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
Dick Martin (comedian) 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". He and Rowan returned to the nightclub circuit until 1966, when they were tapped to host the summer replacement series for "the Dean Martin Show". He co-starred in the 1966 Doris Day movie "The Glass Bottom Boat". The exposure led to an opportunity for Rowan and Martin to team up with producers Ed Friendly and George Schlatter and create "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" (1968–1973) on NBC. The comedy show