Pilot and season 1

The pilot featured Ruth Buzzi, Judy Carne, Henry Gibson, Larry Hovis, Arte Johnson, and Jo Anne Worley, all of whom continued as season one regulars (and, except for Hovis, several seasons thereafter), along with future guest stars Ken Berry, Pamela Austin, and Barbara Feldon.

Gary Owens joined the cast in the proper first episode, as did Goldie Hawn, who was under contract to Good Morning World at the time of the pilot.

Seasons 2 and 3

The second season had a handful of new people, including Alan Sues, Dave Madden, and Chelsea Brown. All of the new cast members from season two left at the end of that season except Sues, who stayed on until 1972. At the end of the 1968–69 season, Carne chose not to renew her contract, although she did make appearances during 1969–1970.

Arte Johnson insisted on star billing, apart from the rest of the cast. The producer mollified him by having announcer Gary Owens read Johnson's credit as a separate sentence: "Starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin! And Arte Johnson! With Ruth Buzzi ..." This maneuver gave Johnson star billing, but made it sound as though he was still part of the ensemble cast.

The third season had several new people who only stayed on for that season, including Teresa Graves and Jeremy Lloyd. Lily Tomlin joined in the middle of the season and remained until the series ended. Johnny Brown made two appearances late, and stayed through seasons 4 and 5.

Jo Anne Worley, Goldie Hawn, and Judy Carne left after the third season.

Seasons 4 and 5

The 1970–71 season brought new additions to the cast, including tall, lanky, sad-eyed Dennis Allen, who stayed until the end; writer-actress Ann Elder; and tap dancer Barbara Sharma.

Arte Johnson and Henry Gibson left the show after/during the fourth season, with former third season regular Teresa Graves making two consecutive appearances toward the end.

The fifth season saw the return of former Hogan's Heroes stars Richard Dawson and Larry Hovis, both of whom had appeared in the first season; Dawson would remain until the series ended.

The Joke Wall was briefly retired to start the season, with introductions moving to the Cocktail Party set, and the cast telling their show-closing jokes surrounded by celebrity and historical figure cutouts; after only a few episodes, the Joke Wall returned for the closing jokes.

The show celebrated its 100th episode in its fifth season, with former regulars Carne, Worley, Johnson, Gibson, Graves, and frequent guest star Tiny Tim returning for the festivities; John Wayne was also on hand for his first cameo appearance since 1968.

Season 6

For the show's final season (1972–73), Rowan and Martin assumed the executive producer roles from George Schlatter and Ed Friendly. Along with returnees Dawson, Owens, Buzzi, Allen, and occasional appearances from Tomlin, a new cast was brought in. This final season featured comedian Patti Deutsch, folksy singer-comedian Jud Strunk, ventriloquist act Willie Tyler and Lester, giddy Goldie Hawn lookalike Sarah Kennedy, wide-eyed brunette Donna Jean Young, and character comedian Brian Bressler. Sound-effects artist Frank Welker also made numerous appearances. Former regular Jo Anne Worley returned for two guest appearances, including the final episode.

This last season, which was not a George Schlatter property, was not included in the edited half-hour rerun package that was syndicated (through Lorimar Productions) to local stations in 1983 and later on Nick at Nite in 1987, ultimately appearing for the first time since its original run when the series began airing on Decades in 2017.

Of the more than three dozen entertainers to join the cast, only Rowan, Martin, Owens, and Buzzi were there from beginning to end. However, Owens was not in the 1967 pilot and Buzzi was not present in two first-season episodes.

