One of the funniest ladies ever, Ruth Buzzi, born July 24, 1936 in Westerly, Rhode Island, passed away yesterday at 88. She studied at the Pasadena Playhouse for the Performing Arts with Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman.
She gained fame for her work on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, where she performed a variety of roles and received a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress - Television.
She was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.
She battled Alzheimer's Disease and passed away from complications after a stroke.
The twenty-fourth episode of the sixth season of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In was the last of the series, airing March 12, 1973. The first episode aired January 22, 1968. Dan Rowan, Dick Martin, Gary Owens, and Ruth Buzzi appeared in all seasons.
The final episode starred Ernest Borgnine, Sammy Davis Jr., Robert Goulet, and Jo Anne Worley. The Flying Fickle Finger of Fate was awarded to the show itself. The Cleveland Plain Dealer claimed that the show's jokes about Cleveland had caused economic damage to the city.
It was nominated for 32 Primetime Emmy Awards and won seven:
Outstanding Individual Achievement in Electronic Production for Arthur Schneider (1967)
Outstanding Writing Achievement in Music or Variety (1968)
Outstanding Musical or Variety Program for the 9/9/1967 episode (1968)
Outstanding Musical or Variety Series (1968)
Special Classification Achievements-Individuals (Variety Performances) for Arte Johnson (1969)
Outstanding variety or Musical Series
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety or Music for Mark Warren
The series was nominated for 6 Golden Globes and won two:
Best TV Show (1969)
Best Supporting Actress-Television for Ruth Buzzi (1973)
Dan Rowan, born July 22, 1922 in Beggs, Oklahoma, is best known for his comedy show with partner Dick Martin, Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. He graduated from Pueblo, Colorado after being orphaned and then taken in by a foster family.
In 1940, he hitchhiked to Los Angeles and got a job in the mailroom at Paramount Pictures. During WWII, Rowan served as a fighter pilot in the 8th Fighter Squadron, 49th Fighter Group of the US Army Air Forces. He shot down two Japanese aircraft before being shot down himself and being seriously wounded. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.
After the war, he returned to California and teamed up with Dick Martin and created a successful nightclub act. They took their act to television and Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In debuted in 1967. The show lasted until 1973. He won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Variety or Musical Series in 1969 with Martin, Paul Keyes, and Carolyn Raskin.
Sex symbol for the 60s and 70s, beautiful Raquel Welch, born September 5, 1940 in Chicago, passed away yesterday, February 16, 2023. She was 82. She started her acting career by providing sexiness in the background of television shows, such as Bewitched, but she soared to fame when she appeared in One Million Years B.C. in 1966. In 1971, she was a guest on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
She starred in The Three Musketeers and its sequel The Four Musketeers as Constance de Bonacieux, a role for which she won a Golden Globe.
The wonderful, hilarious Ruth Buzzi won a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for her performance on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In at the 30th awards ceremony January 28, 1973. She was nominated five times for an Primetime Emmy for her work.
