WEBVTT - Short Stuff: Laugh Tracks

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<v Speaker 1>Hey, and welcome to the short stuff. I'm Josh and

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<v Speaker 1>there's chuck and this is short stuff, a very special

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<v Speaker 1>sandwich edition between our very special two part episode on Sitcoms. Right, chuck,

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<v Speaker 1>Insert Laugh track, Jerry. That's right, nicely done, Jerry. So Um,

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<v Speaker 1>we're talking about laugh tracks. Everybody knows what a laugh

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<v Speaker 1>track is. It's also sometimes called canned laughter and if

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<v Speaker 1>you didn't realize that a lot of the sitcoms that

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<v Speaker 1>you watch have laughter added in, well prepared to have

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<v Speaker 1>your socks knocked off, because that is the thing and

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<v Speaker 1>it's been around for seventies, seventy years a little over. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's a really cool story, uh, and that they

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<v Speaker 1>discovered there was a problem early on with live studio

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<v Speaker 1>audiences and that sometimes they laughed at the wrong time,

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<v Speaker 1>sometimes they didn't laugh at all, sometimes they laughed too

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<v Speaker 1>loudly and for too long, and they had a laughter

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<v Speaker 1>problem because people are stupid. And so, UH CBS sound

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<v Speaker 1>engineer named Charlie Douglas said, you know what, I think

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<v Speaker 1>I can crack this thing. They've been using laugh tracks

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<v Speaker 1>and radio forever. Um. Why don't I see if I

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<v Speaker 1>can put together a library of of laughter and use

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<v Speaker 1>that to augment the laughter and sometimes entirely, entirely replaced

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<v Speaker 1>the laughter of the real audience. Yeah. So, so Charlie

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<v Speaker 1>Douglas started recording actual people laughing, and you can't like

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<v Speaker 1>you have to be pretty selective when you're recording laughter

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<v Speaker 1>because there's a lot of times where people are talking

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<v Speaker 1>or actors are giving dialogue. Still. So Red Skelton had

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<v Speaker 1>a show and he was a very famous, very physical

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<v Speaker 1>comedic actor. He could go long stretches just entertaining people

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<v Speaker 1>without saying a word. So he was a natural source

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<v Speaker 1>of this Um laughter that Charlie Douglas went around and recorded.

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<v Speaker 1>So was the mime Marcel Marceau, and so he started

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<v Speaker 1>recording any kind of laughter. He didn't he put it

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<v Speaker 1>all together, splice tapes together, and his first attempt at

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<v Speaker 1>a very rudimentary attempt at a laugh track made his

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<v Speaker 1>debut in nineteen fifty on a show I've never heard

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<v Speaker 1>of before, chuck, the Hank mccune show, of you. Nope,

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<v Speaker 1>never heard of it, but it's it's historic in that

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<v Speaker 1>it was the first show that the laugh track debuted on.

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<v Speaker 1>That's right. Uh, and Douglas got pretty into this. Uh,

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<v Speaker 1>to put it lightly. He kind of obsessed, it seemed,

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<v Speaker 1>over getting these laugh tracks just right. I don't think

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<v Speaker 1>he was happy with just saying like, all right, we

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<v Speaker 1>got some canned laughter, we got a couple of versions,

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<v Speaker 1>let's just go with it, uh, and ended up getting

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<v Speaker 1>sort of being like a conductor slash magician, and that

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<v Speaker 1>he had all different kinds. I think he ended up

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<v Speaker 1>with about three and twenty different kinds of laughs, from

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<v Speaker 1>uproarious to like just a little bit, to a few

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<v Speaker 1>people tittering to it rising and falling like a symphony.

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<v Speaker 1>And the coolest thing about all of this is he

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<v Speaker 1>did this and and put it in a literal physical

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<v Speaker 1>machine right, actual like. It ended up being called the

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<v Speaker 1>laugh box, although he tried to call it the audience

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<v Speaker 1>response duplicator or, if you I could totally see in

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<v Speaker 1>the fifties, pretending it's a robot and calling it R D. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>and also audience response duplicator is a pretty good band name.

