Emmy-Winning ‘Laugh-In’ Star Arte Johnson Dies at 90: Report

Emmy-Winning ‘Laugh-In’ Star Arte Johnson Dies at 90: Report
Actor Arte Johnson arrives Shakespeare Festival/LA's Simply Shakespeare 2009 "The Comedy of Errors" in Los Angeles, Calif., on May 18, 2009. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)

Emmy-winning comedian actor Arte Johnson, best known for his work in “Laugh-In,” has died. He was 90.

Johnson died as a result of heart failure, and had been battling bladder and prostate cancer for three years, his family said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.

“On behalf of Gisela Johnson and the Johnson family, we are informing you that Emmy-winning comedic actor Arte Johnson has passed at 1:45 a.m., July 3, 2019,” a representative for the family shared in a written statement to Fox News. “There are no services planned. His ashes will be taken to his home away from home in HI, where a private ceremony will be held.”

Johnson was best known for his portrayal of Wolfgang in the comedy sketch show, “Laugh-In.” In the show, his character’s catchphrase—”Very interesting”—became iconic on the hit series. The show aired from 1968 until 1973 and in 1969 he won an Emmy award for his work on the show.

Johnson got the idea for his character Wolfgang while watching Errol Flynn and Ronald Reagan battling the Nazis in “Desperate Journey” (1942), according to The Hollywood Reporter.

However, he left the show after four seasons as the workload became too demanding, according to the entertainment news site.

Born on Jan. 20, 1929 in Benton Harbor, Michigan, Johnson was an actor and writer known for his work in “Love at First Bite” (1979), “Baggy Pants and the Nitwits” (1977), and “The President’s Analyst” (1967), according to IMDb.

In a 1972 interview, Johnson gave some insight into how he adds depth to his comedic characters.

“I work best when I have a false nose, a false mustache, an odd costume, a piece of hair, a bone through my nose. Give me some odd, weird thing and that’s me,” he said at the time.

Two years later, he said, “Humor for me consists in incongruity,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

“If I were doing a Hasidic rabbi, I’d have him speak with an Irish accent. … You take it out of reality and make it cartoon-esque without being denigrating. Because people today are so sensitive, it’s the only way of creating humor without offending someone,” he added.

Johnson did voice acting for cartoons, such as “The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo,” “Duck Tales,” and “Animaniacs.”

He first came to Los Angeles in 1955 and appeared in “It’s Always Jan,” “Make Room for Daddy,” and “The Andy Griffith Show,” according to The Hollywood Reporter.

In 1961, he appeared in an episode of “The Twilight Zone” titled “The Whole Truth,” according to IMDb. Through the years, he starred in several hit shows, such as “Bewitched,” “Lost in Space,” and “The Smurfs.”

Johnson also appeared in gameshows, such as “The Match Game,” “Wheel of Fortune,” and “The Gong Show,” as well as “Murder She Wrote,” “Night Court,” and “General Hospital,” according to Variety.

In a 2005 interview with Bill Dana at Emerson College’s American Comedy Archives, Johnson revealed he never had a desire to be famous.

“I was always a reactive performer. A guy does something, I will react to it,” he said at the time. “That’s my mindset. I cannot be the No. 1. I guess I was born to be a second banana. And I had no reluctance in doing it. I loved it.”

He is survived by his wife of 51 years, Gisela Johnson, and his brother, Coslogh, according to Variety.

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