Cast tenures

• All seasons: Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Gary Owens, and Ruth Buzzi
• Season 1 (1968): Judy Carne, Arte Johnson, Pamela Austin, Eileen Brennan, Henry Gibson, Flip Wilson, Goldie Hawn, Larry Hovis, Roddy Maude-Roxby, Jo Anne Worley, Inga Neilsen, Paul Winchell, Tiny Tim
• Season 2 (1968–69): Judy Carne, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Goldie Hawn, Jo Anne Worley, Dave Madden, Alan Sues, Chelsea Brown, "Sweet Brother" Dick Whittington (through episode 14), Charlie Brill and Mitzi McCall ("the Fun Couple"; through episode 11), Pigmeat Markham (through episode 14), Jack Riley (episodes 4, 7, 12, 13, 16), Muriel Landers (episodes 11 and 20), J.J. Barry (episodes 15–19),^[3] Byron Gilliam (dancer only), Barbi Benton (dancer only)
• Season 3 (1969–70): Judy Carne (through episode 11), Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Goldie Hawn, Alan Sues, Jo Anne Worley, Teresa Graves, Jeremy Lloyd, Pamela Rodgers, Byron Gilliam (through episode 11, but continued as a dancer and in occasional cameos), Lily Tomlin (from episode 15), Stu Gilliam (episodes 14, 16, 19, 20, 26), Johnny Brown (episodes 22 and 24, originally introduced as "John Brown")
• Season 4 (1970–71): Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson (through episode 10), Alan Sues, Lily Tomlin, Dennis Allen, Johnny Brown, Nancie Phillips (through episode 17), Barbara Sharma, Ann Elder, Harvey Jason (episodes 2 and 4), Glen Ash (episodes 10 and 11), Byron Gilliam (dancer only)
• Season 5 (1971–72): Alan Sues, Lily Tomlin, Dennis Allen, Johnny Brown, Ann Elder, Barbara Sharma, Larry Hovis, Richard Dawson, Moosie Drier, Byron Gilliam (dancer only), Barbi Benton (dancer only)
• Season 6 (1972–73): Lily Tomlin, Dennis Allen, Richard Dawson, Patti Deutsch, Sarah Kennedy, Jud Strunk, Willie Tyler and Lester, Donna Jean Young, Moosie Drier, Tod Bass, Frank Welker, Brian Bressler (through episode 10), Kathy Speirs (episodes 11 and 12), Lisa Farringer (from episode 13). Not all cast members appear in all episodes this season; apparently as an economic measure, producers Rowan and Martin gave individual performers the occasional week off, so there are absences from show to show. Only Ruth Buzzi and Gary Owens were considered essential to the weekly schedule, and they appeared in every episode.

John Wayne and Tiny Tim helped Laugh-In celebrate its 100th episode in 1971.

Regular guest performers

• Jack Benny (seasons 2–4, 6)
• Johnny Carson (seasons 1–6)
• Carol Channing (seasons 3–5)
• Tony Curtis (seasons 2–3, 5)
• Sammy Davis, Jr. (seasons 1–4, 6)
• Phyllis Diller (seasons 2–4, 6)
• Barbara Feldon (seasons 1–2)
• Zsa Zsa Gabor (seasons 2–3)
• Peter Lawford (seasons 1–4; Lawford became Dan Rowan's son-in-law in 1971)
• Rich Little (seasons 2, 4, 6)
• Jill St. John (seasons 1, 3, 5–6)
• Tiny Tim (seasons 1–3, 5)
• John Wayne (seasons 1–2, 5–6)
• Flip Wilson (seasons 1–4)
• Henny Youngman (seasons 2, 5–6)

Sketches

Frequently recurring Laugh-In sketches included:

