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In 1986, Charley's son Bob began experimenting with an all-digital audio computer manufactured by CompuSonics, a Palo Alto, California company, as a replacement for the analog equipment invented by his father. By 1990, Bob was using a custom version of CompuSonics equipment that had multiple channels
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to laugh at the correct moment. Douglass noticed this problem, and decided to remedy the situation. If a joke did not get the desired chuckle, Douglass inserted additional laughter. If the live audience chuckled too long, Douglass gradually muted the laughter. This editing technique became known as "
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The one-of-a-kind laugh-track device—known throughout the industry as the "laff box"—was secured with padlocks, was more than two feet tall, and operated like an organ. Only immediate members of the family knew what the inside looked like. At one time, the laff box was called "the most sought after
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critic Dick Hobson said the
Douglass family were "the only laugh game in town." When it came time to "lay in the laughs", the producer would direct Douglass where and when to insert the type of laugh requested. Douglass would then go to work at creating the audience, concealed from the producer (or
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Before TV, audiences often experienced comedy in the presence of other audience members. Television producers attempted to recreate this atmosphere in the early days by introducing laughter or other crowd reactions into the soundtrack of TV programs. However, live audiences could not be relied upon
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Douglass was married for 62 years to
Dorothy Dunn Douglass. They had two sons, Steve and Bob. Bob operated Northridge Electronics, the company established by Charley in August 1960, until 2012. Dorothy lived in Laguna Beach until her death in January 2014 at age 95.
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but well-concealed box in the world". A team of "Laff Boys," technicians trained to operate
Douglass's Laff Box, created extremely detailed textures designed to suggest specific ethical situations.
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of digital audio samples and a laptop computer interface for control. The new Laff Box was loaded and unloaded from the trunk of Bob's
Mercedes-Benz with a small crane bolted to the trunk floor.
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By the early 1960s, the recording of TV sitcoms before audiences had fallen out of fashion, and
Douglass was employed to simulate audience response for entire programs. Shows like
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where the
Douglass family resided and operated their business. From the late 1950s to the early 1970s, Douglass had a virtual monopoly on the laugh-track business. In 1966,
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McCarthy, David. "Textured Voices and the
Performance of Ethical Life in the Case of the Laff Box (1966)." Twentieth-Century Music 13, no. 1 (March 2016): 109–137.
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anyone else present at the studio) to preserve the secrecy of his technique. Consequently, few in the industry witnessed
Douglass using his invention.
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In 2003, the laff box consisted of a digital device approximately the size of a laptop computer which contains hundreds of human sounds.
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499:"Canned Laughter: A History Reconstructed. Interview with Ben Glenn II, Television Historian" at andheresthekicker.com
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Private communications between
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Douglass' laff box was unearthed in 2010. It was later discussed in detail in a June 2010 episode of
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Washington Post
Thursday, April 24, 2003; Page B06: "Charles Douglass, 93; Gave TV Its Laugh Track"
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Iverson, Paul: "The Advent of the Laugh Track" Hofstra University archives; February 1994.
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Douglass formed Northridge Electronics in August 1960, named after the
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are virtually showcases of Douglass' editing work. Low-key shows, like
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Hobson, Dick (July 2, 1966). "The Hollywood Sphinx and his Laff Box".
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honored Douglass with a 1992 Emmy for lifetime technical achievement.
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At first, Douglass's technique was used sparingly on live shows like
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Antiques Roadshow: 1953 Charlie Douglass "Laff Box"
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19:For the American businessman in Georgia, see
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169:with engineers developing shipboard
696:Deaths from pneumonia in California
534:. Boston: WGBH Boston. 2010-06-12.
27:. For those of a similar name, see
16:American sound engineer (1910–2003)
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671:People from Guadalajara, Jalisco
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443:"The Talk of the Town: Laughs",
711:20th-century American inventors
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538:from the original on 2024-06-30
716:American expatriates in Mexico
381:. Apr 21, 2003. Archived from
145:. Douglass graduated from the
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149:with a bachelor's degree in
686:University of Nevada alumni
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566:"california.14thstory.com"
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400:Channels of Communication
177:The mysterious "laff box"
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676:American audio engineers
290:Laguna Beach, California
123:Charles Rolland Douglass
60:Charles Rolland Douglass
402:, August/September 1981
221:The Beverly Hillbillies
50:Charley Douglass, 1950s
25:Charles Remond Douglass
227:The Andy Griffith Show
192:The Jack Benny Program
151:electrical engineering
21:Charles Henry Douglass
298:Templeton, California
296:on April 8, 2003, in
284:Later years and death
137:Douglass was born in
116:Dorothy Lorraine Dunn
97:Templeton, California
147:University of Nevada
251:San Fernando Valley
504:2009-02-12 at the
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91:(2003-04-08)
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356:December 4,
159:Los Angeles
139:Guadalajara
133:Early years
127:laugh track
74:Guadalajara
655:Categories
645:Television
576:2013-10-31
542:2024-07-02
325:References
184:sweetening
167:Washington
66:1910-01-02
681:CBS Radio
621:Biography
294:pneumonia
209:Bewitched
197:videotape
173:systems.
161:. During
155:CBS Radio
536:Archived
502:Archived
486:TV Guide
417:TV Guide
256:TV Guide
80:, Mexico
607:Portals
600:YouTube
379:Variety
249:in the
78:Jalisco
143:Nevada
113:Spouse
99:, U.S.
633:Radio
532:(mp4)
171:radar
358:2015
317:The
236:and
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86:Died
56:Born
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