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What is a Laugh Track?

Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick

A laugh track, sometimes called canned laughter by critics, is a collection of pre-recorded audience laughs and applause sounds added to television programs during post-production. The main purpose of the track is to trigger a response from home viewers who may not understand all of the intended humor during a taped sitcom. The belief is that laughter creates laughter, so canned laughter supplements natural reactions to a set-up and punchline. Some television producers call this practice sweetening the track.

The first known use of a recorded laugh track is said to be in 1950, when the producers of the Hank McCune Show added canned laughter after the show's taping. Until that time, other radio and television comedies either used a live studio audience or no canned laughter at all. In 1953, a sound engineer named Charley Douglass invented the Laff Box, a small electronic device containing numerous loops of recorded laughter and applause.

Canned laughter can be used to punctuate jokes during sitcoms.
Canned laughter can be used to punctuate jokes during sitcoms.

It is rumored that Charley Douglass culled almost all of his laugh track material from in-studio recordings of several different comedy shows, including I Love Lucy, The Red Skelton Show and various live performances by mime Marcel Marceau. Douglass needed to record all different styles of laughter and applause without the sound of dialogue, so it's very possible that he recorded several of Red Skelton's silent clown performances. If this is true, then audience reactions on a modern sitcom may have actually been recorded over 50 years earlier.

A laugh track is a form of in-studio recording.
A laugh track is a form of in-studio recording.

Criticism of the laugh track reached a fever pitch during the 1970s. Many sitcoms chose to eliminate the practice altogether or mix live audience reactions with the canned laughter. Filming a show in front of a live audience became a badge of honor for a number of sitcoms. Use of a laugh track was viewed as an attempt to mask weak writing or performances. Even shows that still relied on audio sweetening made efforts to cut back on the practice. The problem was that live audiences did not always provide a usable response, especially after a long day of outtakes and retakes.

Today,the same company created by Charley Douglass offers an upgraded digital version of the original Laff Box. Not only are the original laughter and applause tracks still featured, but additional tracks for foreign audiences and children's shows have been added. Most sitcoms produced today are still recorded in front of a live audience, but a more subtle laugh track can be used to bolster inaudible or weak responses. In the audio world, the effective use of audio sweetening is considered more of an art than a science.

Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick

A regular WiseTour contributor, Michael enjoys doing research in order to satisfy his wide-ranging curiosity about a variety of arcane topics. Before becoming a professional writer, Michael worked as an English tutor, poet, voice-over artist, and DJ.

Learn more...
Michael Pollick
Michael Pollick

A regular WiseTour contributor, Michael enjoys doing research in order to satisfy his wide-ranging curiosity about a variety of arcane topics. Before becoming a professional writer, Michael worked as an English tutor, poet, voice-over artist, and DJ.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon178485

I don't see the point of a laugh track for any comedy show. I, for one, don't need to be told when to laugh at something, especially when it's not even funny to begin with. That's why I try to stay away from any show that has it. There's no point to have it and no point to listen to it.

DentalFloss

I find it sad that American television especially is still so reliant on recorded laughter in television. Some of the most brilliantly hilarious shows I have ever seen, such as Monty Python's Flying Circus, almost always were filmed entirely without laugh tracks. Audiences do not need to be told when to laugh.

mitchell14

I tend to avoid watching television shows where I find the laugh track sounds to be especially loud or false. Generally, if I do not notice the laugh track of a show, I prefer it. While the laugh track is still a commonly used tool in television show production, I think it often makes the humor involved seem too generic and forced; I like to laugh at things that the laugh track doesn't tell me to.

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    • Canned laughter can be used to punctuate jokes during sitcoms.
      By: icsnaps
      Canned laughter can be used to punctuate jokes during sitcoms.
    • A laugh track is a form of in-studio recording.
      By: imkenneth
      A laugh track is a form of in-studio recording.