Shark Bytes

This was appointment television for the whole darn family when I was a wee tot...along with Joker's Wild, Family Feud, The Gong Show, Tic-Tac-Dough, The Love Boat, and Laverne and Shirley.

My parents have a lot to answer for.

I watched the original show faithfully. Three things stick out in my mind. One time one of the comedians 'bounced' out in imitation of Bobby Van from Happy Go Lucky. Another had Fred MacMurray as the celebrity guest. The comedian (don't remember who) said, "This is your life" and started tapping his foot, opening and closing his arms and singing the My Three Sons Theme. Third was that John Cappelletti was a celebrity guest on one show. Don't remember much about it other than that I was sure when Bobby Van started introducing a football player that I wasn't going to know who it was because I'd heard of so very few.(I always looked forward to the celebrity guest hoping it was someone I knew) He added that he was a Heisman Trophy winner which I thought had sealed the deal of me not knowing who this was (I'd only heard of one Heisman winner) Boy did I get a shock.

I loved the 1979-80 version of this show. Of course, I was just 8 years old at the time, but did catch it again in re-runs in the middle 80's.

My favorites on there was Mike Binder, Williams & Ree, Gary Muledeer and the Unknown Comic.

That show was great!

They Jumped the Shark with the 1997 version. Just wasn't the same!

I have fond memories of Make Me Laugh in 1979. There was a 19 year old comic named Mike Binder from Detroit and he was cutting his teeth in the big spotlight. When Rue McClanahan was the guest on the show, Mike made her laugh. I also recall Abe Vigoda being a guest. Bruce "Babyman" Baum, Gallagher, Roger and Roger, Gary Muledeer...I remember them all fondly. Mike, however, actually answered my fan mail. He's a big time movie producer, director, writer and actor now. Yeah Mike!

After reading these comments, some memories came back. I was 8 or so, so I thought it was virtually impossible not to laugh at these guys, doing the cheapest clean humor possible. I also thought the $400 prize was a fortune. Bruce Baum and his props, the guy pouring milk over his head ("It's my kind of drink, if ya know what I mean. I even got a cookie!"). And of course, the Blow Lady. Does anyone remember the "celebrity" judge in that episode who started blowing frantically when it was his turn to try not to laugh? Give up? Billy Barty.

I agree with the above poster. Make Me Laugh jumped when Comedy Central brought back its 1997 revival. The jokes were showing signs of age and the stand up comedians on the '97 version weren't familiar household names as Howie Mandel and Gallagher et. al. were back when the show was on for more than a year in 1979 (I believed it was cancelled in March that following year). The '79 version never jumped and was at least 5 years ahead of time. The set and music was so 1979 ( although it could've been much later and the host Bobby Van was just getting started (this was only his third game show hosting job) and I just couldn't believe he died after years of cigar smoking shortly after and that he looked young back in '79. His then-wife, Elaine Joyce may have appeared on the show, but that is uncertain since it has been almost 20 years now. Totally hilarious and the maximum $360 payouts in '79 were worth more than in '97 in today's dollars. I was around 3 or 4 years old when MML was on and was most likely scheduled between reruns of Happy Days, Laverne and Shirley,& The Gong Show. Wonder why the Game Show Network hasn't gotten around to this lost gem and why Comedy Central haven't bothered showing both old and new carcinations of "Make Me Laugh" with both Bobby Van and Ken Ober (Remote control) as hosts. Think about what the ratings would be if this actually happened! WAY TO GO BOBBY VAN!!

This show jumped with the "new" Comedy Central version. I still liked the idea of this show, but the execution of the remake was so poorly done and the comedians were like grade-z quality. I loved the original. I too remember the "blowing" lady!! I had forgotten about that until reading it hear today, I remember one comedian holding up a kids "windmill" and she kept blowing it and another comedian lighting matches that she would blow out...too funny. But my favorite part of the show were the prop comedians. I remember one guy had a VW Bug car door attached to a tricycle, and another guy holding up a broken plastic shark with half it's mouth gone saying it was from the new movie "JAW", and another guy singing about milk while pouring a gallon of it over his head. That my friends was high comedy when I was 9 years old!

As a kid (I was maybe 11 or 12 at the time), there were very few places on television you could see stand-up comedians perform. The Tonight Show, Mike Douglas, the Evening At the Improv syndicated shows, and just a few others (Jack Carter hosted a syndicated show with young comedians for a while around that time) from time to time as I remember. This was pre-cable (at least we didn't have cable in Detroit at the time), and stand-up comedians weren't household names. Make Me Laugh was one of the few places you could see up-and-coming comics, even if they weren't "cutting edge" or "A-list." I distinctly remember the "Blow Lady" episode. I remember laughing hysterically at the entire scene. It was really funny. I recall that Kip Adotta was involved in that episode. In the late '70s/ early '80s, he was very funny and very hip. I think he was dressed like dracula, with a cape and, wore a funny nose and glasses and put his face within inches of the Breathing Lady to try and make her laugh. I also think he put blowing bubbles up to her mouth and a party favor thing you blow at kids birthday parties. Really funny stuff. I have recollections of a few other comedians from that era being on that show, but I'm not certain. Does anyone recall Gary Muledeer? He was once partnered with Steve Martin, and did a lot of schtick with props. I know he had a guitar and cowboy hat. Wasn't Elaine Boozler also on this show? I have a memory of her, but who know where that's from. As far as Bobby Van is concerned, he was once married to Elaine Joyce, who was a frequent guest star on Match Game (she always seemed to sit next to Richard Dawson on the bottom row on the left. That probably was Richard's request). Bobby Van and Elaine Joyce always seemed to be guests on "Tattle Tales," hosted by Burt Convy (he died young, too). Anyway, I loved the original Make Me Laugh. Not so much because of how funny the comedians were, but because it was fresh and interesting for its time (and maybe because I never matured past 12).

