#George Schlatter

[oldshowbiz]

Laugh-In Trading Cards

[funkyshouseoflove]

Viewer Discretion Advised, but here is a "lost" episode of the infamous 1969 show Turn-On, a "supercut" of filmed but unused material that would have made up a third episode, though from the looks of it, some of this material may have been recycled for later seasons of Laugh-In, Schlatter's major success.

[buzzdixonwriter]

Turn-On! Turned Off (part 2)

Riding high on the success of Laugh-In, Schlatter and Friendly were approached by Bristol-Meyers to create a similar show for them.  Schlatter and Friendly, feeling their original concept for Laugh-In became too diluted by the time it hit the air, took a second swing at it with Turn-On!.

The premise of Turn-On! is that it’s a TV skit comedy show created by a computer.  At the beginning of each episode two technicians walk to computer terminal sitting in a white featureless voice.  They start the computer and it begins generating short skits, none longer than a minute in length, most only ten seconds or less.  Frequently weird animations or puppets would intrude into the frame completely independent of the actual skit being performed.  And while there were a few recurring characters and skits, many of them seemed derivative of Laugh-In performers.

No music, no laugh track, just weird blips and bloops from a Moog synthesizer (the first use of a Moog on American TV).

And to add to the confusion, the credits ran after commercials, not at either the beginning or end of the show.  Bristol-Meyer shot all tbeir commercials in a similar comic sensibility to the show itself, so it became even more confusing to viewers as to whether they were watching a real commercial or a parody of one.

The thing is, none of this is explained to the audience, Schlatter and Friendly and co-producer Digby Wolfe) simply assumed you’d either get it or not.  Without someway of making sense of the show, audiences of the era were left rudderless.

Remember, this is 1969.  Go take a look at that list up there for an idea of what America was going through, if you think the current MAGA vs progressives contretempts is bad, you’ve got no idea what the country went through with Norman Rockwell America vs sex & drugs & rock & roll (plus radical politics & civil rights & feminism & anti-war).

Some viewers complained of being physically ill by all the fast cutting and non-sequiturs, but fast cutting and non-sequiturs are de rigueur in video now.  Comedy against a featureless background is a TikTok aesthetic (and, lordy, there are some brilliantly funny comics and comedians out there).

What really pissed ‘em off was the open for the day commentaries on sex and race, with a good dollop of politics thrown in.

Please do not think this was all high brow enlightened material rejected by the hoi polloi. 

Quite the contrary.

One of their female performers appeared as “The Body Politic” reclining on a divan in sleepwear, making Playboy-quality jokes on sex.  The attractive female members of the cast were expected to do go-go dances, same as on Laugh-In, only Laugh-In’s dancers usually had some sort of funny graffiti painted on them, Turn-On!’s…just danced.

There were holocaust jokes, demeaning gay jokes, racial stereotypes, sexual stereotypes, and references to all sorts of kinks that people today think got invented in the 21st century.

Schlatter and Friendly set out to be deliberately offensive, and they succeeded.  While we can acknowledge they intended their offence to be in service of exposing hypocrisy, a lot of it remains pointlessly offensive today, and in more than a few cases their Playboy-era masculine attitudes have added brand new levels of offensiveness.

So why not ignore Turn-On! if it’s so awful?

Because it isn’t awful.

There are terrible parts, to be sure, and they spoil appreciation of what Schlatter and Friendly and co. actually wrought, bust this proved to be really groundbreaking material.  They weren’t the first to do this sort of surrealist comedy (try 1964’s Help, My Snowman's Burning Down on for size, or the earliest film experiments of Jim Henson) but they were the first to try to deliver it unfiltered and undiluted to the American public.

This show seems almost quaint and passe now, but every technique used in it is now being employed across the Internet with striking effect.

And while they made many of their points in an offensive manner, their points are typically spot on.

The show did not sit well with the American public.  According to Schlatter, there was an effort by one station owner to cancel the show before it began because it took over one of three (!) weeknight slots set aside for the prime-time soap opera Peyton Place (one of those shallow properties that makes a meteoric arc across the pop culture sphere only to vanish without a trace).  When the premiere episode aired, a couple of stations simply didn’t come back to the show but aired local programming until the next program started (one just played twenty minutes of recorded organ music!).

Public and critical reaction appeared uniformly negative.  Even Harlan Ellison, while refusing to call it bad, acknowledged it as “awkward” in The Glass Teat.  ABC-TV preempted the second episode in order to start their movie The Oscar a half hour earlier (and if you know anything about Harlan and this movie, you can appreciate the irony).

