Never Stop SMILING

The Laugh-In alum shares favorite memories from her life and career

- Fortune Benatar

JoAnne Worley remembers the first time one of her well-placed oneliners got a big laugh. "I actually attended a two-room schoolhouse," says the Indiana native, whose quick thinking helped one of her schoolmates avoid getting punished by a teacher. "He said to the boy, 'Don't you get smart with me,"" she recalls to Closer. "I raised my hand right away and said, 'Isn't that why we come to school? To get smart?" And, of course, it got a laugh." The teacher even forgot to punish the boy.

Since that day, JoAnne's quick wit and innate comic timing have taken her far. On TV, her zany characters and raucous laugh made her a star on Rowan & Martin's LaughIn. She moved on to other television, including stints on game shows like Hollywood Squares, the Broadway stage, and films including Disney's animated classic Beauty and the Beast. Today, JoAnne, 87, performs a onewoman show, Keep Laughin. A huge pet person, she shares her home with her beloved rescue, Cupid. "He's a good boy," she says.

Was comedy in your blood?

Well, I learned early how to make people laugh. I never said, "When I grow up, I want to be in show business," because I didn't know what that was. But there were a lot of reverends in my family. When you think about it, there is kind of a parallel between being a preacher and an entertainer.

Was your family supportive of your dreams?