Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In for "Laugh-In" was Ian Bernard. He wrote the opening theme music, "Inquisitive Tango", plus the infamous "What's the news across the nation" number. He wrote all the musical "play-ons" that introduced comedy sketches like Lily Tomlin's character, Edith Ann, the little girl who sat in a giant rocking chair, and Arte Johnson's old man character, Tyrone, who always got hit with a purse. He also appeared in many of the cocktail scenes where he directed the band as they stopped and started between jokes. Composer-lyricist Billy Barnes wrote all of the original musical production numbers in the show, and often
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In a summer series in 1979. Also featured were Wayland and Madame, as well as his other puppet, "Jiffy", former "Barney Miller" actress June Gable, and "Good Times" actor Ben Powers. Rowan and Martin, who owned part of the "Laugh-In" franchise, were not involved in this project. They sued Schlatter for using the format without their permission, and won a judgment of $4.6 million in 1980. Emmy Awards Golden Globe Award 1983 saw the first 70 one-hour shows syndicated to broadcast stations (the pilot, first three seasons and the first four episodes of season 4). Alternate recut half-hour shows were syndicated