'Gong Show' creator Chuck Barris dies at 87
Source: ABC News
Chuck Barris, whose game show empire included "The Dating Game," ''The Newlywed Game" and that infamous factory of cheese, "The Gong Show," died at 87.
Barris died of natural causes Tuesday afternoon at his home in Palisades, New York, according to publicist Paul Shefrin, who announced the death on behalf of Barris' family.
Barris made game show history right off the bat, in 1966, with "The Dating Game," hosted by Jim Lange. The gimmick: a young female questions three males, hidden from her view, to determine which would be the best date. Sometimes the process was switched, with a male questioning three females. But in all cases the questions were designed by the show's writers to elicit sexy answers.
Celebrities and future celebrities who appeared as contestants included Michael Jackson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steve Martin and a pre-"Charlie's Angels" Farrah Fawcett, introduced as "an accomplished artist and sculptress" with a dream to open her own gallery.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/gong-show-creator-chuck-barris-dies-87-46292682
FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2002 file photo, Chuck Barris, the man behind TV's "The Dating Game," poses in the lobby of his apartment in New York. Game show impresario Barris has died at 87. Barris, the madcap producer of "The Gong Show" and "The Dating Game," died of natural causes Tuesday afternoon, March 21, 2017, at his home in Palisades, New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
shenmue
(38,506 posts)Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)...and it was good, if not slightly mean-spirited, fun.
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)I think we only had one TV, so if we watched it, my parents did, too!
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)My brothers loved the Gong Show when we were kids. Remember the Unknown Comic?
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)That show became an important part of our culture! I don't remember even particularly liking the show, but I watched it!
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)But the Unknown Comic was actually funny!
Yupster
(14,308 posts)and the guy who was always almost ready to play a musical instrument.
The Golden Age of TV.
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)The thing is, it was just silly fun - nothing more. And people loved it!
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)<snip>
In 1970 Langston began his show business career on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In doing impressions of a fork, a tube of toothpaste and a grandfather clock.[1] Laterat the suggestion of Redd Foxxhe teamed with comedian Freeman King. After they both appeared on several episodes of The Midnight Special they were spotted by producers and soon became regular performers on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour. Langston and King performed music and comedy sketches with the hosts and guest stars, alongside other regular performers as Ted Zeigler, Peter Cullen and Teri Garr.
After more than 100 appearances with Sonny and Cher, Langston began to make appearances on other prime time television shows, including The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show, The Wolfman Jack Show, and The Bobby Vinton Show.[1] He also worked with Foxx, Joan Rivers, Jim Carrey, Ruth Buzzi, and many other comedians, as well as creating comedic situationsappearing in several segmentsfor Candid Camera.
Early in his career, Langston had invested in a nightclub restaurant called "SHOW-BIZ." Several now-famous people worked there as servers, including Debra Winger, Michael Keaton (then known as Michael Douglas), David Letterman, Gallagher, Tim Reid and Freddie Prinze Sr.; however, the club closed within two years, exhausting Langston's savings.[1]
Strapped for cash, he accepted an offer to appear on The Gong Show. He was reportedly embarrassed about appearing on the show, sowith the director's permissionhe put a paper bag over his head with holes for his eyes and mouth, that were cut by Paul Poeschl, memorized a few old jokes and burst onto the show as "The Unknown Comic." The character, a frenetic speed-jokester in smarmy attire, was a hit, and developed a cult following.[3]
"The Unknown Comic" appeared on more than 150 episodes of the Gong Show and also entertained as a celebrity judge on several other television shows. He also wrote for The Gong Show for a short time as well as appearing regularly in Las Vegas and making the rounds of many popular talk/variety shows. In the early '80s, Langston revealed himself as "The Unknown Comic" on an episode of Real People in which the show's hosts pulled off the bag on his head. He also revealed his true identity at the conclusion of a match on the celebrity edition of the game show Bullseye.
Langston later produced The Unknown Comedy Hour for Playboy TV, followed by The Sex and Violence Family Hour which starred a very young Jim Carrey. He also wrote the screenplays for the films Night Patrol (1984), Up Your Alley (1988) and Wishful Thinking (1997) as well as being the co-host of "The NEW Truth or Consequences" (1987). He also had a role in the children's TV series E.M.U-TV (1989) as "Murray the Technical Director."
Langston most recently reappeared as "The Unknown Comic" in the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002). He wrote, directed and performed in Dirty Jokes: The Movie and inspired by the hit stage show The Vagina Monologues he created and performed "one man's response" to the show, which he called The Weenie Man-o-logs.
