Dead, From Beautiful Downtown Burbank

(An epitaphany shared with Monty)

Or

It’s Space Ghost

(Another epitaphany shared with Monty)

Gary Owens, who lent a polished baritone to complete and utter nonsense as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, has died at the age of 80. He later voiced Roger Ramjet, a patriotic nimrod pilot on a crudely animated series – the American Dudley Do-Right. He voiced cartoon superhero Space Ghost in the 1960s, then later helped turn the long-forgotten character into a surreal star as the host of a fake late-night interview show on the Cartoon Network, going so far as to cameo in an interview segment with himself. He voiced the Blue Falcon, a parody of Batman, with falcon gadgets and a falcon belt and idiot robot sidekick Dynomutt filling the role of the easily kidnappable Robin.

C’mon Dirt Nappy

Dave Madden, who as band manager Reuben Kincaid served as the entrance for the audience on The Partridge Family by hating wannabe cool guy Keith, goodie two shoes Laurie, obnoxious Danny and we-just-need-them-to-be-cute-and-get-into-misadventures Chris and Tracy, as much as viewers, has died of myelodysplastic syndrome at the age of 82. He also appeared on Camp Runamuck, was a recurring patron at Mel’s Diner on Alice, was part of the cast of the first season of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In.

Bye, Henry Gibson

(Kudos to Monty)

Or
Hello Charlotte
(Props to Peter C)
Henry Gibson, the priest and poet of Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In has died of cancer at the age of 73. He got his start in a comic duo with Jon Voight in the 1960s. Anyone who could make that pairing funny had to have a future in comedy and he got tapped to join the Not Ready for Late Night cast of Laugh-In, most notably as the stoic priest dishing one-liners in the quick-cut cocktail party sketches and toting a giant flower while reciting poetry that was alternately sardonic and moronic. His other best known role was the leader of the Illinois Nazis that so riled Jake and Elwood in The Blues Brothers. He tried to kill Tom Hanks in The ‘burbs during Hanks’ mostly fallow period between being drunk Uncle Ned and becoming the most popular actor in the history of cinema. Gibson drew attention for a dramatic role as the smarmy superpatriot country star Haven Hamilton, winning a Golden Globe nomination, got fired for smoking in Gremlins 2, and most recently played Judge Clark Brown on Boston Legal, constantly commenting on the “out-rageous” behavior of Allan Shore and Denny Crain.

Good Night Dick

Or
Sock it to Him
(Props to Don, making a rare appearance in the winner’s circle)
The Fickle Finger of Fate touched Dick Martin, half of the comic genius behind the genre-busting sketch show Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, as he succumbed to bippy failure at the age of 86. Martin played the fool to partner Dan Rowan’s sophisticate straight man in a nightclub act that earned them hosting duties on the 1968 series that set the standards for television irreverence. Combining non sequiturs, awful puns, double entendres, special guest stars ranging from Jack Benny to John Wayne to Richard Nixon and a leisurely disdain for everything, Laugh-In was unlike anything that had appeared on television, and won two Emmys and load of viewers. Irreverence quickly gave way to irrevelance, and the show flamed out after 5 years and an awful spin-off movie, The Maltese Bippy. The show’s lasting legacy is Saturday Night Live, created by Laugh-In writer Lorne Michaels, which employs a similar philosophy of unknown young talent, but lacked the good sense to end on top. After Laugh-In, Martin spent a year on the game show circuit, notably eschewing the convention of changing clothes between shows, which gave the illusion that shows weren’t churned out 5 at a time. Among his acting stints included recurring appearances as Lucille Ball’s neighbor Harry on her first comeback and Pete’s grandpa on Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place.

Three Pooligans consulted their Funk & Wagnalls and split the hit: Marlene’s And Now for the Rest of the Stiffs took 10th and Don’s The After Midnight Specials and Michelle’s Hello, You Must be Going tie at 25th, however briefly, as…