After that the series was quietly shelved, with Schlatter reporting ABC-TV paid him the full series production budget on the promise he never show it again to anyone. Well, all involved are long out of position to do anything about enforcing such a contract, so the first two episodes -- the premiere hosted by Tim Conway –--and the second –--hosted by Robert Culp and his then-wife France Nuyen -- finally surfaced, allowing us to see for ourselves what caused all the fuss.

As Harlan said, awkward but not bad.  As I said, a brilliant misfire.  It really appears to be a show several years ahead of its time, something better suited for late night TV than prime-time.  Could it have made a cultural impact the way Laugh-In did?  Maybe, given enough exposure.  Many of the mini-segments were shot by film students Schlatter recruited; as a showcase for new talent it might have proved interesting.

Since it was shot on film, I’m surprised Schlatter and Friendly didn’t try re-editing it for theatrical release.

 © Buzz Dixon

Turn-On! episode one with Tim Conway

Turn-On! episode two with Robert Culp and France Nuyen

[duranduratulsa]

Up next on my 80's Fest Movie 🎥 marathon...Police Academy (1984) on glorious vintage VHS 📼! #movie #movies #policeacademy #steveguttenberg #leslieeasterbrook #MichaelWinslow #KimCattrall #BubbaSmith #bobcatgoldwait #DavidGraf #MarionRamsey #georgegaynes #RonPerlman #GWBailey #christopherlee #RIPChristopherLee #brucemahler #donovanscott #charlieschlatter #vintage #vhs #80s #80sfest #durandurantulsas6thannual80sfest

[comicbookfanzevad]

IT CAME FROM AMAZON!

18 Again!

[monochrome-dundee]

Tom Kenny wearing a Watchmen pin in 1988 doing standup in George Schlatter’s Comedy Club

Ft. his gorgeous….SuperCuts Mullet

[muppet-facts]

We know Jim Henson sought to work with George Schlatter to develop The Muppet Show. I recently saw the episodes of "Turn-On" on YouTube, and it had at least two puppets that resembled Muppets. Did Jim Henson help design those?

I can't find anything saying that Henson or Muppets Inc. worked on the show, but I can't find anything about the puppet designers either. If I find anything definitive I'll let you know!

[afrotumble]

Watch "Sammy Davis Jr. vs. Wilt Chamberlain | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | George Schlatter" on YouTube

[louisstephaneulysse]

Tiny Tim's First Appearance | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | George Schlatter

[funkyshouseoflove]

Viewer Discretion advised, but here is the Never-aired Second Episode of the infamous Turn-On, which in my opinion is a stronger episode than the first, but mostly due I feel to the presence of Robert Culp.

[ulkaralakbarova]

