Rowan & Martin's Laugh In

 "Joke Wall"

The "Joke Wall" backboard on the sketch comedy show Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is one of the most iconic set pieces in television history. Behind the Scenes, the back of the iconic Joke Wall was an unglamorous, strictly functional wood scaffolding structure built at NBC Burbank Studio 3.

To television viewers at home, the front of the wall was a brightly colored, psychedelic, mod-styled masterpiece. It featured a grid of hexagonal painted wooden doors and windows.  During the grand finale of each episode, cast regulars like Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin and Ruth Buzzi along with high-profile celebrity guests would rapidly swing open the doors to pop their heads through and trade quick, rapid-fire one-liners, jokes and running gags.

Goldie was 22 years old when she first appeared on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In by opening one of the iconic doors on the Joke Wall. 

The raw wooden backboard was covered in handwritten notes, jokes and signatures from many celebrities such as Sammy Davis, Jr. and Jack Benny plus the entire Laugh-In main cast.

A segment of this original signed Joke Wall and its historical backboard is preserved and displayed as a permanent television artifact at the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York. 

Gladys and Tyrone

portrayed by 

Ruth Buzzi and Arte Johnson