Remembering MAD Magazine, Arte Johnson, Sid Ramin

For 67 years MAD magazine featured satire of every facet of American life. Its writers, artists, and cartoonists deftly skewered everything from politicians to movies to consumerism. Arte Johnson was the madcap comedian on NBC’s Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In (1968-1973). He specialized in dialects and his trademark was his sign-off at the end of every show as a German soldier. Sid Ramin was a composer, arranger and orchestrator who worked on the Broadway productions of West Side Story and Gypsy. He also wrote familiar themes for television and commercials.