If you don't remember Laugh Trax, a 1 year syndicated comedy-variety series in 1982, I don't blame you. It was set up to compete with Saturday Night Live, airing in many of the same markets, though some cities opted for a Sunday afternoon berth, but didn't find an audience.
Jim Staahl (ex-Mork & Mindy) was set up as series host, aided by Gail Matthius (ex-Saturday Night Live) and Howie Mandel, who was also appearing on NBC's St. Elsewhere in a more dramatic role. Mandel brought his chicken-man character, which you might've seen on Make Me Laugh during its short revival three years earlier.
Laugh Trax came from Sunn Classic Pictures, their first regular series since The Life & Times of Grizzly Adams, and their last series. Sunn by this time was a sister company to Hanna-Barbera, and one of their top talents, Frank Welker, was a featured performer as well as the show's announcer. Welker & Mandel would reteam two years later for Marvel/CBS' Jim Henson's Muppet Babies.
In this sampler, Fred Willard (ex-Fernwood/America 2Night), Billy Idol, & Kool and the Gang are the guests.
I was 13 in 1982 and this is the first that I've heard of Laugh Trax. I'm guessing that no network affiliate in my area carried the show. Over the years, there have many attempts to compete with Saturday Night Live, but few of them have been successful. SCTV, which ironically also aired on NBC, was on the few noteworthy shows.
ReplyDeleteApparently another regular on this show was Lucy Webb (of Not Necessarily the News, Private Benjamin and Charlie Hoover).
ReplyDeleteAnd the lesser known of the cast. As memory serves, the CBS affiliate here carried Laugh Trax as, yes, an alternative to SNL.
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