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<v Speaker 1>I want to think about it. Now. What kind of

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<v Speaker 1>music exactly? I don't know. That's your's special I go

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<v Speaker 1>to math rock every time. I don't know what that

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<v Speaker 1>would be. But yeah, so this this box, the laugh box,

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<v Speaker 1>it was about the size and shape of a filing cabinet, well,

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<v Speaker 1>a three FT tall filing cabinet, or one meter for

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<v Speaker 1>friends outside of the US. Um and it was made

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<v Speaker 1>by Charlie Douglas himself from like household appliances, um parts

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<v Speaker 1>from an organ that he stripped, uh, and vacuum tubes

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<v Speaker 1>and it was really heavy, but it was really really effective.

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<v Speaker 1>Like you said, it had all sorts of different laughs

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<v Speaker 1>of all types on it. I think it could hold

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<v Speaker 1>up to three hundred and twenty different laughs. And again,

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<v Speaker 1>this is nineteen fifty and this guy basically created a

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<v Speaker 1>laughing computer. Yeah, there were thirty two reels, ten laughs each,

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<v Speaker 1>and it had, like you said, it had these it

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<v Speaker 1>looked more like these giant typewriter keys to me as

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<v Speaker 1>far as like literally how you would engage it, and

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<v Speaker 1>but you could play it almost like an instrument, and

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<v Speaker 1>that it wasn't just hit one button. You could hit

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<v Speaker 1>a combination of buttons if you wanna get a very

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<v Speaker 1>specific kind of laughter. I had no idea this is

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<v Speaker 1>how this worked. I just thought it was all done

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<v Speaker 1>in post by just kind of splicing it together, uh,

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<v Speaker 1>with like, you know, hey, just put track one on

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<v Speaker 1>there or something like that. I had no idea it

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<v Speaker 1>was a literal machine. It's very, very cool. Yeah, and

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<v Speaker 1>and Um, one of my favorites of all time is

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<v Speaker 1>the one person lightly laughing at a time. Yeah, that

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<v Speaker 1>was really used to great effect in Scooby Doo. If

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<v Speaker 1>you think back, like there was very often times when

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<v Speaker 1>just one person was kind of like, was that on

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<v Speaker 1>a laugh track? Uh Yeah, yes, it was, because the

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<v Speaker 1>scooby Doo animated characters were not performing live in front

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<v Speaker 1>of a studio audience. Well, I know that. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>remember there being laughter on Scooby Doo. Oh, yeah, totally.

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<v Speaker 1>Anytime Scooby or shaggy, did you know built like a

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<v Speaker 1>seven foot sandwich, there was a laugh track. Exactly that

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<v Speaker 1>would have gotten a laugh track. I haven't seen it

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<v Speaker 1>a long time. I'm sure it's totally full of laughter,

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<v Speaker 1>but I just don't remember. It really holds up, man,

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<v Speaker 1>does it really? Yes, especially the original one from like

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<v Speaker 1>nine nine. All right, well, let's take a break. I'M

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<v Speaker 1>gonna go watch some of those and we'll be back

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<v Speaker 1>to talk about how laugh tracks were received right after this.

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<v Speaker 1>All right. Did People like laugh tracks? No, yes and no.

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<v Speaker 1>Studio executives a lot of them loved it because it

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<v Speaker 1>solved a big problem, but it seems like almost exclusively

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<v Speaker 1>outside the studio executives, most people weren't too keen on it. No,

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<v Speaker 1>and I mean like this started right out of the gate.

