There goes da judge: RIP Dick Martin

Oh my, the second of the duo that gave us such a kick when I was a kid has passed away. Dick Martin died yesterday of respiratory failure. Well, he was 86.

This report, from CNN, sparked some memories:

"Laugh-in," which debuted in January 1968, was unlike any comedy-variety show before it. Rather than relying on a series of tightly scripted song-and-dance segments, it offered up a steady, almost stream-of-consciousness run of non-sequitur jokes, political satire and madhouse antics from a cast of talented young actors and comedians that also included Ruth Buzzi, Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Jo Anne Worley and announcer Gary Owens ...

Against this backdrop, audiences were taken from scene to scene by quick, sometimes psychedelic-looking visual cuts, where they might see Hawn, Worley and other women dancing in bathing suits with political slogans, or sometimes just nonsense, painted on their bodies. Other times, Gibson, clutching a flower, would recite nonsensical poetry or Johnson would impersonate a comical Nazi spy.

Verrrrry interesting ...

"Laugh-In" was responsible for bringing Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin into our lives.

I never did get the "Here come da judge" gag, until I read this, today. And who can forget Richard Nixon portentously yelping, "Sock it to ME!"

Anyway, the fickle finger of fate finally pointed in Martin's direction. His comedic partner, Dan Rowan, died in 1987.