TVSquad

For some reason I thought that Henry Gibson was a lot older than 73, but the character actor with the huge resume passed away from cancer at that age yesterday in Malibu.

One of the more famous TV credits on that resume was Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, the influential 60s comedy show that no one under 30 has ever seen. He also appeared in shows like Bewitched, The Beverly Hillbillies, Deep Space Nine, Coach, MacGyver, Evening Shade, Sisters, Newhart, Magnum, P.I., and Simon and Simon.

More recently, TV fans know him from his many appearances as a judge on Boston Legal and his voice work on King of the Hill (he played Bob Jenkins). He was also in several movies, including Magnolia (he played Thurston Howell???), The Nutty Professor, Nashville, The Blues Brothers, Wedding Crashers, and a ton of others.

Here's an interesting little film short that I saw on Turner Classic Movies earlier this week. It features Dan Rowan and the recently departed Dick Martin, stars of the 60s psychedelic sketch comedy Laugh-In, promoting the sale of the new U.S. Savings Bonds called Freedom Shares, which were introduced back around 1967. If you were an avid fan of the NBC comedy you would recognize the back-and-forth between these two -- Rowan was the straight man to funny man Martin -- as they discussed the benefits of these bonds to the movie-going public.

The video is after the jump.

Dick Martin was the "Martin" in the comedy duo Rowan & Martin, who hosted the incredibly popular 1960s/early '70s comedy sketch show on NBC, Laugh-In. Dan Rowan, who died in 1987, was the straight man (that's Rowan on the left in the pic).

Martin also appeared in several other TV shows over the years, including Third Rock From The Sun, The Lucy Show, Love Boat, Fantasy Island, Coach, Blossom, Dave's World, Baywatch, The Nanny, Diagnosis: Murder, George & Leo, The John Larroquette Show, and Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Place. He was also in the movies The Maltese Bibby, Carbon Copy, and The Glass Bottom Boat.

Besides acting, Martin was a director as well, helming such shows as The Bob Newhart Show, Family Ties, Archie Bunker's Place, Mama's Family, In The Heat of the Night, Newhart, and Sledge Hammer.

Martin died of respiratory complications in Santa Monica last night. He was 86.

A roundup of TV people from in front of the camera and behind the scenes who have passed away.

• John Phillip Law: He was a veteran actor best known for such films as Barbarella, The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, The Cassandra Crossing, Tarzan The Ape Man, and Hurry Sundown. He appeared in many TV shows over the years, including The Love Boat, Murder, She Wrote, It's A Living, and The Young and the Restless. He died in Los Angeles at age 70.