bands of the swing era, composed for movies and television and wrote one of the first textbooks on movie composing.
He and Lionel Newman were nominated for an Academy Award for best music scoring for the 1960 Marilyn Monroe movie "Let's Make Love."
For television, he composed original music for more than 3,000 episodes, pilots and TV movies, including theme songs for "That Girl," "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."
View more MSN videosGo to Nightly News
"He loved it," his wife said. "The music just flowed from him, and he would take off one hat and put on another and go on to the next show."
Hagen enjoyed the immediacy of the small screen, he told the American Society of Music Arrangers & Composers in 2000.
"It was hard work, with long hours and endless deadlines, but being able to write something one day and hear it a few days later appealed to me," he said. "Besides, I was addicted to the ultimate narcosis in music, which is the rush you get when you give a downbeat and wonderful players breathe life into the notes you have put on paper."
Born July 9, 1919, in Chicago, Hagen moved to Los Angeles as a youngster. He began playing the trombone while in junior high school.
"The school actually furnished him with a tuba and his mother made him take it back," his wife said.
He became so proficient that he graduated early from Hollywood High School and at 16 was touring with big bands. He played trombone with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey and arranged for and played with Ray Noble's orchestra.
He and Dick Rogers wrote "Harlem Nocturne" for Noble in 1939. It has been covered many times since and served as the theme music for "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" television series in 1984.
In 1941, Hagen became a staff musician for CBS but the next year he enlisted in the military.
After the war, he worked as a composer and orchestrator for 20th Century-Fox studios on dozens of movies, including another Monroe classic, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
In the 1950s, he and Herbert Spencer formed an orchestra partnership that also wrote music for television, including scoring the Danny Thomas hit "Make Room for Daddy."
Later, he worked as musical director for producer Sheldon Leonard, sometimes working on as many of five shows a week.
One of his more notable TV scoring efforts was for the 1960s adventure series "I Spy," starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp.
Because the show used exotic locations worldwide, Hagen often included ethnic touches in the incidental music, among them hiring Greek musicians to play for some episodes that took place in Greece. On other locations, he collected ethnic music to mix with Western music back in Hollywood.
After retiring from TV work in 1986, Hagen taught a workshop in film and television scoring.
He also wrote three books on scoring, including 1971's "Scoring for Films," one of the earliest textbooks on the subject. His 2002 autobiography was titled "Memoirs of a Famous Composer — Nobody Ever Heard Of."
Besides his wife, Hagen is survived by his sons, Deane and James, both of Palm Desert; stepchildren Rebecca Roberts, of Irvine, Richard Roberts of Los Angeles and Rachael Roberts of Irvine; and four grandchildren. His first wife, Elouise Hagen, died in 2002 following 59 years of marriage.
Earle Hagen, 'Andy Griffith' composer, dies at 88
May 27, 2008, 10:25 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Earle H. Hagen, who co-wrote the jazz classic "Harlem Nocturne" and composed memorable themes for "The Andy Griffith Show," "I Spy," "The Mod Squad" and other TV shows, has died. He was 88.
Hagen, who is heard whistling the folksy tune for "The Andy Griffith Show," died Monday night at his home in Rancho Mirage, his wife, Laura, said Tuesday. He had been in ill health for several months.
During his long musical career, Hagen performed with the top bands of the swing era, composed for movies and television and wrote one of the first textbooks on movie composing.
He and Lionel Newman were nominated for an Academy Award for best music scoring for the 1960 Marilyn Monroe movie "Let's Make Love."
For television, he composed original music for more than 3,000 episodes, pilots and TV movies, including theme songs for "That Girl," "The Dick Van Dyke Show" and "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C."
View more MSN videosGo to Nightly News
"He loved it," his wife said. "The music just flowed from him, and he would take off one hat and put on another and go on to the next show."
Hagen enjoyed the immediacy of the small screen, he told the American Society of Music Arrangers & Composers in 2000.
"It was hard work, with long hours and endless deadlines, but being able to write something one day and hear it a few days later appealed to me," he said. "Besides, I was addicted to the ultimate narcosis in music, which is the rush you get when you give a downbeat and wonderful players breathe life into the notes you have put on paper."
Born July 9, 1919, in Chicago, Hagen moved to Los Angeles as a youngster. He began playing the trombone while in junior high school.
"The school actually furnished him with a tuba and his mother made him take it back," his wife said.
He became so proficient that he graduated early from Hollywood High School and at 16 was touring with big bands. He played trombone with Benny Goodman and Tommy Dorsey and arranged for and played with Ray Noble's orchestra.
He and Dick Rogers wrote "Harlem Nocturne" for Noble in 1939. It has been covered many times since and served as the theme music for "Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer" television series in 1984.
In 1941, Hagen became a staff musician for CBS but the next year he enlisted in the military.
After the war, he worked as a composer and orchestrator for 20th Century-Fox studios on dozens of movies, including another Monroe classic, "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes."
