Dan Rowan(1922-1987)
- Producer
- Actor
- Soundtrack
Dan Rowan was a comedian most famous as the straight man to
Dick Martin, with whom he co-hosted
the watershed TV program
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)
from 1968-1973. The comedian debuted into small-town life as Daniel
Hale David in Beggs, Oklahoma on July 22, 1922, the son of show people.
As a child, Rowan toured the carnival circuit with his mother in father
as part of a song and dance act. Orphaned in 1933, he eventually was
adopted by a family in Denver, Colorado. He moved to Hollywood after
high school, and obtained employment as a writer at Paramount Studios.
Rowan joined the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II, where he
distinguished himself as a P-40 fighter plane pilot in the Pacific
Theater. Rowan was credited with downing two Japanese aircraft (it took
five kills to be named an ace during World War II), but he was shot
down and seriously wounded in New Guinea. During his military career,
Rowan was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster,
the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.
Demobilized, Dan Rowan returned to California and married Phyllis
Mathis in 1946. He and Phyllis had three children, Thomas, Mary Ann
(who was briefly married to actor and professional Presidential
brother-in-law Peter Lawford, and
Christie. (Rowan divorced his first wife and married again, to Adriana
Van Ballegooyen in 1963). He eventually teamed up with
Dick Martin in a comedy act that
toured the night-club circuit and played Las Vegas. Rowan & Martin had
made TV appearances before on such programs as "The Ed Sullivan Show"
and "Merv Griffin" before being hired by NBC to host a comedy special
in the summer of 1967. In an era of "Be-Ins" and "Love-Ins" (an
outgrowth of the "Sit-Ins" of the Civil Rights Movement, itself a
reflection of the autoworkers' sit-ins of the late 1930s staged to win
labor union recognition), NBC wanted to host a "Laugh-In". The
middle-aged Rowan & Martin were picked as the hosts. The success of the
special lead to the scheduling of
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)
as part of NBC's regular line-up in 1968, programmed against the
popular Lucille Ball on CBS.
A hybrid comedy-variety program that proved a counterpoint to the more
satirical and political
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967)
on rival network CBS, "Laugh-In" was rooted in traditional vaudeville
like most musical/variety series of the time, but had an
improvisational, anarchic style. This style, which downplayed
appearances of guest stars like Jack Benny,
Johnny Carson,
John Wayne,
Zsa Zsa Gabor and even
Richard Nixon in favor of the cast of
regulars, reflected the late
'60s zeitgeist. As hosts, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin did not
dominate their variety show as did a contemporary like Dean Martin.
Part of the fun and the freshness of the series was that the two
co-hosts were continually being undermined by the appearances of the
regulars, during which a comedic "all-hell" would break loose. The
sight-gags and appearance of the eccentric performers created a sense
of the unexpected that proved intoxicating to TV audiences. (The
regular cast included announcer
Gary Owens, Emmy-winner
Ruth Buzzi,
Henry Gibson, Emmy-winner
Arte Johnson,
Alan Sues,
Jo Anne Worley, and
Judy Carne, while the regularly appearing
guest stars included Tiny Tim,
Peter Lawford and
Henny Youngman).
The dynamic of the two co-hosts also was anarchic, as Dan Rowan's
straight-man continually was undermined by the silliness and outright
other-world imbecility of
Dick Martin's comic persona. In
this, Martin was an ally of the cast, who appeared willy-nilly during
the broadcast, without discernible rhyme or reason other than making
merry. Rowan, as the "mature" member of the hosting ensemble, was less
a conductor of the comedy show than a ring-master who seemed to have
found himself put down inside the center of the lion's den, with a
hopelessly inept lion-tamer (Martin) as his partner.
"Laugh-In" was considered revolutionary at the time in terms of
production, as it broke away from the old proscenium stage production
that had dominated variety shows on TV since the beginning of broadcast
television after World War II. The program was produced with a
quick-cutting, fragmentary editing style that not only reflected
current avant-garde movie production techniques but fully realized the
power of video. It was an audacious melding of form and content, and
"Laugh-In" proved to be a huge hit and was one of the highest-rated
series of the late 1960s. It would prove to be the single most
influential TV show in terms of its influence on comedy until the debut
of the more conventionally produced
Saturday Night Live (1975)
in 1975.
"Laugh-In" won three Emmys at the 1968 Emmy Awards, for Outstanding
Musical or Variety Program (for the 1967 Special), for Best Musical or
Variety Series, and for Best Writing (shared by ten writers, including
series creator Digby Wolfe). Due to its
topicality and because it so closely caught the spirit of the '60s and
reflected that era's aesthetic, "Laugh-In" quickly dated and never
packed the punch in syndication that other retired TV shows did.
Nothing becomes old-fashioned more quickly than the fashionable.
However, "Laugh-In" also proved ground-breaking in its introduction and
use of female and minority performers, bringing to a mainstream
audience such diverse entertainers as the great, "Chitlin Circuit"
African-American comedian
Dewey 'Pigmeat' Markham and the
young, Emmy-nominated Goldie Hawn, who would
go on to a long movie-career as an Oscar-winning comedienne and top
box-office star. Rowan & Martin attempted to launch a movie career, but
their attempt to become the late '60s answer to Martin & Lewis with
the ill-conceived
The Maltese Bippy (1969)
flopped. After "Laugh-In" was canceled in 1973, Rowan occasionally made
some TV program and game show appearances, but eventually retired to
Florida. A type II diabetic, he died of lymphatic cancer in Manasota
Key, Florida on September 22, 1987. He was 65 years old.