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<v Speaker 1>Um the laugh check was derided as phony or Corny

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<v Speaker 1>or whatever, and Charlie Douglass, the inventor of that laugh box,

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<v Speaker 1>the guy who originated this, he became, I don't want

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<v Speaker 1>to say a recluse, but as far as the media

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<v Speaker 1>was concerned, you could not get an interview out of

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<v Speaker 1>him because I don't know if he took it personally

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<v Speaker 1>or took it hard or just to want to put

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<v Speaker 1>himself out there. But he, as far as I could tell,

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<v Speaker 1>he got very wealthy off of this thing. Between the

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<v Speaker 1>fifties and the seventies, if you heard a laft track

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<v Speaker 1>in a show, it was from Charlie Douglas. Yeah, I

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<v Speaker 1>bet you anything. He was hurt because, I mean there

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<v Speaker 1>were people that said, like this has ruined television in

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<v Speaker 1>some cases. Yeah, like an auto tune Kinda. Yeah, he

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<v Speaker 1>invented auto tune too. Not many people know that. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>he did it at all. He ruined everything and the

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<v Speaker 1>sound of airplane toilets flushing. Oh Wow, that's a good one,

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<v Speaker 1>especially if you're playing one person lightly laughing over the

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<v Speaker 1>air airplane toilet flushing. I still can't believe they haven't

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<v Speaker 1>solved that yet. Uh Yeah, I know, because and now everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>like everyone, look over at the door. I'm about to

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<v Speaker 1>come out. It's terrible and I plugged my ears. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just so grating and uh, in your face. Anyway. So

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<v Speaker 1>in the seventies is when the laugh track Um kind

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<v Speaker 1>of hit its heyday, along with the heyday, as you

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<v Speaker 1>have now learned in our Sitcom's episode of the Live

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<v Speaker 1>Studio Audience Multi camera taped show. But it was also

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<v Speaker 1>the time when it became sort of more of a

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<v Speaker 1>object of scorn. So that's when you started hearing the

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<v Speaker 1>famous announcement film before live studio audience just to let

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<v Speaker 1>people know like, uh, maybe we use some can laughter,

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<v Speaker 1>but there are also real people here laughing. Yeah, it

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<v Speaker 1>was a boast. I had no idea why they said that,

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<v Speaker 1>but it was almost like a disclaimer the way they

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<v Speaker 1>said but really they were telling you, like the laughter

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<v Speaker 1>you're hearing is is human laughter, like genuine stuff, and

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<v Speaker 1>those were we're filmed in front of studio audiences. The

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<v Speaker 1>ones that are weird are the shows like Mash that

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<v Speaker 1>we're not filmed in front of a studio audience. But

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<v Speaker 1>there was still that laugh track, but you never thought

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<v Speaker 1>about it. You were just so used to it. It's

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<v Speaker 1>very weird, especially if you stop and think about laugh tracks.

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<v Speaker 1>We'll get into that in a second, but it is

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<v Speaker 1>a very weird concept the way it supplied. But Um,

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<v Speaker 1>I saw that almost went away as early as the

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<v Speaker 1>mid sixties, that some CBS studio executives tested uh, the

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<v Speaker 1>pilot of Hogan's heroes with a laugh track with one

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<v Speaker 1>focus group without a laugh track with another focus group,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe the same focus group, I don't know, but

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<v Speaker 1>the focus group chose the laugh track episode, of the

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<v Speaker 1>Laugh Track version, and that just cemented laugh tracks for

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<v Speaker 1>decades to come. You can thank that one focus group

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<v Speaker 1>for it. Yeah, interesting pick for the show to do

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<v Speaker 1>that with. I think like it was interesting enough to

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<v Speaker 1>have a Sitcom about uh PO WS and Nazis. I

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<v Speaker 1>love the show. That's pretty good. As a kid thoughts

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<v Speaker 1>heroes is great, but Um, yeah, the laugh track is

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<v Speaker 1>weird and it's even weirder when you think about animated sitcoms.

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<v Speaker 1>We talked about the flint stones. I believe that will

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<v Speaker 1>be coming up in part two of the sitcoms up.

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<v Speaker 1>But Flint stones and the Jetson's they had laugh tracks two,

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<v Speaker 1>which doesn't make any sense at all, but people just

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<v Speaker 1>bought it because they were used to it. Yeah, exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>It's you just don't even notice it unless you notice it,

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<v Speaker 1>and then once you notice it it's hard to stop. But,

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<v Speaker 1>like you said, even mash had one and apparently the creator,

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<v Speaker 1>Larry Gilbert, said he wanted mash to air without laughs, quote,

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<v Speaker 1>just like the actual Korean War. Um, but he still lost.

