After reviewing some basic physical concepts related to laser annealing, this presentation reviews the exciting early days of laser annealing, covering the people, the timeline, controversies and research environment, with a focus on Bell labs.  It outlines the good science that came out of the excitement and the impact that this research has had on current advanced semiconductor manufacturing such as: rapid thermal annealing (RTA), active matrix liquid crystal displays (AMLCDs), silicon on insulator (SOI), laser processing and flash lamp annealing.