Yes, “filler words” (historically and technically known as expletives, which means the same thing) have like, been with us for decades, if not centuries, you know? I’m interested in the point where they began to replace standard vocabulary, and actually convey meaning, as in the example I pointed to.
An internet search for “full faith and credit” will provide the constitutional authority—historical vagaries, clarifications, and reaffirmations aside—for states’ recognition of other states’ legal marriages.
As I recall, in Valley Girl Speak, “like” was not a filler. It introduced the usage “X was like…” meaning “X said [something like].” Or as @Hypatia of Alexandria said, “I [usually] was thinking/feeling…”
The night my mother’s neighbor decided to stop feeding the raccoons, she heard the doorbell ring. When she looked out the peephole, there was a raccoon looking expectantly up at her. When she exclaimed “How did you do that!?”, the critter jumped vertically from her stoop to a two-inch-wide metal railing and rang the bell again.
George Burns commented during one of their routines, “It’s your act, Gracie.” Without getting into who wrote what when and for how long, he explicitly credited her with inventing the character who drove their duologues. The first one, however much she had planned it in advance, was presented to him as an improvisation. She asked him to trust her and follow her lead as part of their live stage act, and he did.
In the second panel, the clock reads about 2:50, with a sweep second hand where the minute hand had been in panel one.