The the iconic television show “Laugh-In” was a bit before my time, I knew the show was a classic and quite ground breaking. If it wasn’t for “Laugh-In” we might not have sketch comedy shows such as “Saturday Night Live,” “In Living Color,” and “Kids in the Hall.” “Laugh In” was created by George Schlatter. And now a youthful 93, Schlatter shares his story about “Laugh-In” and so much more in his memoir Still Laughing: A Life in Comedy from the Creator of “Laugh-In” as told to Jon Macks.
Before “Laugh-In” Schlatter started his show business career in one of the most Hollywood clichéd ways. He started out working in the mailroom at MCA in 1948. Sure, it was pretty low level, but not exactly boring, and Schlatter was able to work his way up. In fact, one of Schlatter’s first brushes with fame was when he met Frank Sinatra over a contract. What did old blue eyes say to the then very young Schlatter? “I have ties older than you.” Despite the age difference, Schlatter and Sinatra forged a strong friendship and worked on other show biz endeavors. In fact, Schlatter was asked to give an eulogy at Sinatra’s funeral.
Schlatter can also be credited with creating the Las Vegas lounge act and recalls working with some pretty unsavory mob characters while managing nightclubs and casinos. Through his work in Las Vegas, Schlatter was able to morph into working for television shows working with the greats like Lucille Ball and Judy Garland. Doing this work, producing shows and massaging the egos of the talent was a great education for Schlatter.
But of course, it is the “Laugh-In” that is one of Schlatter’s greatest achievements. It was 1967 when Schlatter came up with the idea of a comedy sketch show that was inspired by the hippie counter culture of the late sixties. Back then, sit-ins, be-ins, and love-ins were very popular, thus the name “Laugh-In.” “Laugh-In” manifested the social issues, politics, and sexual revolutions of that time, and gave all those things a comic twist.
“Laugh-In” became a huge hit. If the internet had existed back then people would have discussed it on social media and would have created blogs and fan pages about the show. “Laugh-In” launched the careers of mega watt stars like Lily Tomlin and Goldie Hawn (who provide the foreward and the afterword respectively in the book). The “Laugh-In” cast was a rag tag bunch of talented and funny people who made TV watchers across America laugh themselves silly. “Laugh-In” gave us such quotable lines like “Sock it to me!” Even President Richard Nixon spoke that famous line. Back then, having a politician on an entertaining TV show was quite revolutionary. Now it it seems to be mandatory that a Presidential candidate, whether a Democrat of a Republican, show up on a show like “Saturday Night Live.”
Schlatter gives us all the details on everything creating and producing “Laugh-In.” He describes auditioning the potential cast members to how he got a bare nipple past the censors. And “Laugh-In” was actual called “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.” Why? Well, back then Dan Rowan and Dick Martin were huge comedy stars and having celebrity names attached to the show would grab more viewers. It worked. And Schlatter spills some tea. Rowan and Martin hated each other.
“Laugh-In” wasn’t Schlatter’s only television baby. He also created the show “Real People.” “Real People” was probably one of the first reality TV shows. But instead of featuring bachelors and bachelorettes or real housewives ripping out each other’s hair extensions, “Real People” featured people who actually contributed to society like the Tuskegee Airman. I loved watching “Real People” as a kid, and by reading Still Laughing, I found out host Sarah Purcell wasn’t quite as prim as she appeared. As for another host, Byron Allen, whatever happened to him? I kid, I kid.
One continuous character in Schlatter’s life is is devoted and gorgeous wife, Jolene. Where many men in Hollywood are on their third, fourth, or fifth marriage, George and Jolene remain a true blue couple. I adored reading about their love story.
Still Laughing was a tremendous read. I loved all the name dropping and the inside of scoop of show business, working with celebrities, and creating iconic television shows. I’m so glad we still have a George Schlatter in our midst. His stories, and the stories of other old school TV greats who are still with us (Carol Burnett, Norman Lear, Dick Van Dyke) are so important. Still Laughing is an enlightening and fascinating read for anyone with memories of shows like “Laugh-In” or anyone interested in pop culture history.
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