• "Sock it to me"; Judy Carne was often tricked into saying the phrase ("It may be rice wine to you, but it's sake to me!"), which invariably results in her (or other cast members) falling through a trap door, being doused with water, or playfully assaulted in various other manners. The phrase was also uttered by many of the cameo guest stars, most notably Richard Nixon, though they were almost never subjected to the same treatment as Carne.
• "The Farkel Family", a couple with numerous children, all of whom had bright red hair and large freckles similar to their "good friend and trusted neighbor" Ferd Berfel (Dick Martin). The sketch employed diversion humor, the writing paying more attention to the lines said by each player, using alliterative tongue-twisters ("That's a fine-looking Farkel flinger you found there, Frank"). Dan Rowan played father Frank Farkel the Third, Jo Anne Worley, Barbara Sharma, and Patti Deutsch played his wife Fanny Farkel, Goldie Hawn played Sparkle Farkel, Arte Johnson played Frank Farkel the Fourth, and Ruth Buzzi played Flicker Farkel, who would only say "HIIIIII!" in a very high-pitched voice. Two of the children were twins named Simon and Gar Farkel, played by cast members of different races (Teresa Graves and Pamela Rodgers in the third season, Johnny Brown and Dennis Allen in the fourth season). By the final season the Farkel offspring had dwindled to only two children, played by Ruth Buzzi and the puppet Lester. All of the Farkel skits were written or co-written by David Panich.
• "Here Comes the Judge". The judge, originally portrayed by British comic Roddy Maude-Roxby, was a stuffy magistrate with a black robe and oversized judge's wig. Each sketch featured the judge trading barbs with a defendant brought him; on delivery of the punchline, he would strike the defendant with an inflated bladder balloon tied to the sleeve of his robe. Guest stars Flip Wilson or Sammy Davis Jr. would introduce the sketch saying "Here come da judge!", which was a venerable catchphrase by nightclub comedian Pigmeat Markham. Surprised that his trademark had been appropriated, Markham asked producer George Schlatter to let him play the judge himself; Schlatter agreed and Markham presided for the first half of the second season. After Markham left, the sketch was briefly retired until Sammy Davis Jr. donned the judicial robe and wig during his guest appearances, making the role his own. The character was introduced as "The Right Honorable Samuel Davis, Junior" (or "Right Hon." for short). Davis introduced each sketch with a spoken verse like "If your lawyer's sleepin', better give him a nudge! Everybody look alive 'cause here come de judge!" Davis would then strut off stage chanting "Here come de judge! Here come de judge!"
• "Laugh-In Looks at the News", a parody of network newscasts, introduced by the female cast members in a highly un-journalistic production number. The sketch was originally called the Rowan and Martin Report (a take-off on the Huntley-Brinkley Report). The sketch itself featured Dick humorously reporting on current events, which then segued into Dan reporting on "News of the Past" and "News of the Future". The latter of these segments, on at least two occasions, correctly predicted future events, one being that Ronald Reagan would be president in 1988, and another that the Berlin Wall would finally come down in 1989. This segment was influenced by the BBC's That Was the Week That Was, and in turn inspired Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" segments (SNL creator Lorne Michaels was a Laugh-In writer early in his career). The News segments were followed by "Big Al" (Alan Sues) and his sports report in seasons 2–5. After Sues left the show, Jud Strunk took over the sports segment ("reporting from the sports capital of Farmington, Maine") by featuring films of oddly-named events which were actual sports films played backwards. An example is the "Cannonball Catch", featuring a backwards film of a bowling tournament where the "cannonballs" (bowling balls) are caught one-handed by the catcher (the bowler) after rolling up the alley.
