Dick Martin

Thomas Richard "Dick" Martin was an American comedian and director, best known for his role as the cohost of the sketch comedy program Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1968 to 1973. Martin graduated from Michigan State University. Early in his career, Martin was a staff writer for Duffy's Tavern, a radio situation comedy. In 1952, Martin and Dan Rowan formed the comedy team Rowan and Martin, and played in nightclubs across the United States and overseas. They were a quick and easy match; their first comedy routine, in which Martin played a drunk heckling a Shakespearean performer, was a... mainstay of their live act for years. The duo could frequently be seen as host-performers on NBC's Colgate Comedy Hour, alternating with Martin and Lewis and other more established names. In 1958 they starred in a feature film, Hal Kanter's comedy Western Once Upon a Horse, which failed to catch on with moviegoers. In 1960, their contract with NBC was cancelled four years early by mutual consent. In 1962 Martin worked solo, playing next-door neighbor to Lucille Ball during the first season of her comeback sitcom The Lucy Show.
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