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Dan Rowan was best known as the straight man to Dick Martin, co-hosting the groundbreaking TV show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973. Born Daniel Hale David in Beggs, Oklahoma on July 22, 1922, to show-business parents, he toured carnivals as a child with his mother and father in a song-and-dance act. Orphaned in 1933, he was later adopted by a family in Denver, Colorado. After high school, Rowan moved to Hollywood and found work as a writer at Paramount Studios. During World War II, he served as a P-40 fighter pilot in the U.S. Army Air Force in the Pacific Theater, credited with shooting down two Japanese planes before being shot down and seriously injured in New Guinea. His military honors included the Distinguished Flying Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal, and the Purple Heart.
After the war, Rowan returned to California and married Phyllis Mathis in 1946, with whom he had three children: Thomas, Mary Ann (who was briefly married to actor and presidential brother-in-law Peter Lawford), and Christie. Rowan later divorced Phyllis and remarried Adriana Van Ballegooyen in 1963. He formed a comedy duo with Dick Martin, touring nightclubs and Las Vegas. The pair appeared on shows like The Ed Sullivan Show and Merv Griffin before NBC hired them to host a comedy special in summer 1967. Inspired by the era's "Be-Ins" and "Love-Ins," NBC launched "Laugh-In," selecting the middle-aged Rowan & Martin as hosts. The special's success led to the series debut in 1968, competing against Lucille Ball's show on CBS.
"Laugh-In" combined comedy and variety, serving as a contrast to the more political Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour on CBS. Rooted in vaudeville traditions but featuring an improvisational, anarchic style, the show prioritized its regular cast over guest stars like Jack Benny, Johnny Carson, John Wayne, Zsa Zsa Gabor, and Richard Nixon, capturing the late '60s cultural spirit. Rowan and Martin, as hosts, did not dominate the show; instead, they were frequently upstaged by the regular cast, creating a chaotic and unpredictable atmosphere. The ensemble included announcer Gary Owens, Emmy winners Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson, Henry Gibson, Alan Sues, Jo Anne Worley, and Judy Carne, with recurring guests like Tiny Tim, Peter Lawford, and Henny Youngman.
The dynamic between the co-hosts was similarly anarchic: Rowan's straight-man persona was constantly undermined by Martin's silly, absurd comic character, who aligned with the cast's spontaneous antics. Rowan acted less as a traditional host and more as a ringmaster trapped in a chaotic lion’s den alongside an inept partner.
"Laugh-In" was revolutionary in its production, breaking from the traditional proscenium stage format of earlier variety shows. Employing rapid cuts and fragmented editing, it embraced avant-garde film techniques and the unique possibilities of video. This innovative blend of form and content made it a huge hit and one of the highest-rated shows of the late 1960s. It became the most influential comedy program until the emergence of Saturday Night Live in 1975.
At the 1968 Emmy Awards, "Laugh-In" won three Emmys: Outstanding Musical or Variety Program (for the 1967 special), Best Musical or Variety Series, and Best Writing (shared by ten writers, including creator Digby Wolfe). While its topical humor and 1960s aesthetic made it quickly dated, limiting its syndication appeal, the show broke new ground by featuring female and minority performers. It introduced mainstream audiences to talents like African-American comedian Dewey 'Pigmeat' Markham and the Emmy-nominated Goldie Hawn, who later became an Oscar-winning actress and major box-office star. Rowan & Martin attempted a film career with the poorly received The Maltese Bippy (1969), which failed to launch them as a Martin & Lewis-style duo. After "Laugh-In" ended in 1973, Rowan made sporadic TV and game show appearances before retiring to Florida. A type II diabetic, he died of lymphatic cancer at his home in Manasota Key, Florida on September 22, 1987, at age 65.