The employees of an independent music store learn about each other as they try anything to stop the store being absorbed by a large chain. Credits: TheMovieDb. Film Cast: Joe Reaves: Anthony LaPaglia Rex Manning: Maxwell Caulfield Jane: Debi Mazar Lucas: Rory Cochrane A.J.: Johnny Whitworth Debra: Robin Tunney Gina: Renée Zellweger Marc: Ethan Embry Berko: Coyote Shivers Warren: Brendan Sexton III Corey Mason: Liv Tyler Eddie: James ‘Kimo’ Wills Mitchell Beck: Ben Bode Croupier: Gary Bolen Woman at Craps Table: Kimber Sissons High Roller: Tony Zaar Reporter: Patt Noday Kathy: Julia Deane Autograph Girl: Kessia Embry Cop #1: Michele Seidman Cop #2: Diana Taylor Cop #3: Bernard Granger Cop #4: Michael Harding Lead Singer: Dave Brockie Flower Delivery Guy: Kawan Rojanatavorn Roulette Table Man: Corey Joshua Taylor Ballet Dancer: Melissa Caulfield Veronica: Lara Travis Film Crew: Director: Allan Moyle Screenplay: Carol Heikkinen Editor: Michael Chandler Production Design: Peter Jamison Art Direction: John Huke Set Decoration: Linda Spheeris Costume Design: Susan Lyall Producer: Tony Ludwig Producer: Arnon Milchan Producer: Michael G. Nathanson Producer: Alan Riche Co-Producer: Paul Kurta First Assistant Director: Joel Segal Second Assistant Director: Philip A. Patterson Camera Operator: Mitchell Amundsen Steadicam Operator: Rick Raphael First Assistant Camera: John Verardi Second Assistant Camera: Ken Hudson “B” Camera Operator: Jeff Moore Still Photographer: Jim Bridges Second Unit Director of Photography: Carolyn Chen Director of Photography: Walt Lloyd Casting: Gail Levin Music Supervisor: Mitchell Leib Negative Cutter: Mo Henry Color Timer: Bob Putynkowski Music Consultant: Karen Glauber Music Editor: Sally Boldt Supervising Sound Editor: Randle Akerson Sound Effects Editor: Joe Earle Sound Effects Editor: Linda Keim Sound Effects Editor: David M. Horton Dialogue Editor: Adam Sawelson Dialogue Editor: Benjamin Beardwood Assistant Sound Editor: Jonathan Phillips Assistant Sound Editor: Bill Ward ADR Supervisor: Linda Folk ADR Editor: Sukey Fontelieu ADR Mixer: Dean Drabin ADR Mixer: Paul J. Zydel ADR Mixer: Christina Tucker ADR Voice Casting: Barbara Harris Foley Supervisor: David Horton Jr. Foley Mixer: Brian Ruberg Foley Artist: Sarah Monat Foley Artist: Robin Harlan Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Gary Alexander Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Don Digirolamo Sound Re-Recording Mixer: Scott Ganary Dolby Consultant: Douglas Greenfield Dialogue Coach: Naomi Joy Todd Craft Service: Theresa Honeycutt Transportation Coordinator: William “Bill” Pitts Transportation Captain: Jeff Long Construction Coordinator: Jeffrey Schlatter Construction Foreman: Ralph Woollaston Location Manager: Mary Weisgerber Meyer Location Manager: Molly Allen Casting Associate: Tricia Tomey Stunt Coordinator: Jery Hewitt Key Makeup Artist: Jeff Goodwin First Assistant Makeup Artist: Rick Pour Key Hair Stylist: Aaron F. Quarles First Assistant Hairstylist: Lizz Scalice Costume Supervisor: Carolyn Greco Costumer: Sevilla Granger Special Effects Coordinator: Greg Hull Sound Mixer: Douglas Axtell Boom Operator: Robert Maxfield Key Grip: Randy Tambling Best Boy Grip: Dennis Zoppe Dolly Grip: Rufus Granger Jr. Dolly Grip: Clarence Brown Gaffer: George Ball Rigging Gaffer: Scott Graves Production Coordinator: Cynthia Streit Assistant Production Coordinator: Amy Chance Script Supervisor: Annie Welles Second Second Assistant Director: Stefania Girolami Goodwin Unit Publicist: Alex L. Worman Production Accountant: Karen Eisenstadt Assistant Accountant: Rick Baer Property Master: Robert Beck Assistant Property Master: Beth Giles Assistant Art Director: John Frick Set Designer: Evelyne Barbier Set Designer: Tim Eckel Set Designer: Alan Hook Set Dresser: Colleen Broderick Art Department Coordinator: Susan Agnoff First Assistant “B” Camera: Joe D’Alessandro First Assistant Editor: Thomas J. Nordberg Assistant Editor: Pamela Jule Yuen Movie Reviews: Filipe Manuel Neto: **An animated film, full of rebellion and energy.** Remember the stores that sold...

[buzzdixonwriter]

Turn-On! Turned Off (part 1)

Turn-On! Is a legendary 1969 TV show legendary for all the wrong reasons:  It was cancelled during its first commercial break.

Typically when TV shows of that era are discussed it’s out of context with the time.  This is okay when discussing conventional westerns or cop shows or comedy-variety shows since they typically took great pains to avoid the social issues of their day in order to maximize appeal.

But there’s a different breed of cat that went out looking for trouble, and boy howdy!, was Turn-On! one of those.  It was a brilliant misfire, w-a-a-a-y ahead of its time, offensive then, and in an odd way, even more offensive now.

First off let’s set the culture temperature for the U.S. on February 5, 1969, Turn-On!’s premiere:

1967’s Summer of Love morphed into 1968’s days of rage

The Vietnam War continued to drag on in the wake of the Tet Offensive in January 1968

Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were assassinated

Political infighting split the Democratic Party, culminating with the infamous 1968 Democratic

Convention riot in Chicago “The whole world’s watching!”

