Make Me Laugh was an American game show in which contestants watched three stand-up comedians performing their acts, one at a time, earning one dollar for every second that they could make it through without laughing. Each comedian got sixty seconds to try to crack the contestant up. If a contestant succeeding in not laughing the full 3 minutes, their $180 winnings were doubled to $360. On Van's version, contestants (who were selected from the audience) that lasted the full three minutes had their winnings doubled to $360; also, a celebrity guest would play the last round of each episode, playing for an audience member who would receive a prize just for being chosen, and up to three more prizes based on how many comedians the celebrity could survive.
A number of then-unknown comics appeared on this version before going on to greater fame; among them were Bob Saget, Howie Mandel, Gallagher, Gary Mule Deer, Yakov Smirnoff, Bruce 'Babyman' Baum and Garry Shandling.
The theme music for the 1970s version was entitled Laugh, and was performed by Artie Butler and the Big Boffers.