Thomas Richard "Dick" Martin

 Thomas Richard "Dick" Martin (January 30, 1922 – May 24, 2008)

He was known for his role as the cohost of the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968-73. Martin graduated from Michigan State University. Early in his career, Martin was a staff writer for Duffy's Tavern, a radio situation comedy. Martin and Dan Rowan formed the comedy team Rowan and Martin in 1952, and played in nightclubs across the United States and overseas. Martin played a drunk heckling a Shakespearean performer, was a mainstay of their live act for years. The duo could frequently be seen as host-performers on NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour, alternating with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and other more established names. In 1958 they starred in a feature film, Hal Kanter's comedy Western Once Upon a Horse, which failed to catch on with moviegoers. In 1960, their contract with NBC was cancelled four years early by mutual consent. In 1962 Martin worked solo, playing next-door neighbor to Lucille Ball during the first season of her comeback sitcom The Lucy Show. He and Rowan returned to the nightclub circuit until 1966, when they were tapped to host the summer replacement series for the Dean Martin Show. He co-starred in the 1966 Doris Day movie The Glass Bottom Boat. Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In was an immediate hit, becoming the #1 American television program within two months of its debut. It was the top-rated show in its second and third seasons.

Laugh-In had a kaleidoscopic format, with what was then a uniquely fast-paced stream-of-consciousness style of blackout gags, double entendre, topical satire and catchphrases, much of it delivered by a cast of then-unknowns such as Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, and Arte Johnson. Martin also established himself as an efficient comedy director. Starting on The Bob Newhart Show, he directed for over a dozen series. Martin later became the chief director of the 1980s sitcom Newhart. Martin died on May 24, 2008, of breathing complications in Santa Monica, California. He was 86 years old.