• "New Talent Time" also called "Discovery of the Week" in later seasons. Introduced oddball variety acts (sometimes characters played by regular cast members)
  • Tin Pan Alley musician Tiny Tim – The most notable of these acts was introduced in episode 1 and shot to fame. Returned in the Season 1 finale and made several guest appearances after.
  • Actor Paul Gilbert (adoptive father of actress Melissa Gilbert) appeared in three episodes as an inept French juggler, introduced as "Paul Jill-bare".
  • 6'2" actress Inga Neilsen made appearances as a bugle/kazoo player who could only play one note of "Tiger Rag" and had to deal with Martin's advances. Martin, who hated all of the other New Talent acts, would enthusiastically cheer her on despite the obvious lack of talent.
  • Ventriloquist Paul Winchell appeared three times as "Lucky Pierre", whose puppets would fall apart or die on him.
  • Arte Johnson would appear as his Pyotr Rosmenko character looking for big American break, singing gibberish in a Russian accent.
  • Murray Langston, who later achieved fame as the Gong Show's "Unknown Comic".
  • Laugh-In writer Chris Bearde took the "New Talent" concept and later developed it into The Gong Show.
• "The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award" sardonically recognized actual dubious achievements by public individuals or institutions, the most frequent recipients being members or branches of the government. The trophy was a gilded left hand mounted on a trophy base with its extended index finger adorned with two small wings.
• "The Wonderful World of Whoopee Award" was a counterpart to the "Flying Fickle Finger of Fate Award", described by Rowan as a citation "for the little man who manages to outfight or outfox the bureaucracy"; the statue was similar to the Finger of Fate, only it was a right hand (without wings on the index finger) pointing straight up, and with a hidden mechanism that, when activated, waved the finger in a circular motion.
• "The C.F.G. Automat"; a vending machine whose title was an inside joke for cast members who referred to producer Schlatter as "Crazy (F'ing) George". The vending machine would distribute oddball items that were a play on the name. Examples: The 'pot pie' produced a cloud of smoke when the door was opened, then the pie floated away. The 'ladyfingers' was a woman's hand reaching out and tickling Arte's face while another 'ladyfingers' door opened and picked his pocket.
• Many episodes were interspersed with a recurring, short wordless gag in which an actor repeatedly tried to accomplish some simple task like entering an elevator, opening a window or door, watering a plant, etc., which would fail each time in a different, surprising way (the object would move unexpectedly, another part of the wall or room would move, water would squirt the actor in the face from the object, etc.)
• Another recurring wordless gag involved one or more actors walking around the street in a jerky fashion (using stop-motion or low shutter speed filming) holding and turning a bare steering wheel, as if they were driving a car or actually were a car, with various sound effects to simulate honking, back-ups, collisions with each other, etc.
• From season four on, a variety of sketches or jokes used the word "Foon", usually as part of the name of imaginary products or persons (e.g., Foon detergent, Mr. Foonman). (They did this with "Nern" in earlier seasons.)
• "Questions From The Audience / Dick's Costumes"; In the sixth season, Dan Rowan would ask the audience if anybody had any questions about the show or otherwise. As he was doing so (in which nobody in the audience ever spoke up), Dick Martin would come out wearing some kind of costume which Rowan would ask about, leading to a humorous exchange on the costume's subject matter.

