There were three people who appeared on every episode of “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” and the prime-time special that kicked it off: the comedy team of Dan Rowan and Dick Martin (it was their show, after all), and the series’ unsung heroine, Ruth Buzzi. Buzzi died Thursday. She was 88.
Before “Saturday Night Live,” there was “Laugh-In.” No, the show wasn’t live, and it aired on Mondays, not Saturdays. But it had a talented and zany ensemble cast and offered a freshness and unpredictability unlike anything else on network television in 1967, when the special aired. The series, which debuted in 1968, ran until 1973, two years before something originally called “NBC’s Saturday Night” made its own debut. “Laugh-In” was on NBC, too.
The show was a rapid-fire blend of one-liners, blackouts, vaudeville shtick, celebrity cameos, topical humor, catchphrases (“Look that up in your Funk & Wagnalls!,” “You bet your bippie!”), and such recurring features as a weekly cocktail party skit and the presentation of a “Flying Fickle Finger of Fate” award.
What made the show work — which it often did, though certainly not always — wasn’t the hit-or-miss writing. It was the up-for-pretty-much-anything ensemble. Over the course of six seasons, there were more than 40 regulars. Two became stars: Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin.
Buzzi, as her perfect-attendance record might suggest, had a special place in the ensemble. She cut a distinctive feature, with a big chin, even bigger grin, and seemingly endless energy. Think of her as the missing comedic link between Imogene Coca and Madeline Kahn, with Kate McKinnon off in the far distance.
Born in Westerly, R.I., Buzzi was head cheerleader at Stonington (Conn.) High School. She must have wielded a mean set of pom-poms. She headed west to study at the Pasadena Playhouse, where Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman were among her classmates. Buzzi did lots of stage and television work. The most notable was the original production of the Broadway musical “Sweet Charity.” The most important, though, was a school production of “Auntie Mame,” where Buzzi played the title character’s secretary, Agnes Gooch. Gooch became the inspiration for Buzzi’s Gladys Ormphby on “Laugh-In.”
Gladys has a place in the sad sack hall of fame. She’s slumped in posture and frowning in expression. She wears a formless cardigan and shoes so sensible they seem almost senseless. With hair pulled back in a bun, and that bun covered by a hairnet, she clutches a handbag even drabber than she is. Gladys is a Beckett character, if Beckett’s were outfitted by Goodwill.
But wait, Gladys has one source of solace: plopping down on a park bench and being alone with her thoughts (such as they are). But wait further, always, always waiting to afflict her is Arte Johnson’s Tyrone, a mumbly, mustachio’d old man. Tyrone doesn’t see Gladys as Miss Gooch. He sees her as Helen of Troy. Gladys, of course, wants nothing to do with him. So always, always she resorts to the one weapon in her arsenal: that handbag. She wallops the old guy with ferocity and gusto (and pleasure?). This is primo folie à deux, mutual assured destruction of the slapstick sort.
The gag never got tired. Like Gladys, it wasn’t so much ageless as something existent outside of time. After “Laugh-In” was canceled, Gladys even started popping up on Dean Martin’s celebrity roasts. Among those on the receiving end of her handbag were Martin, Frank Sinatra, and Muhammad Ali. Rope-a-dope may have worked with George Foreman. No way it was going to work with Gladys.
Buzzi won a Golden Globe and two Emmy nominations for her work on “Laugh-In.” But her hometown bestowed a more fitting honor. Westerly has a park bench dedicated to her.
Ruth Buzzi, comedy sketch player on groundbreaking series ‘Laugh-In,’ dies
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