I'm glad I'm not insane! The first thing I think of when this show is mentioned is the "Pat Noise" lady. I remember one of the comics kept lighting matches, and she'd keep blowing them out. I also remember Bruce "Babyman" Baum. Someone mentioned Roger and Roger, who I didn't realize had been on "Make Me Laugh," but they did a pretty funny act on "Solid Gold."

To the above poster: No, you're not a minority...most people only remember the recent lackluster Comedy Central revival and are unfamiliar w/the 79 version that spent about 3 yrs on USA in reruns during the mid-80s...as an earlier poster mentioned, there were guys like Bob Saget, Howie Mandel, et al. before they hit it big, as well as some funny material that didn't pander to the 18-34 crowd by attempting to be edgy (anyone remember Bruce Baum's "Babyman" character, or the impressionists Roger & Roger?). On a sadder note, however, host Bobby Van died of a brain tumor in 1980, about a yr after the show had been cancelled.

Reading these comments makes me wonder if I'm some sort of cretin, because I remember totally cracking up over this show when Gallagher was on it. I think that's the first time I ever saw his "Sledge-O-Matic" schtick ("Soon you'll have the makings of a fine fruit salad," he said, leering as he brandished a sledgehammer over a ripe watermelon, then a moment later, SPLAT!) although I'll admit that if you've seen that once, it's not funny over and over. What I loved about Gallagher, though was his incredible resourcefulness. One contestant finally broke after he came out wearing a hat that had a window that opened with a little man that hung out of it, and then two little cars chasing each other around the brim. Another contestant didn't even make it three seconds because Gallagher came striding out in a Stetson and hip waders, carrying a fake lariat attached to a fishing rod and reel, so that when he wound the reel the lariat twirled around. My best friend and I would just about die laughing. Obviously, we were in a minority. LOL

before mst3k & even ren & stimpy..... this was my favorite show when i was about 14 years old. i had a rather unconventional lifestyle & my exhusband & i were living w/ his parents & this show came on late at night, either right before or right after reruns of the groucho marx show, "you bet yr life." we made sure to watch these shows, intellectuals that we were (& remain), every time they were on. i did want to note Bruce Baum -- just that, Bruce Baum -- & i did want to note that mr "americas funniest home videos," the clean, the dulleyed, bob saget was often on, & on he came w/ an acoustic guitar & a bunch of jokes about s & m (as it was called in those days). i do not remember the puffing lady, but i have a hedgehog, which is a remarkable simulation. (anyone w/ a hedgie will get this joke.) have fun.

Yeah, it was a bad show, I hardly ever laughed at the routines, but still I have fond memories of it from my childhood. One time a comic got me to laugh out loud, was when he drew a map on a piece of paper, lit it on fire from behind with a cigarette lighter, then started singing the "Bonanza" theme song. Did anyone notice that Bobby Van looked a lot like the former baseball player, Bobby Murcer?

I have to disagree with most of the previous posters. This show never failed to crack me up. And thanks to the poster who remembered the woman who used breathing exercises to keep from laughing. The memory made me laugh once more. As I recall, she was a maternity nurse and she was using the techniques taught to women for childbirth. Oh, and the guy with all the props was Gallagher.

I remember this relatively harmless show circa 1979 hosted by the late Bobby Van. There are two things that I remember most about this show. One, was that they had celebrity contestant Werner Klemper aka Colonel Klink came in to raise money for charity. The audience roared and cheered and went nuts as this classy gentleman survived the gauntlet. The second time when I laughed really hard was due to the expliots of a contestant and not a comedian. I believe the woman's name was Pat Noise. In order to keep from laughing, she would pucker her lips and start blowing. The more it seemed that she would crack, the harder she would start to blow. Eventually, all three comics got in on it and started to team up as she was just about on the verge of laughing. By this time, Ms. Noise, in order to hold off, was now thrusting up on down in her seat and loudly going "WHA WHA WHA!" I was laughing so had because, although it was all innocent, it appeared as if the lady was having a combination of a sexual orgasm and giving birth at the same time. Valiantly, she made it and won the maximum cash amount. The audience has such a riot with her and the phone response was so great, that they had her come on again about a week later. It was still amusing as the comics did all kinds of gags that coincided with Ms. Noises' blowing. They would put party favors and whistles and whoopi cushions in her mouth and she would inflate them. One guy even took out a kite as she was blowing. Anyone else remember this