Boomers Will Remember The Sock-It-To-Me Girl
Judy Carne - the cute little red-head who made body paint sexy. Covered in graffiti and appearing in a bikini on the comedy sketch series, Laugh-In, she cheerfully invited her tormentors to "sock it to me!" Which they happily did with buckets of cold water, paint, beer and other substances, much to the delight of the studio audience and viewers at home.
The show ran on NBC for 140 episodes from 1968 to 1973 and was the creation of comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin. Originating as a one-time special on September 9, 1967, it was such a hit that it was made into a series, replacing the once-popular spy spoof Man from U.N.C.L.E. on Mondays at 8pm on NBC.
Baby Boomer Bytes
Did you know? In 1969 Judy Carne decided not to renew her contract with Laugh-In. She wanted to do other things before she became so stereotyped as the "sock it to me" girl that she would not be able to do other roles. The regular Laugh In cast members wished her well and threw her a going away party but, alas, George Schlatter (the Laugh-In producer) blamed her for breaking up the family. In the days following "Laugh-In" she would hear people yell "Sock it to me!" and she would instinctively duck, having had popcorn, peanuts, water and beer all thrown at her.
Her first post-Laugh-In-job was in "Cabaret" playing Sally Bowles. The production was off Broadway in a theater in Westbury, Long Island. While in this production she was offered a part as a lead in a revival of "The Boyfriend" on Broadway. She portrayed Polly. In September of 1971 Judy was back on T.V. again. She was in a reunion of "Laugh-In." In October she appeared on "the Tonight Show" which was being hosted by Burt Reynolds. He had specially requested her. When she asked him why he told her that she was the first person that popped into his head.
One of Judy's last T.V. appearances was on "Hollywood Squares." The show was taped 5 times in one day. One time when they took a dinner break, she had one too many cocktails. Once back on the set she went through a lull where no questions came her way and she began to doze off. When she became the secret square that night she jumped awake. The producer became upset and that was her last "Hollywood Squares" appearance.
Courtesy: http://judycarne.com
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