Characters

Johnny Brown, 1971

• Dan Rowan, in addition to hosting, provided the "News Of The Future" and also appeared as General Bull Right, a far-right-wing representative of the military establishment and outlet for political humor.
• Dick Martin, in addition to hosting would also play the drunken Leonard Swizzle, husband of an equally drunk Doris Swizzle (Ruth Buzzi); and a character always buzzing for an elevator on which the doors never closed in a normal way
• Announcer Gary Owens regularly stands in an old-time radio studio with his hand cupped over his ear, making announcements, often with little relation to the rest of the show, such as (in an overly-dramatic voice), "Earlier that evening ..."
• Arte Johnson:
  • Wolfgang the German soldier – Wolfgang would often peer out from behind a potted palm and comment on the previous gag saying "Verrry in-te-res-ting", sometimes with comments such as "... but shtupid!" He eventually closed each show by talking to Lucille Ball and her husband Gary Morton, as well as the cast of Gunsmoke — both airing opposite Laugh-In on CBS; as well as whatever was on ABC. Johnson later repeated the line while playing Nazi-themed supervillain Virman Vundabar on an episode of Justice League Unlimited. Johnson also reprised his Wolfgang character in a series of skits for the second season of Sesame Street (1970–1971), and in 1980 for a series of small introductory skits with a plant on 3-2-1 Contact, during the "Growth/Decay" week.
  • Tyrone F. Horneigh (pronounced "hor-NIGH", presumably to satisfy the censors) was a dirty old man coming on to Gladys Ormphby (Ruth Buzzi) seated on a park bench, who almost invariably clobbers him with her purse. Both Tyrone and Gladys later became animated characters (voiced by Johnson and Buzzi) in "The Nitwits" segments of the 1977 Saturday morning animated television show, Baggy Pants and the Nitwits.
  • Pyotr Rosmenko, a Russian man, stands stiffly and nervously in an ill-fitting suit while commenting on differences between America and "the old country", such as "Here in America, is very good, everyone watch television. In old country, television watches you!" This type of joke has come to be known as the Russian reversal.
  • Rabbi Shankar (a pun on Ravi Shankar) was an Indian guru who dresses in a Nehru jacket dispensing pseudomystical Eastern wisdom laden with bad puns. He held up two fingers in a peace sign whenever he spoke.
  • An unnamed character in a yellow raincoat and hat, riding a tricycle and then falling over, was frequently used to link between sketches. The character was portrayed by many people besides Johnson, including his brother Coslough (a writer for the show), Alan Sues, and Johnny Brown.
  • The Scandinavian Storyteller – spoke gibberish, including nonsensical 'Knock Knock' jokes in the Joke Wall. No one could ever understand him. Possibly inspiration for the Muppets' Swedish Chef character.
• Ruth Buzzi:
  • Gladys Ormphby – A drab, relatively young spinster, she is the eternal target of Arte Johnson's Tyrone; when Johnson left the series, Gladys retreated into recurring daydreams, often involving marriages to historical figures, including Christopher Columbus and Benjamin Franklin (both played by Alan Sues). She typically hit people repeatedly with her purse. The character was recreated, along with Tyrone, in Baggy Pants and the Nitwits. Buzzi also performed as Gladys on Sesame Street and The Dean Martin Show, most notably in the Celebrity Roasts.
  • Doris Swizzle – A seedy barfly, she is paired with her husband, Leonard Swizzle, played by Dick Martin.
  • Kim Hither – An exceedingly friendly hooker, commonly seen in sketches or at the cocktail party propositioning people while leaning against a lamppost.
  • Busy Buzzi – A cold and heartless old-style Hedda Hopper-type Hollywood gossip columnist.
  • Kathleen Pullman – A wicked parody of televangelist Kathryn Kuhlman. This always helpful but overdramatic woman is always eager to help people.
  • Laverne Blossom - A former silent movie star with dark make-up around the eyes. She often attends the cocktail party in the later seasons.
• Henry Gibson:
  • The Poet held an oversized flower and nervously read offbeat poems. (His stage name was a play on the name of playwright Henrik Ibsen.)
  • The Parson – A character who makes ecclesiastical quips. In 1970, he officiated at a near-marriage for Tyrone and Gladys.
  • Would frequently just pop up and utter the phrase "Marshall McLuhan, what are you doin'?".
  • Also played a cub reporter for Busy Buzzi. While she was looking for a scoop, Gibson would come in with one (usually about Steve McQueen) which Buzzi would completely garble up to sound like something out of left field.
• Goldie Hawn is best known as the giggling "dumb blonde", stumbling over her lines, especially when she introduced Dan's "News of the Future". In the earliest episodes, she recited her dialogue sensibly and in her own voice, but as the series progressed, she adopted a Dumb Dora character with a higher-pitched giggle and a vacant expression, which endeared her to viewers. Frequently did a Donald Duck voice at inappropriate times, such as when she was expected to sing or doing ballet.

