Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In producer mollified him, but had announcer Gary Owens read Johnson's credit as a separate sentence: "Starring Dan Rowan and Dick Martin! And Arte Johnson! With Ruth Buzzi ..." This maneuver gave Johnson star billing, but made it sound like he was still part of the ensemble cast. Johnson left the show after the 1970–71 season. Henry Gibson also departed after the 1970–71 season. Johnson and he were replaced by former "Hogan's Heroes" stars Richard Dawson and Larry Hovis, both of whom had appeared occasionally in the first season. However, the loss of Johnson's many popular characters caused ratings to drop
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In hippie culture, terms that were, in turn, derived from "sit-ins", common in protests associated with civil rights and antiwar demonstrations of the time. In 2002, "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" was ranked number 42 on "TV Guide's" 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. "Laugh-In" had its roots in the humor of vaudeville and burlesque, but its most direct influences were Olsen and Johnson's comedy (such as the free-form Broadway revue "Hellzapoppin'"), the innovative television works of Ernie Kovacs, and the topical satire of "That Was The Week That Was". The show was characterized by a rapid-fire series of gags and