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<v Speaker 1>But they gave him the out to not have a

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<v Speaker 1>laugh track during the medical like surgery scenes. Yeah, it

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<v Speaker 1>all kind of flowed though I never really noticed that stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>like when they were in the O R, that there

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<v Speaker 1>wasn't a laugh track going. Generally right. Uh. In other

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<v Speaker 1>countries they have done some interesting things. It's kind of

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<v Speaker 1>a very American slash UK thing, but in Latin America

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<v Speaker 1>apparently they would actually hire laughers to come in like

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<v Speaker 1>professional laughers Rayo doors and they would say laugh at

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<v Speaker 1>this moment and that moment, and I don't know if

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<v Speaker 1>it was like that. They were just plants in the

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<v Speaker 1>audience that we're supposed to laugh to get everybody else laughing,

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<v Speaker 1>or the entire audience were made of ray a door.

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<v Speaker 1>So I'm not sure. But either way I guess they

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<v Speaker 1>issued the laugh track. Generally, I think it was probably

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<v Speaker 1>multiple plants to get people going because, uh, they have done, Um,

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<v Speaker 1>I guess, studies, but they have shown that laugh tracks

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<v Speaker 1>people find things funnier when other people are laughing so aterly,

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<v Speaker 1>when there as can laughter, people are more apt to

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<v Speaker 1>think something is funny. Yeah, fifteen to twenty percent funnier

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<v Speaker 1>when you add can't laughter to it, which is that's

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<v Speaker 1>funny in and of itself. This is fifteen funnier. That's

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<v Speaker 1>Hilarious to me. How do you how do you measure that? So,

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<v Speaker 1>if you think back, even Seinfeldt Chuck, one of the

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<v Speaker 1>funniest shows of all time, had a laugh track, and

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<v Speaker 1>this was into the nineties, right. The Simpsons managed to

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<v Speaker 1>launch with that one. They never had a laugh track.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think they even jokingly used one. Um. But

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<v Speaker 1>my point is even Seinfeld, up into the nineties, had

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<v Speaker 1>one and it wasn't until I saw the U K's

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<v Speaker 1>version of the office credited as the one that really

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<v Speaker 1>turned the tide. I think the HITCHHIKER's guide to the

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<v Speaker 1>galaxy in the UK. Um really broke out and said

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<v Speaker 1>we're not going to use this, but it was still

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<v Speaker 1>used extensively. It wasn't until the office came along and

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<v Speaker 1>just change comedy. The comedy involved was presented and written

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<v Speaker 1>in a way that a las check just would not

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<v Speaker 1>make sense because it was so cringe e. You know. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>I mean it's hard to imagine something like either version

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<v Speaker 1>of the office or arrested development or thirty rock or

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<v Speaker 1>curb your enthusiasm with a laugh track. It would be

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<v Speaker 1>very strange. Uh. And speaking of strange, one of the

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<v Speaker 1>most fun things you can do is just spend a

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<v Speaker 1>few minutes of your day watching Um sitcoms without the

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<v Speaker 1>laugh track, like classic sitcoms. Uh. They've notably done this

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<v Speaker 1>on youtube with episodes of friends and clips of friends

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<v Speaker 1>and it's just weirdly disconcerting. Uh. It's not as funny

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<v Speaker 1>and one of the weirdest things is know, you don't

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<v Speaker 1>realize that when you're watching a show with a laugh track,

0:13:02.960 --> 0:13:06.280
<v Speaker 1>but they're like a stage play. They're waiting for a

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<v Speaker 1>beat while the people are laughing to stay their next line,

0:13:09.840 --> 0:13:12.800
<v Speaker 1>and it's never more apparent than when that laughter is gone.

0:13:13.080 --> 0:13:16.520
<v Speaker 1>It's very disjointed and weird because it's just silent, right.

