Laugh-In?

No, it was two brothers...

Sorry, gotta go now...

SMOTHERS BROTHERS

IM, The Smothers Brothers Show ... YES

This bit about "ribbit" has an important place in TV censorship
and the U.S. anti-war protest movement of the 60's and 70's

This my version of it's history, much of it from memory, some from later reading
about the battle the Smothers Brothers had with CBS and censorship of TV at the time.

It started with a simple skit on the Show with frogs sitting around a pond
saying "ribbit" in background rhythm to some song that Tom and Dick were singing.
This skit evolved into several versions to fit with whatever "shtick" they were doing that week.
Tom and Dick appeared in "frog" costumes, and the "ribbit" was a running joke
as it replaced "croak" and became a part of American culture.

Then later, as Tom & Dick, the writers, and guests got into their feud/war
with the CBS censors, the "ribbit" took on a different role.

The show became highly political and the writers would deliberately
insert things they knew/hoped with be cut by CBS censors.
They would set up a joke where the audience could anticipate
the punch line, but then would substitute "ribbit".
The audiences loved it and the censors were infuriated, in part
because CBS had contractually given the Smothers artistic control over their Show.
Of course, CBS finally terminated the show in 1969.

Those shows on YouTube have now been deleted... maybe due to copy write.
But there are references to scripts in libraries about "ribbit",
especially one episode in 1968 (8 - 62), but even these have been deleted from the links.

That's really interesting. I had no idea.

I have recollections of The Smothers Brothers Show. I thought Tom was so cute (I thought Jim Stafford was cute too, so what are you gonna do? My grandma and I watched that together sometimes.)

I was born in '64 so I have very vague recollections. Was it ever shown in re-run?

Michigan J. Frog didn't 'ribbit'. He croaked. Before he died, I mean. I assume he's dead, he may still be in that box, for all I know.

It's the higher-pitched frog sounds (like tree frogs) that are associated with 'ribbit'.

Au contraire, mon frère:

The man in the original cartoon, who discovered the frog in the cornerstone of an 1892 building under demolition, tosses Michigan and the green metal box he came in into the time capsule for the Tregoweth Brown Building, a soon-to-be dedicated skyscraper. In 2056, when a construction company (consisting of men in spacesuits) razes the building with disintegration guns, another person (very similar to the first, but bald) discovers the metal box, with Michigan still alive inside, and the process repeats.

~wiki

OK, so he didn't croak...but, he didn't ribbit either.

No one ever said he did, liebchen. my answer was incorrect.

And as I said before, it is onomatopoeia. Ain't no frogs actually 'say' ribbit.

The cow don't even 'say' fucking moo. k? ;)

Cows say Merrrrrrrr!

and if'n they need milking its Merrrah!

Ehrmahgerd, a ferg!!

Now, is that frerg croaking, or ribbiting?

I call that a ribbit.

In that instance, by 'croak', I meant 'die'. And he didn't, you were correct there.

strange. it appears as though the croak/ribbit/whatever/frogvoice happens on the inhalation, not the exhalation.