White racist George Wallace created the proto-MAGA American Independent Party and siphoned off enough votes from Hubert Humphrey to cost him the election

Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew, who until recently were the sleaziest bastards ever to set foot in the White House, won election for the so-called “silent majority”

The popular and innovative 1967 show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour became increasingly more political, rousing both White House and network ire (it would be cancelled on June 6, 1969)

On January 22, 1968 Rowan And Martin’s Laugh-In, produced by George Schlatter and Ed Friendly. replaced The Man From U.N.C.L.E. and became an immediate smash hit

The latter bears great importance on the story of Turn-On! and not merely because Schlatter and Friendly produced both shows.

Turn-On! has been accurately described as watching a half-hour’s worth of TikTok videos back-to-back.  While Laugh-In pioneered fast paced rapid-fire editing for skit comedy, it nonetheless maintained enough form for (most) audiences to get their bearings.  Whenever things grew too frenetic, they could always return to hosts Dan Rowan and Dick Martin or announcer Gary Owen to give viewers a chance to catch their breath.  They employed regular skits so the folks at home could find reassuring familiarity each week as well as more or less conventional satirical musical numbers, all backed by well placed laugh tracks.

They also hired a good cast, created several recurring stock characters who remain familiar to this day, and launched several catch phrases emblemic of the era:  “Sock it to me” “The flying fickle finger of fate” “You bet your sweet bippy” “Here comes the judge” (Okay, that last one is actually a call back to African-American vaudeville, but bravo to Laugh-In for sharing it with the rest of the country.)

And while the show didn’t steer clear of political and social satire, they lacked the heartfelt intensity the Smothers Brothers brought to theirs. 

You’re scarcely nibbling the hand that feeds you when you invite Richard Nixon to say “Sock it to me” on national television.

So Laugh-In had a sense of rebellion, a sense of daring, but in truth often appeared no more edgy than a copy Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang.  It was a format swiftly and ironically even more successfully imitated in cornpone by Hee Haw (and don’t get me wrong, Hee Haw could be damn funny).

 © Buzz Dixon

Turn-On! episode one with Tim Conway

Turn-On! episode two with Robert Culp and France Nuyen

[vickiabelson]

OMG, where has George Schlatter been my whole life? I could've been a contenda!

George Schlatter relishes the accidents and has made a career and created a legacy spinning them into comedy gold. Sock it to me! Here comes the judge! Look that up in your Funk and Wagnells! It’s not everyone who creates language that becomes part of the lexicon. 25x Emmy Nominee, 3x Emmy Winner, Golden Globe WInner, Producers Guild Winner, and Directore’s Guild Man of the Year, George Schlatter is all that and so much more. A television icon, I’m beyond thrilled to have had this opportunity to chat and get to know him with y’all. 

Creator and producer of Laugh-In, for that alone he should be canonized, George changed the face of television. He also created and produced Real People, produced the first 5 years of the Grammy Awards plus series and specials starring Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Eddie Murphy, Cher, Elton John, Bette Midler, Goldie Hawn, Liza Minnelli, Michael Jackson, Doris Day, Jonathan Winters, Richard Pryor, Shirley MacLaine, Bill Cosby, Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Diana Ross, Lena Horne, Dinah Shore, Nat King Cole, Placido Domingo and scores of others. George Schlatter created and for 15 years produced the American Comedy Awards.

Most recently, George produced a comedy collection for Sirius Radio and Still Laugh-In: The Stars Celebrate for Netflix.

Besides his work in television, George has been honored for his showmanship and involvement in many charitable causes. To further his support of comedy and the people who perform it, George has become an active supporter and Board Member of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York. He's donated much of his material to them and they've named their theater, The George and Jolene Brand Schlatter Theater, in his honor.

George’s book, Still Laughing: A Life in Comedy, which dropped in July, is a feast for show biz and comedy lovers. I devoured it. And he shares so many gems from it with us here, from the creation of Laugh-In, finding Goldie, Lily, Artie, Judy, Henry, Ruth, Dan, and Dick, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Robin Williams, Lucy, Steve Lawrence, Judy Garland, Cher, Diana Ross, more, more,  more!

We had a near-miss encounter 37 years ago when he was producing Comedy Club and I was visiting my Laughter Company Improv cohort, Bob Nelson. I didn't let him get away from me this time! Where has George Schlatter been my whole life? No matter, he's here now. And that's no accident!

George Schlatter Live on Game Changers with Vicki Abelson

Wednesday, March 6, 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET 

Streamed Live on my Facebook

Replay here: 

[fifihunterbakariafrocentric]

Joanne Takes A Bite | Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In | George Schlatter

[torley]

George Schlatter - Wikipedia