</snip>
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Thanks!
Bengus81
(6,927 posts)A black guy who worked on the show itself would come out and dance every so often. Jamie Farr and J.P. Morgan were on the show forever.
littlemissmartypants
(22,548 posts)Skittles
(153,111 posts)it was quite a quandary
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)I don't remember particularly liking the show - or him, actually - but I watched! Everybody did. It was something different - which was entertaining! ...
Skittles
(153,111 posts)murielm99
(30,712 posts)I worked a mile from my home. I would go home for lunch, and watch the show while I ate. It was bewildering and funny to me. It was great comic relief and helped me maintain a good attitude when I finished my work day.
I remember the unknown comic. I remember seeing some guy with a mustache, dressed like a nun and singing the Whiffenpoof song. I thought, WTF? Absurd worked for me. It made the rest of life seem very normal.
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)That's why it was so popular, it was just silly entertainment, something everybody was ready for about then. And I think it resonated across demographics. Kids loved it and their parents watched, too...
BumRushDaShow
(128,376 posts)I remember watching all of those shows. I don't think too many of those old game show hosts are still around although I just checked and Monty Hall is still with us.
R.I.P.
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)I haven't watched one for years, but back then everybody watched, they were an important part of the culture. These days, there's just too much on...
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)Chuck Berry and Barris within days of one another...
The Gong Show was a phenomenon that was so uniquely "the 70's".
It single-handedly resurrected talent shows - I remember my middle school had a "Gong Show" talent show. My act was a manipulating a bird marionette to the tune of In The Mood. I think I got gonged...
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)I knew there was something familiar about this. Who else do we know about named Chuck??
Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)...maybe Norris? He's a RWJ so no skin off my apple.
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)Cooley Hurd
(26,877 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,341 posts)Thanks, Chuck. RIP.
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)pansypoo53219
(20,952 posts)not the boring new talent shows.
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)Nobody took it seriously!
catbyte
(34,326 posts)supposedly based on his life. It was as twisted as he was. He was quite a character.
RIP
The Blue Flower
(5,432 posts)crazy story!
Are_grits_groceries
(17,111 posts)It was sheer nonsense and pure fun. Anything could happen.
We need a Gong Show today.
cab67
(2,990 posts)...I found myself only watching the first couple of weeks. They reminded me of the Gong Show.
lordsummerisle
(4,651 posts)beastie boy
(9,229 posts)for being a television industry pioneer. He was the one who introduced the concept of "first run syndication" - basically a process of negotiating with and distributing original content to individual TV stations nationwide, thus bypassing the then all powerful TV networks who were in control the production and distribution of virtually all content other than local news.
Of course, he was also a self-described CIA secret agent. But if I go any further into this, I will "have to kill you"... ; )
VWolf
(3,944 posts)I honestly felt he was drunk half the time on that show. But I loved it.
llmart
(15,532 posts)I used to say, "I think he's on some drugs or something." He was just wacky. But I just couldn't help but watch.
LakeArenal
(28,798 posts)If only there was a political gong for today.. That gong would be worn out...
Bengus81
(6,927 posts)Aww......Magnum!!
turbinetree
(24,683 posts)LakeArenal
(28,798 posts)Response to LakeArenal (Reply #38)
LudwigPastorius This message was self-deleted by its author.
hamsterjill
(15,220 posts)My sympathies to his family and friends. I remember The Gong Show well. We did a parody of it for a high school talent show.
Brother Buzz
(36,364 posts)I had no clue he actually lived in Palisades, New York. Rip, Ace CIA hit man.
denbot
(9,898 posts)I always got the impression he was coked out during the Gong Show.
Throckmorton
(3,579 posts)It's the Gong Show.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)R.I.P Chuck Barris
Judi Lynn
(160,443 posts)[center]
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)Where have they been keeping themselves, I wonder??
GReedDiamond
(5,310 posts)...the band was called Scott Thomas Lowe & Atascadero.
The brother of one of the guitar players taped the band's appearance on the show and posted it to YouTube a while back (which is why the title of the video is "Peter on the Gong Show" .
Rhiannon12866
(204,682 posts)GReedDiamond
(5,310 posts)jeanmarc
(1,685 posts)We could barely watch any shows together. It was kind of stupid, but stupid is fun sometimes. Irreverent might be a better word. It was a silly show.
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