Time/Life Press Release: Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In: The Complete Series (1 Viewer)

[nobajoba]

That was a filmed segment that was done for SNL when Lily guest hosted.



Well, let's see what I remember...I won't remember much specifically, I guess. The room she performed in could hold a thousand people (all college students) and both shows were sold out. She did routines of all her various characters. I recall that she did do Lucille the Rubber Freak, JohnMor! Didn't she say on the DVD interview that George Schlatter didn't want her to do that one on Laugh-In? They thought it was, too, well, freaky!

She did the beauty expert, I remember her saying, "Lines, lines, go away. Go and visit Doris Day." She also did her regular person doing a commercial character from Calumet City, IL.

She did an audience Q&A, but as Edith Ann. The only question I recall being asked was someone that wanted to know what Cher was really like. Edith: "Well, she has long hair...and sparkly dresses." Probably continued a bit.

I also remember at one point, as Edith Ann, she said, "I see someone smoking in here." (Then she rocked back and forth a bit.) "Student Government will have to pay extra for that."

I'm guessing in her contract for the event she required the environment she performed in would be smoke free. No smoking. And the penalty was that she'd receive some extra money if that wasn't the case! Heh!

Oh I bet Lily did have that in her contract! Today it's a given the venue will be smoke free, but back in the seventies...not so. Thanks for the info you remembered.

A long time ago on Ebay I acquired some b/w concert photos taken of Lily in concert in either 1974 or 1975. It looked to be during the tour she recorded the Modern Scream album from. I bet it was on the tour that you saw her. She's wearing black/dark slacks and a blouse tied at the navel exposing a belly button. It was kind of silky and floral. I paid a lot of money for those negatives. I wish George Schlatter would of let Lily do the Rubber Freak on Laugh In. And Lupe the oldest beauty expert. I recall in the interview on the dvd she said George wanted her to be more "pretty". Kind of sexist isn't it? After Ernestine my all time favorite from Laugh In era was Lula the party lady. The high blonde curly wig and the whole outfit, the BIG laugh and insulting everybody. Cracks me up every time. Interestingly, Lily never did that character again after Laugh In. Wish she would have.

 

[MartinP.]

Todd, have you ever seen Lily in person?

Do you, or anyone, know anything about this photo? I don't think I've ever seen it before:

 

[nobajoba]

Todd, have you ever seen Lily in person?

Do you, or anyone, know anything about this photo? I don't think I've ever seen it before:

That photo is from the 1984 Emmy Awards. Lily/Ernestine was nominated for her performance on the special "Live, And In Person" on NBC. She didn't win. But she went to the Emmy ceremony as Ernestine and stayed in character the whole night! I have the tape/dvd of that show. A long time ago Lily Tomlin put out videos ( VHS ) of a few of her most popular shows/specials. Ernestine's appearance on Live and In Person was included in it. Ernestine did a "Flashdance". It's hysterical. Also included in the pack was The Search For Signs Of Intelligent Life In The Universe, Appearing Nitely, Lily Sold Out!, Lily For President? and Ernestine; Peak Experiences. I paid $120 for the box set. It came directly from Lily herself. At that time, 1992-1993, VHS packs were pricey. I've since gotten them all put onto dvd.

Yes, I have seen Lily in person, live on stage, many times. Mainly from 2004-2011. I've met her several times too. She is incredibly nice, down to earth and kind. Don't get me started Martin. Haha. I have a huge Lily Tomlin collection; dvds, photos, autographs, programs, clippings. This is getting off track for a Laugh In thread; but since you asked...

 

[MartinP.]

Laugh-In (1977-1978)

I mentioned once that I'd seen a taping session of one of these episodes, but I never saw any of the six that were aired as I didn't have a TV set for about a year at that time.

Within the last week, the September 5, 1977, episode was put on youtube! Yowsa! So now I've seen one! Whatever you might think of it, I am quite happy (amazed) to have seen this. Enjoy!





Previous info posted:

According to the Hal Erickson book, there were six of them, conceived at the time as monthly specials.

The air dates and main guest appearances for the episodes were:

Monday, September 5, 1977 (Bette Davis, Barry Goldwater, Henry Winkler)
Monday, October 10, 1977 (Bea Arthur)
Wednesday, November 2, 1977 (Frank Sinatra, Cindy Williams)
Tuesday, December 20, 1977 (Shirley MacLaine)
Wednesday, February 1, 1978 (Susan Ford)
Monday, February 6, 1978 (Martin Mull)

Other celebrities mentioned as appearing in the series were Henry Fonda, James Garner, Roddy McDowall, Roger Moore, Flip Wilson, Seals & Croft, Sonny Bono, Gore Vidal, Ralph Nader, Bella Abzug, Marjoe Gortner, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Rich Little.

Alphabetically, series regulars were Sergio Aragones, Antoinette Atell, John Barbour, Nancy Bleiwess, Ed Bluestone, Kim Braden, Claire Faulconbridge, Wayland Flowers, June Gable, Jim Giovanni, Jack Harrell, Ben Powers, Bill Rafferty, Lenny Schultz, Michael Sklar, April Tatro and Robin Williams.

 

[MartinP.]

On the Time Life extra of this event, George Schlatter hints at a biography that he's writing, also titled "Still Laugh-In". On his website it is still listed as "In Progress."

The "Still Laugh-In" event took place in 2013 and this quote above I wrote in 2018. The book in question was just released on July 11, 2023!

It's title is: Still Laughing: A Life in Comedy (From the Creator of Laugh-In). It has a foreward by Lily Tomlin and an Afterword by Goldie Hawn.

I didn't even know about this until an acquaintance gifted me with an autographed copy of it a couple days ago. At the Barnes & Noble Bookstore at The Grove in Los Angeles (there are STILL some bookstores) there was an in store appearance with George Schlatter to promote the book on July 9th. I'd have gone myself if I had known about it. There are quite a few great photos included. I'm going to begin reading it today.

 

[MartinP.]

^^^

I finished reading this book and it's full of interesting stories about dozens (hundreds even) of people he's worked with through the years. There's separate chapters about his two most influential series, Laugh-In and Real People. In post #444 above, there's a list of the Laugh-In '77 episodes and you'll even find out why they aired on different days and times. A pretty remarkable career; I was not aware that he'd worked at Ciro's, nightclubs in Vegas and even with some politicians and gangsters.