The Tasteful Lady (Lily Tomlin) entertains Rita Hayworth, 1971

• Lily Tomlin:
  • Ernestine/Miss Tomlin – An obnoxious telephone operator, she has no concern at all for her customers and constantly mispronounced their names. Her close friend is fellow telephone operator, Phenicia; and her boyfriend, Vito. She would boast of being a high school graduate. Tomlin later performed Ernestine on Saturday Night Live and Happy New Year, America. She also played the Ernestine character for a comedy album called This Is A Recording and also made guest appearances as the character on shows and TV specials, such as Sesame Street, The Electric Company, Free to Be... a Family, and Sesame Street Stays Up Late!, in the last of which Oscar calls the operator and harangues her into hooking him up with five of his Grouch relatives. At the suggestion of CFG, Ernestine began dialing with her middle finger in Season 4, sometimes blatantly flipping "the bird" to the camera as a result. Censors never caught on – "we know she's doing something wrong, we just can't put our finger on it!"
  • Edith Ann – A 5+1⁄2-year-old child, she ends each of her short monologs with: "And that's the truth", followed by blowing a raspberry. Tomlin performs her skits in an oversized rocking chair that makes her appear small. Tomlin later performed Edith Ann on children's shows such as Sesame Street and The Electric Company.
  • Mrs. Earbore (the "Tasteful Lady") – A prim society matron, Mrs. Earbore expressed quiet disapproval about a tasteless joke or remark, and then rose from her chair with her legs spread, getting doused with a bucket of water or the sound of her skirt ripping.
  • Dotty – A crass and rude grocery checker who tended to annoy her customers at the store where she worked.
  • Lula – A loud and boisterous woman with a Marie Antoinette hair-do who always loved a party.
  • Suzie Sorority of the Silent Majority – clueless hippie college student who ended each bit with "Rah!"
  • The Babbler – A character given to speaking exuberantly and at great length while digressing after every few words and never staying on one subject, producing an unbroken, incomprehensible monolog.^[7][8]
• Judy Carne had two characters known for their robotic speech and movement:
  • Mrs. Robot in "Robot Theater" – A female companion to Arte Johnson's "Mr. Robot".
  • The Talking Judy Doll – She is usually played with by Arte Johnson, who never heeded her warning: "Touch my little body, and I hit you!"
  • The Sock-It-To-Me Girl in which she would usually end up being splashed with water and/or falling through a trap door and/or getting conked on the head by a large club or mallet and/or knocked out by a boxing glove on a spring.
• Jo Anne Worley sometimes sings off-the-wall songs using her loud operatic voice or displaying an advanced state of pregnancy, but is better remembered for her mock outrage at "chicken jokes" and her melodic outcry of "Bo-ring!". At the cocktail parties, she would talk about her never-seen married boyfriend/lover "Boris" (who, according to her in a Season 3 episode, was finally found out by his wife).
• Alan Sues:
  • Big Al – A clueless and fey sports anchor, he loves ringing his "Featurette" bell, which he calls his "tinkle".
  • He would dress in drag as his former co-star, Jo Anne Worley, including skits where he appeared as a "fairy godmother". imitating Worley's boisterous laugh and offering help or advice to a Cinderella-type character in a conversation full of double entendres.
  • Uncle Al, the Kiddies' Pal – A short-tempered host of a children's show, he usually goes on the air with a hangover: "Oh, kiddies, Uncle Al had a lot of medicine last night." Whenever he got really agitated, he would yell to "Get Miss Twinkle on the phone!"
  • Grabowski – a benchwarmer football player obviously not cut out for the sport. Example lines included "He pushed me! He pushed me!... they all pushed me!" and "No, you can't wear your ballet slippers on the field, Grabowski!"
  • Boomer – A self-absorbed "jock" bragging about his athletic exploits.
  • Ambiguously gay saloon patron – while Dan and Dick ordered whiskey, he would saunter up to the bar and ask for a fruit punch or frozen daiquiri.
  • In the last season where he was a regular, he would be the one who got water thrown on him after a ticking alarm clock went off (replacing Judy Carne as the one who always got drenched).
• Pamela Rodgers – "Your man in Washington"; she would give 'reports' from the Capitol that were usually double entendres to give the impression that the Congressmen were fooling around with her.
• Jeremy Lloyd – scrunched himself into an ultra-short character a la Toulouse-Lautrec.
• Dennis Allen:
  • Lt. Peaches of the Fuzz – a stumble-bum police officer.
  • Chaplain Bud Homily – a droll clergyman who often falls victim to his own sermons.
  • Eric Clarified (a play on news commentator Eric Sevareid) – a correspondent for Laugh-In Looks at the News who further muddles up obfuscatory government statements he has been asked to clarify. Rowan would often throw to another correspondent (played by Sues) to analyze Eric Clarified's statements in turn.
• Barbara Sharma:
  • The Burbank Meter Maid – a dancing meter maid who tickets anything from trees to baby carriages.
  • An aspiring actress who often plays foil in cocktail-party segments to another "high-society" character (Tomlin).
  • In season four, a Ruby Keeler-esque dancer (and arch-nemesis of Johnson's Wolfgang) who often praises Vice President Spiro Agnew.
• Johnny Brown lent his impersonations of Ed Sullivan, Alfred Hitchcock, Ralph Kramden and the Kingfish from Amos 'n' Andy.
• Ann Elder as Pauline Rhetoric (a play on NBC reporter Pauline Frederick), the chief interviewer for the Laugh-In News segments.
• Moosie Drier and Todd Bass – Drier did the "kids news for kids" segment of the Laugh-In news. Bass teamed with Drier in Season 6 to read letters from a treehouse
• Larry Hovis – the Senator, the Texan, David Brinkley, Father Time
• Richard Dawson – W.C. Fields, Groucho Marx, Hawkins the Butler, who always started his piece by asking "Permission to ...?" and proceeded to fall over.
• Roddy Maude-Roxby, Pigmeat Markham – Here Come Da Judge (Roxby for Season 1, Markham for Season 2)
• Dave Madden – would always throw confetti after "a naughty thought", usually a punch line that was a double-entendre. Once while kissing Carne, confetti erupted around him

