Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1259912
74 S P R I N G 2 0 2 0 C A S Q U A R T E R L Y to any show. "It was the final polish on the show. It was the final element done to a show before it was transferred and aired. It's the last element that makes such a big difference," reveled Huth. "Especially with surround sound and everything else going on, it involves you as a listener, as an audience participant … it draws you into what you're trying to say with music or laughs. It's just that polish, that finish that you're giving it. That extra shine." "How you doin'?" flirted Joey Tribbiani. Laughter erupts. And the girl on the show swoons. But this time, imagine no laugh track following his line. You listen to the build-up to the line and see him flash his charming smirk, but no laughter comes. A beat occurs, and then, Matt Perry continues on with his dialogue. Something's lost along the way. Douglass said it best, stating, "Laughter is contagious. All those people were laughing with them at home," because it's just a bit funnier when you're there. • [Note: In 2010, there was a piece on Antiques Road Show (PBS) where the actual Laff Box was brought in for review and appraisal. Included were books containing Charlie's original drawings and notes for the machine. Search "1953 Charlie Douglass" to see and hear the box in action—it's pretty interesting!] and the invention of the Laff Box became monumental. "When I controlled that, I used as much as I could without having the leakage because of echo and all that," explained Douglass. "Then, I would just fill in where more necessary; you know, use the real audience as much as possible. Some people say they wiped the audience and redid it all, but why? That's the real laughter for the joke." Huth concurred, "It's pretty evident where the holes and the bumps are in the original track, and to the laff machine guy, he's hearing them for the first time as you're going along. He's got to blend his material, bring his material to the sound and quality of the show, and make sure he doesn't add any foreign elements. It seems seamless, smooth, and real which is important—the way it was recorded with a live audience." By the '80s, the Laff Box began its retirement, and the sound world entered the era of the digital age. Douglass went on to re-invent a digital Laff Box, spending more than $500,000 to accommodate the slowly evolving technology. Entering the computer age, the Laff Box became more compact, existing on hard drives and multitrack mixers. "Now, with the invention of computers and how fast they are, it's so much easier to do," observed Douglass. But even now, in an age where access to material is easier than ever, the precision of the mixer behind the board is just as important. "It's really a touchy thing to do. They complain about canned laughter so much because they're cutting only the good jokes or only using big laughs in there," stated Douglass. "I always fight with the writers in the room when we're in post sessions. They say, 'Oh no, more there.' I turn, look at them and say, 'You got to give it time.' Go back and look at an old I Love Lucy. The first couple of jokes were smaller jokes; it wasn't big laughter all the time. It's little tickles, little tickles, and then the big zinger at the end and that's where the big laugh came." When done right, the laugh track rounded off the final piece From top to bottom: Charlie Douglass works on the original Laff Box in his house in Northridge; the Laff Box inner workings were heavily protected by Charlie while he was working in the industry; the Laff Box with books as displayed on a 2010 Antiques Road Show episode.