Deep-voiced announcer on ‘Laugh-In,’ commercials
LOS ANGELES — “From beautiful downtown Burbank,” Gary Owens vaulted to fame playing the zany announcer in the TV comedy series “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In.” And he never stopped working after that, doing commercials, variety specials, cartoons, radio shows and even theme park announcements in his deep voice that was one of the most famous in show business.
His frantic pace was set early in life. At 9, he was diagnosed with diabetes.
“I overheard a doctor tell my parents he didn’t expect me to live past my teens,” Mr. Owens said in a 1980 interview. “So from that time on I engaged in all kinds of one-upmanship to prove I was as good or better than anyone else.”
Mr. Owens, 80, died Thursday at home in Encino (Los Angeles County). The cause was complications from the long-fought diabetes, said his son, Chris.
In 1967, when he had a popular Los Angeles radio show, a chance meeting in the SmokeHouse restaurant in Burbank led to “Laugh-In.”
Hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and featuring short comedy bits — sometimes just a few seconds long — the show was in development at NBC.
Producer George Schlatter was in the men’s room when Mr. Owens walked in. “He said, ‘Hello, George!’ in that voice of his,” Schlatter said Friday. “‘The acoustics are great in here.’
“And I said to him, ‘That’s what I want you to do!’ ”
To the bewildered Mr. Owens, Schlatter explained that for the fast-paced TV show, he needed someone to say lines that would provide a break between bits. “It was the shortest audition in show business,” Schlatter said.
It was a good fit for Mr. Owens, who as a radio disc jockey likewise used a variety of re- sources to create a wacky onair atmosphere.
The irreverent “Laugh-In,” which premiered as a weekly show Jan. 22, 1968, became a national sensation, making stars of previously little-known performers such as Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin and Jo Anne Worley.
Mr. Owens was born Gary Altman on May 10, 1934, in Mitchell, S.D., and grew up in nearby Plankinton, where he graduated from high school.
In addition to his son Chris, Mr. Owens is survived by his wife of 47 years, Arleta, and another son, Scott.