0:13:16.760 --> 0:13:19.240
<v Speaker 1>But then also without the laugh track, I think you

0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:23.600
<v Speaker 1>are very, very generous to say it's just not as funny. Um,

0:13:23.640 --> 0:13:26.160
<v Speaker 1>I found it like not funny at all and actually

0:13:26.280 --> 0:13:28.800
<v Speaker 1>kind of upsetting, to tell you the truth. Like they're

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<v Speaker 1>the jokes are like deeply juvenile. They're supported every single

0:13:33.600 --> 0:13:36.480
<v Speaker 1>one by like a funny facial expression that's not actually funny.

0:13:36.480 --> 0:13:39.880
<v Speaker 1>It looks kind of hostile instead, and you it becomes

0:13:39.880 --> 0:13:42.160
<v Speaker 1>clear that, friends, is like in no way funny on

0:13:42.200 --> 0:13:44.920
<v Speaker 1>its own. It like really leaned on the laugh track

0:13:45.000 --> 0:13:48.839
<v Speaker 1>to make it funny. Did you see the one, uh Ross,

0:13:48.880 --> 0:13:53.079
<v Speaker 1>without laugh track psychopaths? Now I know what I will

0:13:53.120 --> 0:13:55.559
<v Speaker 1>be doing right after we finished recording. Yeah, check it out,

0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:57.720
<v Speaker 1>because not only did they remove the laugh track for

0:13:57.760 --> 0:14:00.760
<v Speaker 1>the scene, but they they made it. They changed the

0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:02.480
<v Speaker 1>color so where it was black and white, and they

0:14:02.520 --> 0:14:07.880
<v Speaker 1>put like this brooding music. It's really, really good. Um.

0:14:07.920 --> 0:14:10.240
<v Speaker 1>And while we're at just this general thing, also should

0:14:10.280 --> 0:14:15.600
<v Speaker 1>just recommend music lists, music videos. Yeah, those, those are great.

0:14:15.600 --> 0:14:17.920
<v Speaker 1>Those are some of the funniest things on Youtube when

0:14:17.960 --> 0:14:21.720
<v Speaker 1>it just shows like people dancing around with like sneaker

0:14:21.760 --> 0:14:27.800
<v Speaker 1>squeaks and then going like all good stuff. Um, the

0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.400
<v Speaker 1>opposite is pretty funny too, where you take something that's

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<v Speaker 1>not intended to be funny and add a laugh track,

0:14:33.840 --> 0:14:37.000
<v Speaker 1>like way before space coast coast to coast. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know if it was the same friends of ours, Dave Willis,

0:14:39.920 --> 0:14:44.240
<v Speaker 1>who did this too, but somebody put like old episodes

0:14:44.280 --> 0:14:48.040
<v Speaker 1>of space ghost from the sixties on cartoon network at night,

0:14:48.080 --> 0:14:51.000
<v Speaker 1>even before adults swim, and just added laugh tracks so

0:14:51.120 --> 0:14:54.760
<v Speaker 1>like inappropriate places and made it like genuinely funny. I

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<v Speaker 1>would like to say I wonder if anyone's done that

0:14:56.640 --> 0:15:00.000
<v Speaker 1>with like the office. I'd be curious just to see

0:15:00.000 --> 0:15:03.080
<v Speaker 1>what that feels like. Yeah, yeah, I'm just gonna go

0:15:03.240 --> 0:15:05.320
<v Speaker 1>spend the rest of the day on the Internet watching

0:15:05.440 --> 0:15:08.600
<v Speaker 1>this stuff. I think I agree. All right. Well, chuck agreed.

0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.200
<v Speaker 1>I said I was gonna go do something else. That

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<v Speaker 1>means short stuff is out. Stuff you should know is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart radio. For more podcasts my

0:15:19.360 --> 0:15:22.640
<v Speaker 1>heart radio, visit the I heart radio APP, apple podcasts

0:15:22.760 --> 0:15:24.600
<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,