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
Letters to Laugh-In Match Game", which had been canceled after a seven-year run in that slot. Like "Match Game", "Letters to Laugh-In" faced the popular "Dark Shadows" on ABC and reruns of "Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C." on CBS. "Letters to Laugh-In" was soundly beaten in the ratings. As such, unlike the nighttime "Laugh-In" (which enjoyed a five-year run on NBC), "Letters to Laugh-In" lasted only three months before being canceled on December 26. Its replacement was "Loman & Barkley's Name Droppers", an equally short-lived game that was replaced on March 30, 1970, by the soap opera "Somerset". One episode of "Letters to Laugh-In" was