| Dick Martin |
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Page 1 of 3 DICK MARTIN  1922 - 2008 You can bet your sweet bippy that anyone who grew up in the 1960s will recognize his name. He was one-half of the comedy team who hosted THE revolutionary break-through variety show of the decade. Dick Martin of Rowan & Martin and more importantly “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In” has died in Los Angeles at the age of 86. The fun-loving, free-wheeling duo fronted a new kind of variety show. With the psychedelic backdrop of the 1960s, “Laugh-In” integrated satire, political and social commentary, references to previously taboo subjects of sex and drugs, sight gags, and body-painting (!) into a fast-paced hour of mayhem that everyone would talk about the next day. Martin was the nutty comic foil to straight man Dan Rowan. It not only made stars of Rowan & Martin, but jumpstarted the careers of many of the other regulars, including future superstars Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin. Dick Martin was born on January 30, 1922 in Battle Creek, Michigan. After completing high school, he worked in an auto assembly plant. At 17, he lost the use of one of his lungs—a condition that did not bother him until much later in life (he died of respiratory complications). In the 1940s, he started to pursue a career in show business. One of his first jobs would be as a staff writer on the popular radio program, “Duffy’s Tavern.” His first acting role was a small uncredited part in 1951’s “Father’s Little Dividend’ with Spencer Tracy and Elizabeth Taylor.  But it was the following year that changed his life forever--he met his future show-biz partner—struggling actor Dan Rowan. The two 30-year-olds devised their own stand-up comedy routine. Donning tuxedos to give them an air of class, they began appearing at nightclubs around San Fernando Valley honing their act. In 1953, they started to get more high-profile gigs including a run at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas. Their star really began to rise when they became the opening act on tour for the very popular Nat King Cole. By 1955, they were appearing on the Las Vegas Strip at the Sands Hotel. Television appearances followed as the budding duo guested on the early Bob Hope, Perry Como, and Dinah Shore variety shows. |