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

==Production seasons==
[[File:Laugh in hawn buzzi.JPG|thumb|200px|Goldie Hawn and Ruth Buzzi in a 1968 Halloween skit]]
[[File:Rita hayworth laugh in 1971.JPG|thumb|200px|[[Rita Hayworth]] reprised her [[Miss Sadie Thompson|Sadie Thompson]] character on the show in 1971.]]
[[File:John Wayne Laugh In 1972.jpg|thumb|right|[[John Wayne]] being fitted for a giant bunny costume, 1972]]

===1967 Special===

The September 9, 1967, was meant to be a special, sponsored by [[Timex Corporation|Timex]], with guest stars: [[Pamela Austin]], [[Ken Berry]], [[Judy Carne]], [[Barbara Feldon]], and featuring [[Ruth Buzzi]], [[Henry Gibson]], [[Larry Hovis]], [[Arte Johnson]], [[Monte Landis]], [[Jo Anne Worley]], and [[Paul Weston and His Orchestra]]<ref name="youtube/ytwtzDM79Mg">{{cite web |author1=Shout! Studios |author1-link=Shout! Studios |title=Laugh-In:Pilot {{!}} Full Episode |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytwtzDM79Mg |website=[[YouTube]] |publisher=[[Shout! Factory]] |access-date=26 November 2024 |date=24 December 2021}}</ref>

===Season 1, 1968===

Season 1 ran from January to April 1968 with 14 episodes.  [[Gary Owens]] joined the cast in the first episode along with series regulars [[Pamela Austin]], [[Eileen Brennan]], [[Judy Carne]], [[Ruth Buzzi]],  [[Henry Gibson]], [[Larry Hovis]], [[Arte Johnson]], and [[Jo Anne Worley]]. [[Goldie Hawn]] joined the cast in the third episode. She had been under contract to ''[[Good Morning World (American TV series)|Good Morning World]]'' at the time of the pilot. [[Eileen Brennan]], [[Barbara Feldon]], and [[Jack Riley (actor)|Jack Riley]] made frequent appearances in both season 1 and 2. Riley usually did skits as President [[Lyndon Johnson]].

Ian Bernard (1930–2020) was the musical director for all 6 seasons. He composed the show's theme song along with numerous other pieces.

[[Billy Barnes (composer)|Billy Barnes]] composed special comedic and topical songs for the show's cast and guest stars. He was regularly seen playing a golden grand piano to accompany solos by cast members such as Ruth Buzzi, Alan Sues, and Jo Anne Worley and guest stars such as [[Dinah Shore]] and [[Lena Horne]].

Cast departures: all continued on into Season 2 but Hovis.

===Season 2===
Season 2 (1968–1969): New regulars included [[Chelsea Brown]], [[Dave Madden]] and [[Alan Sues]].

Arte Johnson now insisted on star billing, apart from the rest of the cast. The producer mollified him by having on-screen radio [[continuity 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 the star billing he wanted, but it also implied that he was still part of the ensemble cast.

Cast departures: Chelsea Brown and Dave Madden left at the end of season 2. Judy Carne officially left the show after episode 11 but did return for a few appearances in season 3.

===Season 3===

Season 3 (1969–1970): New regulars included [[Johnny Brown (actor)|Johnny Brown]], Byron Gilliam, [[Teresa Graves]], [[Jeremy Lloyd]], Pamela Rodgers, and [[Lily Tomlin]]. Gilliam was a dancer in seasons 1 to 2 and promoted to cast member this season. Both Brown and Tomlin joined late in this season.
 
Cast departures and changes: After the season finale, Gilliam returned to being a regular dancer in The Cocktail Party scene and in occasional skits. He remained until the end of the series. Graves, Hawn, Lloyd, and Worley left after the season 3 finale. Tomlin remained until the series ended in 1973.

===Season 4===
Season 4 (1970–1971): There were major changes to the set and new additions to the cast. The overall [[psychedelia]] look was replaced with a more [[avant-garde]] ambience. The Cocktail Party set now consisted of oversized cutouts of celebrity and historical figures. The show began to depart from both its [[Hippie]]-esque "vibe" and humor and its leanings toward the  
[[counterculture of the 1960s]]. There were now  significantly fewer jokes and less commentary about [[race relations]] and anti-[[Vietnam War]] sentiment.

