JoAnne Worley Recalls Memories From ‘Laugh-In’: ‘So Many Fun Behind-the-Scenes Moments’

JoAnne Worley remembers the first time one of her well-placed one-liners got a big laugh. “I actually attended a two-room schoolhouse,” says the Indiana native, whose quick thinking helped one of her schoolmates avoid getting punished by a teacher. “He said to the boy, ‘Don’t you get smart with me,’” she recalls to Closer. “I raised my hand right away and said, ‘Isn’t that why we come to school? To get smart?’ And, of course, it got a laugh.” The teacher even forgot to punish the boy.

Since that day, JoAnne’s quick wit and innate comic timing have taken her far. On TV, her zany characters and raucous laugh made her a star on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In. She moved on to other television, including stints on game shows like Hollywood Squares, the Broadway stage and films including Disney’s animated classic Beauty and the Beast. Today, JoAnne, 87, performs a one-woman show, Keep Laughin. A huge pet person, she shares her home with her beloved rescue, Cupid. “He’s a good boy,” she says.

Was comedy in your blood?

“Well, I learned early how to make people laugh. I never said, ‘When I grow up, I want to be in show business,’ because I didn’t know what that was. But there were a lot of reverends in my family. When you think about it, there is kind of a parallel between being a preacher and an entertainer.”

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Was your family supportive of your dreams?

“I didn’t have to ask them to be supportive. I worked when I was in high school at a truck stop on the weekends and I had my own money. I picked up a Theatre Arts Magazine and read an ad for an apprentice in summer stock back in New York. My father didn’t understand. He said, ‘You mean you’re going to work for them and you’re paying them?’ But I had a good Virgo work ethic. I went and was rewarded with a scholarship to come back the following summer.”

How do you describe your comic style?

“Loud! The thing with comedy is to trust the moment, especially in stand-up, and trust what is happening between you and the audience. You need to trust it and go with it and be prepared. I started out just singing in nightclubs because there weren’t any examples of lady comics. I would just sing funny songs or do a twist on a song. Before I went to New York, I was also in a Jerry Lewis comedy workshop at Paramount Studios.”

Was Jerry a big influence?

“Oh, sure! Jerry Lewis. It was a big honor for me to be chosen to be in his comedy workshop and also to be on several of his television specials.”

Did he offer you any good advice?

“Jerry gave me this advice: If there is an audience, go there, do it. The more you do it, the more material you have, the more experience you get, obviously. The more people see you, the more it will open up other doors.”

What was it like to be on Laugh-In in the early days?

“Very busy! If we weren’t shooting, we were changing costumes, doing makeup and hair, or rehearsing. We actually did have to rehearse dance moves. We were busy bees. We would shoot into the night.”

Do you have a favorite Laugh-In memory you can share?

“We had Colonel Sanders on Laugh-In, and we did a little thing together. As we were walking off the set, he put his arm around me and put his hand right on my boob. We had an audience there, and of course they laughed, and because I’m loud they could all hear me. I said, ‘Oh, Colonel Sanders, I thought you were a leg man!’”

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Ha! Was there much competition among Laugh-In’s cast?

“We would help each other. We would be each other’s audience if we were not changing or getting made up or something. We’d encourage each other. If there was something in the script I thought would be better for Ruth Buzzi, I would say, ‘I don’t know, I think Ruthie should do this.’ There were so many fun behind-the- scenes moments.”

How do you think the industry has changed for female comedians?

“There’s much more freedom for women. The difference is, I think, because of cable television and people working and doing stand-up in clubs who are not beholden to regular television. They can do blue [raunchy] material. The industry has opened up for female entertainers.”

What comedians make you laugh today?

“I find that the rhythm is a little different nowadays. The jokes are something we would never dream of doing. Comics coming up in the clubs would never do any blue material. You would only be doing material that you could eventually do on television, which precludes a lot of what we see in the clubs today. But, I love watching Saturday Night Live. By the way, did you know Lorne Michaels was a writer on Laugh-In?”

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No, I didn’t! What are you proudest of in your career?

“My brother was in the Navy, and at one point I was asked to sing with the United States Air Force Band at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C., and my brother was there. That was kind of a special moment. We visited the Vietnam war memorial together, and that was special because he knew a lot of the names on the wall.”

You’re not on Facebook, but there was someone impersonating you and charging money for autographs. What can fans do to help stop this?

“I don’t like the idea of somebody else profiting from what is supposedly my real autograph. I certainly do sign pictures for people, but if somebody else is charging for that, that’s not right. I’d like fans to go on this phony page — if it’s got an ugly picture, you know it’s not mine! — and just report it.”

Tell us about Actors and Others for Animals.

“Our mission is spay and neuter because that is at the crux of the overpopulation of pets that don’t have forever homes. We help with medical bills for animals. It’s so expensive, but we try to help spay and neuter.”