Today's Video Link

Gary Owens and Laugh-In regular Pamela Rodgers
Gary Owens and Laugh-In regular Pamela Rodgers

Most of the obits aren't mentioning a short-lived series that Gary Owens hosted for NBC. It was a daytime show called Letters to Laugh-In that replaced the original Match Game on the afternoon schedule. Each episode, a few stars from the evening Laugh-In show plus a few guest celebs would read jokes sent in by viewers and those viewers were eligible for unimpressive prizes.

This is the second episode, which was obviously taped during the one week in America when Nehru jackets were in style. The show was not a hit, debuting on September 29, 1969 and leaving the air the day after Christmas. I think you can see the problem with the format but you may also see that Gary was a good, genial emcee. (Sorry about the poor video but it's amazing that this show exists at all. I believe Gary thought that no tapes at all had survived…or maybe he hoped.)