New cast members: [[Dennis Roy Allen (TV comedian)|Dennis Allen]], writer-actress [[Ann Elder]], and tap dancer [[Barbara Sharma]].

Cast departures: Gibson left after episode 10 and Johnson left after the season 4 finale.

Notable visits for season 4: [[Goldie Hawn]] made a guest appearance in episode 3. After she left ''Laugh-In'' she made two movies, [[There's A Girl In My Soup|''There's a Girl In My Soup'']] and [[Cactus Flower (film)|''Cactus Flower'']], for which she won an [[Academy Award]]. [[Teresa Graves]] made two consecutive appearances toward the end of season 4.

===Season 5===

Season 5  (1971–1972): Another new set design was introduced that combined [[abstract art]] with [[avant-garde]]. The Cocktail Party set now consisted of a main wall covered in mirrored tiles. The jokes, commentary and overall humor became even more mainstream in Season 5, and there were more [[schtick]] and [[vaudeville]]-styled musical numbers. The few political jokes told were mostly aimed at the [[Nixon administration]]. Around mid-season, the show began to air brief anti-drug messages at the end of each episode. In keeping with ''Laugh-In''<nowiki/>'s groundbreaking nature, these messages strongly resembled 21st century [[GIFs]].

New cast members: ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'' alumni [[Richard Dawson]] and [[Larry Hovis]]. Both had been part of season 1. Child actor [[Moosie Drier]] was also added, doing solo cameo jokes.

Cast departures after the season 5 finale: Brown, Elder, Hovis, Sharma, and Sues. Dawson remained until the series ended.
  
During season 5 the show also celebrated its 100th episode. Former cast regulars Carne, Gibson, Graves, Johnson, and Worley returned for the festivities. Frequent guest stars [[Tiny Tim (musician)|Tiny Tim]] and [[John Wayne]] were also on hand to celebrate. This was Wayne's first guest appearance since 1968.

===Season 6===
Season 6 (1972–1973): This was ''Laugh-In''<nowiki/>'s final season. Rowan and Martin assumed the executive producer roles from [[George Schlatter]] and [[Ed Friendly]]. A new set was designed that mixed abstract art with muted [[psychedelia]] colors. There was once again a visible studio audience. Ian Bernard, the show's musical director, and five other musicians became participants in the Cocktail Party scenes as the house band known as "Ian Bernard and His Band at Large". Owens would often incorrectly introduce them as "Ian Bernard and His Band of [[Irvine, California|Irvine]] Quickies", " ...His Band of Lard" or "...His Band of Lies".  Also new for the first few episodes was a group of six women dancers called "The Downtown Beauties", referring to the show's running joke of "beautiful downtown Burbank". The members of this group were in the Cocktail Party scenes and the group was featured for many of the musical numbers. The known names of these dancers are Janice Pennington, Mary Rowan (Dan's daughter), and Adele Yoshioko.

Cast (returning veterans): Allen, Buzzi, Dawson, Owens, and Tomlin. (New members:) child actor [[Moosie Drier]], promoted to cast member and teamed with child actor Tod Bass, character comedian Brian Bressler (up to episode 10), comedienne [[Patti Deutsch]], German model Lisa Farringer (episodes 13–24), [[Sarah Kennedy (actor)|Sarah Kennedy]], folksy singer-comedian [[Jud Strunk]], ventriloquist act [[Willie Tyler]] and Lester, and Donna Jean Young. Former regular Jo Anne Worley returned for two guest appearances, including the series finale.

Although Owens was not in the 1967 pilot and Buzzi was not in two episodes of season 1, of the more than three dozen entertainers to join the cast over the years only Rowan, Martin, Owens, and Buzzi were present from beginning to end.

This last season was not George Schlatter's property, so it was not included in the edited and condensed rerun package of half-hour episodes that was syndicated (through [[Lorimar Productions]]) to local stations in 1983 and later to [[Nick at Nite]] in 1987. Season 6 ultimately was shown for the first time since its original 1972 -1973 run when the entire series of full, uncut episodes began airing on [[Decades (TV network)|Decades]] in 2017.