In the 1950s, he and Herbert Spencer formed an orchestra partnership that also wrote music for television, including scoring the Danny Thomas hit "Make Room for Daddy."
Later, he worked as musical director for producer Sheldon Leonard, sometimes working on as many of five shows a week.
One of his more notable TV scoring efforts was for the 1960s adventure series "I Spy," starring Bill Cosby and Robert Culp.
Because the show used exotic locations worldwide, Hagen often included ethnic touches in the incidental music, among them hiring Greek musicians to play for some episodes that took place in Greece. On other locations, he collected ethnic music to mix with Western music back in Hollywood.
After retiring from TV work in 1986, Hagen taught a workshop in film and television scoring.
He also wrote three books on scoring, including 1971's "Scoring for Films," one of the earliest textbooks on the subject. His 2002 autobiography was titled "Memoirs of a Famous Composer — Nobody Ever Heard Of."
Besides his wife, Hagen is survived by his sons, Deane and James, both of Palm Desert; stepchildren Rebecca Roberts, of Irvine, Richard Roberts of Los Angeles and Rachael Roberts of Irvine; and four grandchildren. His first wife, Elouise Hagen, died in 2002 following 59 years of marriage.
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Lzcutter
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Harvey Korman, very funny fellow, has passed away
More bad news, Harvey Korman, a co-star of Carol Burnett's ensemble for her show, has passed away.
I feel really bad for Bob Newhart. With the losses of Tom Posten, Susanne Pleshette, Dick Martin and now Harvey, who does Bob have left to play poker with besides Don Rickles?
My favorite Harvey character, Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles.
RIP, good fella. The world is a little less funny tonight.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24882071/
I feel really bad for Bob Newhart. With the losses of Tom Posten, Susanne Pleshette, Dick Martin and now Harvey, who does Bob have left to play poker with besides Don Rickles?
My favorite Harvey character, Hedley Lamarr in Blazing Saddles.
RIP, good fella. The world is a little less funny tonight.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24882071/
Lynn in Lake Balboa
"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."
"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese
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"Film is history. With every foot of film lost, we lose a link to our culture, to the world around us, to each other and to ourselves."
"For me, John Wayne has only become more impressive over time." Marty Scorsese
Avatar-Warner Bros Water Tower
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Vecchiolarry
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Harvey Korman
Hi,
I have just heard on the news that Harvey Korman has died at age 81....
He was truly a very funny comic and one of only a handful, who could make me laugh out loud.
Talent has now been seriously depleted in Hollywood with his passing...
R.I.P. dear Harvey
Larry
I have just heard on the news that Harvey Korman has died at age 81....
He was truly a very funny comic and one of only a handful, who could make me laugh out loud.
Talent has now been seriously depleted in Hollywood with his passing...
R.I.P. dear Harvey
Larry
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moira finnie
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I'm so sorry to hear about Harvey Korman. How sad for comedy and the movies. While the appearances with Tim Conway on the Carol Burnett Show (particularly when he couldn't help cracking up) were often mirthful,
his role in Blazing Saddles, as the ultimate corrupt pol, was quite memorably funny. Here's a link to a nice piece in The Hollywood Reporter about him.
his role in Blazing Saddles, as the ultimate corrupt pol, was quite memorably funny. Here's a link to a nice piece in The Hollywood Reporter about him.
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moira finnie
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Joe Pevney, 96, a familiar actor from post-war films such as Thieves Highway, Body and Soul and several other films, as well as a director of films (Female on the Beach, Away All Boats and Man of a Thousand Faces, among others) and classic tv shows, has passed away after a particularly rich life, which is recalled in loving detail here in the LA Times.
The usually genial Joe Pevney, behind Jack Oakie in Thieves Highway. That great mug in the foreground belongs to Millard Mitchell.
Joseph Pevney, on the right, with Mark Stevens (left) and Donald Buka (center) in The Street With No Name.
(Thanks to our Friend of the SSO, Alan K. Rode, for letting me know about Mr. Pevney's death.)
The usually genial Joe Pevney, behind Jack Oakie in Thieves Highway. That great mug in the foreground belongs to Millard Mitchell.
Joseph Pevney, on the right, with Mark Stevens (left) and Donald Buka (center) in The Street With No Name.
(Thanks to our Friend of the SSO, Alan K. Rode, for letting me know about Mr. Pevney's death.)
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jdb1
I first became aware of Harvey Korman on the Danny Kaye TV show. Anyone who could successfully work with Kaye week after week had to be a real pro. Korman was great in everything he did, and his work with Mel Brooks was especially fine -- my favorite is his role as the urbane and evil psychiatrist in High Anxiety. I have a special affection for comics who can be both sophisticates and goofs. Anyone interested in the art of comic acting would do well to study the collected screen works of Harvey Korman. He will indeed be missed.
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jdb1
