Editing Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (section)

===Characters===
[[File:Henry Gibson 1969 (cropped version).JPG|thumb|right|[[Henry Gibson]], 1969]]
*[[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
*[[Gary Owens]] as an on-screen radio [[continuity announcer]], who regularly stands in an old-time radio studio (acoustic tiles, large microphone), 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 WWII German soldier who was unaware the war was over – Wolfgang would often peer out from behind a potted palm and comment on the previous gag saying, with a thick German accent, "Verrry in-te-res-tink", 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 [[American Broadcasting Company|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" who was always after drab spinster Gladys Ormphby (Ruth Buzzi). As she sat on a park bench he would attempt to sit right next to her, eventually forcing her to the edge of the bench. Gladys always rebuked Tyrone's advances and would clobber him multiple times with her purse until he would make a final comment about his well-being and do a slow roll off the bench. 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 out-of-fashion 1940s pin-striped 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 pseudo[[Mysticism|mystical]] 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.
**The Psychiatrist - a black haired, black clad doctor who often attends the ''Cocktail Party'' during season four and talks about his experiments and patients with a thick Freudian accent. 
*{{anchor|Ruth Buzzi}}[[Ruth Buzzi]]:
**Gladys Ormphby – A drab, relatively young [[spinster]], in the [[Close-up]] segments, including ''Cocktail Party'' segments, she is portrayed as desperate for males, in the Arte Johnson segments, she is the eternal target of Arte Johnson's ''Tyrone'', whom she rebukes, then attacks; 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<!-- https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/comedian-ruth-buzzi-poses-in-character-shots-for-the-cbs-news-photo/625071738 --> (an [[Alla Nazimova]] as Marguerite Gautier in ''[[Camille (1921 film)|Camille]]'' homage) with dark make-up around the eyes. She often attends the ''Cocktail Party'' in the later seasons. 
**Florence Lawrence - a meek wannabe secretary with giant teeth. Also attends the ''Cocktail Party'' during the back half of season four.
**Alice Capone - tells jokes during the Syndicate news segment in Season 6. Wears cotton stuffed in her mouth to resemble [[Marlon Brando]] in [[The Godfather]].
*[[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.
[[File:Lilly Tomlin Rita Hayworth Laugh-In 1971.JPG|215px|thumb|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 the Grouch|Oscar]] calls the operator and harangues her into hooking him up with five of his [[List of Sesame Street Muppets|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 {{frac|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 sorority 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.<ref>{{cite news|title=How Lily Helps Keep 'em Laughin'|author=Bell, Joseph N.|date=November 8, 1970|work=The New York Times|page=127|issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|page=135|title=They'll Leave You Laughing — and Thinking|author=Kent, Leticia|date=March 11, 1973|work=The New York Times}}</ref>
[[File:Judy Carne Rowan Martin Laugh In 1967.JPG|thumb|215px|Rowan and Martin with [[Judy Carne]] in 1967]]
*[[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!"
**[[#Sock it to me|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 [[Belting (music)|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 (TV comedian)|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 (actor)|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 (journalist)|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.
*[[Jud Strunk]] – sports news segment ("reporting from the sports capital of [[Farmington, Maine]]"), Vidal Bassoon (play on [[Vidal Sassoon]]) with the Bald News (who tears off a wig to reveal a bald cap each time).
*[[Patti Deutsch]] - Sister Mary Youngman (a nun who tells jokes a la [[Henny Youngman]]), Heavy Helen who presents the Hippy news.