Laugh-In comic Martin dies at 86

Rowan (left) and Martin (right) had worked together since the 1950s

Actor and comedian Dick Martin, whose series Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In made stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin, has died in California, aged 86.

Martin, who also directed a string of TV shows, was being treated for respiratory problems in a Santa Monica hospital, a family spokesman said.

"He had some severe problems for many years, and had pretty much stopped breathing a week ago," he added.

The series took US TV by storm when it began in January 1968.

Rather than relying on scripted song-and-dance segments, it offered quickfire jokes, political satire and slapstick from a team of young actors and comedians, creating catchphrases such as "sock it to me!".

The show was fronted by Martin and Dan Rowan, who had worked together as nightclub comics since the 1950s before breaking into TV.

Martin was honoured on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2002

Rowan, who died in 1987, played straight man to Martin, who offered viewers a series of absurd, often risque, views on life, which he refused to be dissuaded from.

"He was professorial, always trying to teach me about something," Martin recalled of his partnership with Rowan.

"I was like Eliza Doolittle."

The duo split after the show ended in 1973, and seven years later they won a $4.6m court battle with their co-producer, for making a new version of Laugh-In without their approval.

By this time, Martin had moved behind the camera to direct several TV comedies.