Laugh Line (4/16/1959) | Dick Van Dyke, Elaine May, Mike Nichols

“Laugh Line” (4/16/1959)
Producers: Frank Wayne, Mace Neufeld
Director: Seymour Robbie
Host: Dick Van Dyke
Panel: Orson Bean, Dorothy Louden, Mike Nichols, Elaine May

Kinescope digitization funded by the John H. Mitchell Television Preservation Endowment.

Originally broadcast on NBC. Future international superstar Dick Van Dyke serves as host in the debut episode of this innovative game show (a precursor to “Whose Line Is It Anyway?”) that features celebrity panelists Orson Bean, Dorothy Louden and the dynamic comedy duo Mike Nichols and Elaine May. Gameplay entails the celebrities directing and devising on-the-spot captions for “living cartoons,” performed by a group of actors, Michael Enserro, Betty Lou Robinson, Rod Winchell, Bob Hacha, Marilyn Harold, Noam Pitlik, Will B. Able and one-name actor Siri. Panelists who generate the biggest studio audience laughs win cash prizes for the viewers at home who submitted cartoon scenario ideas.

Not long after this broadcast, Van Dyke would win a Tony Award for his starring role as Albert F. Peterson in the original production of “Bye Bye Birdie” (1960). The rest is history as beloved icon Van Dyke would go on to a joyously celebrated career, with multiple Emmy Awards, a Grammy Award, Kennedy Center Honors, and too many well-deserved accolades to mention. As the immensely talented Van Dyke continues to his centennial, his unparalleled legacy remains an unmistakable, trademark blend of pure physicality and perfectly timed humor — as witnessed in productions ranging from his eponymous TV series (“The Dick Van Dyke Show,“ widely considered one of the best sitcoms of all time) to the cinema classic “Mary Poppins“ (1964) and beyond.—Mark Quigley, John H. Mitchell Television Curator