Memorable moments

The first season featured some of the first music videos seen on network TV, with cast members appearing in films set to the music of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the Bee Gees, the Temptations, the Strawberry Alarm Clock, and the First Edition.

During the September 16, 1968, episode, Richard Nixon, running for president, appeared for a few seconds with a disbelieving vocal inflection, asking "Sock it to me?" Nixon was not doused or assaulted. An invitation was extended to Nixon's opponent, Vice President Hubert Humphrey, but he declined.^[9] According to George Schlatter, the show's creator, "Humphrey later said that not doing it may have cost him the election", and "[Nixon] said the rest of his life that appearing on Laugh-In is what got him elected. And I believe that. And I've had to live with that."^[4][10] In an episode of the ill-fated 1977 revival, Rich Little as Nixon says, "I invited the American people to sock-it-to-me.... you can stop now".

After winning the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in Cactus Flower, Goldie Hawn made a guest appearance in the third episode of the fourth season. She began the episode as an arrogant snob of an actress; however, a bucket of water thrown at her transformed her back to her giggling dumb blonde persona.

On multiple occasions, producer George Schlatter attempted to get William F. Buckley Jr. to appear on the show, only to be refused each time until he suddenly agreed to an appearance. In the episode that aired December 28, 1970, Buckley appeared in an unusual sit-down segment (portions of which were scattered throughout the episode) flanked by Rowan and Martin and fielding questions from the cast (which included Lily Tomlin doing her Babbler and Ernestine shticks) and giving humorous answers to each. Near the end, when Rowan asked Buckley why he finally agreed to appear on the show, Buckley explained that Schlatter had written him "an irresistable letter" in which he promised to fly Buckley out to Burbank "in an airplane with two right wings". At the end, Rowan thanked him for appearing: "You can't be that smart without having a sense of humor, and you have a delightful one."

The 100th episode featured John Wayne, Tiny Tim and the return of several former cast members. Wayne, with his ear cupped, read the line "and me, I'm Gary Owens" instead of Owens himself. Wayne also shook Tiny Tim's hand, pretending that his grip was too overpowering.

DVD releases

Between 2003 and 2004, Rhino Entertainment Company (under its Rhino Retrovision classic TV entertainment brand), under license from the rightsholder at the time, SFM Entertainment, released two The Best Of releases of the show, each containing six episodes presented in its original, uncut broadcast version. In 2003, Rhino, through direct-response marketing firm Guthy-Renker, also released a series of DVDs subtitled The Sock-It-To-Me Collection, with each DVD containing two episodes.

On June 19, 2017, Time Life, another direct-response marketer, released Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: The Complete Series on DVD in Region 1, in a deal with current rightsholder Proven Entertainment.^[14] The 38-disc set contains all 140 episodes of the series, complete and uncut, restored and remastered as well as many bonus features and a special 32-page collector's book.

On September 5, 2017, Time Life began releasing individual complete season sets on DVD, beginning with the first season.^[15] This was followed by the second season on January 9, 2018,^[16] and the third season on March 6, 2018.^[17] The fourth season was released on May 8, 2018.^[18] Season 5 was released on July 10, 2018. Finally, Season 6 was released on September 4, 2018.^[19]