Dick Martin, with whom he co-hosted
the watershed TV program
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)
from 1968-1973. The comedian debuted into small-town life as Daniel
Hale David in Beggs, Oklahoma on July 22, 1922, the son of show people.
As a child, Rowan toured the carnival circuit with his mother in father
as part of a song and dance act. Orphaned in 1933, he eventually was
adopted by a family in Denver, Colorado. He moved to Hollywood after
high school, and obtained employment as a writer at Paramount Studios.
Rowan joined the U.S. Army Air Force in World War II, where he
distinguished himself as a P-40 fighter plane pilot in the Pacific
Theater. Rowan was credited with downing two Japanese aircraft (it took
five kills to be named an ace during World War II), but he was shot
down and seriously wounded in New Guinea. During his military career,
Rowan was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster,
the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.
Demobilized, Dan Rowan returned to California and married Phyllis
Mathis in 1946. He and Phyllis had three children, Thomas, Mary Ann
(who was briefly married to actor and professional Presidential
brother-in-law Peter Lawford, and
Christie. (Rowan divorced his first wife and married again, to Adriana
Van Ballegooyen in 1963). He eventually teamed up with
Dick Martin in a comedy act that
toured the night-club circuit and played Las Vegas. Rowan & Martin had
made TV appearances before on such programs as "The Ed Sullivan Show"
and "Merv Griffin" before being hired by NBC to host a comedy special
in the summer of 1967. In an era of "Be-Ins" and "Love-Ins" (an
outgrowth of the "Sit-Ins" of the Civil Rights Movement, itself a
reflection of the autoworkers' sit-ins of the late 1930s staged to win
labor union recognition), NBC wanted to host a "Laugh-In". The
middle-aged Rowan & Martin were picked as the hosts. The success of the
special lead to the scheduling of
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In (1967)
as part of NBC's regular line-up in 1968, programmed against the
popular Lucille Ball on CBS.
A hybrid comedy-variety program that proved a counterpoint to the more
satirical and political
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967)
on rival network CBS, "Laugh-In" was rooted in traditional vaudeville
like most musical/variety series of the time, but had an
improvisational, anarchic style. This style, which downplayed
appearances of guest stars like Jack Benny,
Johnny Carson,
John Wayne,
Zsa Zsa Gabor and even
Richard Nixon in favor of the cast of
regulars, reflected the late
'60s zeitgeist. As hosts, Dan Rowan and Dick Martin did not
dominate their variety show as did a contemporary like Dean Martin.
Part of the fun and the freshness of the series was that the two
co-hosts were continually being undermined by the appearances of the
regulars, during which a comedic "all-hell" would break loose. The
sight-gags and appearance of the eccentric performers created a sense
of the unexpected that proved intoxicating to TV audiences. (The
regular cast included announcer
Gary Owens, Emmy-winner
Ruth Buzzi,
Henry Gibson, Emmy-winner
Arte Johnson,
Alan Sues,
Jo Anne Worley, and
Judy Carne, while the regularly appearing
guest stars included Tiny Tim,
Peter Lawford and
Henny Youngman).
The dynamic of the two co-hosts also was anarchic, as Dan Rowan's
straight-man continually was undermined by the silliness and outright
other-world imbecility of
Dick Martin's comic persona. In
this, Martin was an ally of the cast, who appeared willy-nilly during
the broadcast, without discernible rhyme or reason other than making
merry. Rowan, as the "mature" member of the hosting ensemble, was less
a conductor of the comedy show than a ring-master who seemed to have
found himself put down inside the center of the lion's den, with a
hopelessly inept lion-tamer (Martin) as his partner.
"Laugh-In" was considered revolutionary at the time in terms of
production, as it broke away from the old proscenium stage production
that had dominated variety shows on TV since the beginning of broadcast
television after World War II. The program was produced with a
quick-cutting, fragmentary editing style that not only reflected
current avant-garde movie production techniques but fully realized the
power of video. It was an audacious melding of form and content, and
"Laugh-In" proved to be a huge hit and was one of the highest-rated
series of the late 1960s. It would prove to be the single most
influential TV show in terms of its influence on comedy until the debut
of the more conventionally produced
Saturday Night Live (1975)
in 1975.
"Laugh-In" won three Emmys at the 1968 Emmy Awards, for Outstanding
Musical or Variety Program (for the 1967 Special), for Best Musical or
Variety Series, and for Best Writing (shared by ten writers, including
series creator Digby Wolfe). Due to its
topicality and because it so closely caught the spirit of the '60s and
reflected that era's aesthetic, "Laugh-In" quickly dated and never
packed the punch in syndication that other retired TV shows did.
Nothing becomes old-fashioned more quickly than the fashionable.
However, "Laugh-In" also proved ground-breaking in its introduction and
use of female and minority performers, bringing to a mainstream
audience such diverse entertainers as the great, "Chitlin Circuit"
African-American comedian
Dewey 'Pigmeat' Markham and the
young, Emmy-nominated Goldie Hawn, who would
go on to a long movie-career as an Oscar-winning comedienne and top
box-office star. Rowan & Martin attempted to launch a movie career, but
their attempt to become the late '60s answer to Martin & Lewis with
the ill-conceived
The Maltese Bippy (1969)
flopped. After "Laugh-In" was canceled in 1973, Rowan occasionally made
some TV program and game show appearances, but eventually retired to
Florida. A type II diabetic, he died of lymphatic cancer in Manasota
Key, Florida on September 22, 1987. He was 65 years old.