Chuck Barris
Encyclopedia
Charles Hirsch "Chuck" Barris (born June 3, 1929) is an American
game show
producer, film director
and presenter best known for hosting The Gong Show
and creating The Dating Game
. Barris, a survivor of lung cancer
, is also an author and claims to have worked for the CIA.
where he was a columnist at the student newspaper The Triangle
. He graduated in 1953.
Barris got his start in television as a page and later staffer at NBC
in New York City
, and eventually worked backstage at the TV music show American Bandstand
, originally as a standards-and-practices person for ABC
. Barris soon became a music industry figure. He produced pop music on records and TV, but his most successful venture was writing "Palisades Park
". Recorded by Freddy Cannon
, it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
on 12 March 1962, the biggest hit of Cannon's career. Barris also co-wrote or wrote some of the music that appeared on his game shows.
Barris was promoted to the daytime programming division at ABC in Los Angeles
and was put in charge of deciding which game shows ABC would air. Barris told his bosses that the producer/packagers' pitches of game show concepts were worse than Barris' own ideas. They suggested that he quit his ABC programming job and become a producer.
Barris first became successful during 1965 with his first game show creation, The Dating Game
, on ABC. On this show, which was hosted by Jim Lange
, three bachelors or "bachelorettes" (unmarried women) competed for the favor of a contestant of the opposite sex blocked from their view. The contestants' racy banter, and its "flower power
"-motif studio set, was a revolution for the game show genre. The show would air for eleven of the next fifteen years and be revived twice in the 1980s and 1990s.
The next year Barris began The Newlywed Game
, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir
, also for ABC. The combination of the newlywed couples' humorous candor and host Bob Eubanks
's exuberant sly questioning made the show another hit for Barris. The show is the longest lasting of any developed by his company, running for 19 full years on 'first run' TV, network and syndicated. Game Show Network
airs a current version with Sherri Shepherd
. Interviewed on the NPR program "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" on August 1, 2009, he said that the Newlywed Game was the easiest program he had developed. "All I needed was four couples, eight questions, and a washer-dryer."
Barris created several other short-lived game shows for ABC in the 1960s and for syndication
in the 1970s, all of which revolved around a common theme: the game play normally derived its interest (and oftentimes, humor) from the excitement, vulnerability, embarrassment, or anger of the contestants or participants in the game. Barris also made several attempts through the years at non-game formats, such as ABC's Operation Entertainment, a variety show
staged at military bases akin to USO shows, a CBS
revival of Your Hit Parade
, and The Bobby Vinton Show
, a Canadian
-based syndicated variety show for singer Bobby Vinton
(produced in conjunction with Chris Bearde
and Allan Blye); the latter was his most successful program other than a game show.
to throw a pie at emcee Geoff Edwards
. Barris became a public figure in 1976, when he produced and served as the host of the talent contest spoof The Gong Show
, which he packaged in partnership with TV producer Chris Bearde
. The show's cult status far outstripped the two years it spent on NBC (1976–78) and the four years it ran in syndication (1976–80). Like some other Barris projects (including The Newlywed Game
) it was at one point possible to see The Gong Show
twice daily, a relatively uncommon feat in the years prior to cable TV's expansion into the commercial market.
The planned host of the NBC show was John Barbour
, who did not understand the show's concept and considered it a straight talent show as opposed to Barris's parody concept. Barris scrapped Barbour at the last minute; in order to save the show, Barris followed the advice of an NBC executive that he should host the show himself.
Barris's jokey, bumbling personality, his accentuated hand-clapping between sentences (which eventually had the studio audience joining in with him), and his catchphrases (he would usually go into commercial break with, "We'll be right back with more er... STUFF...", occasionally paired with shifting his head to reveal the ubiquitous sign behind the stage reading simply "STUFF," and "This is me saying 'bye'" was one of his favourite closing lines) was the antithesis of the smooth TV host (such as Gary Owens
, who hosted the syndicated version in its first season). Barris joined in with the eccentricity of the format, using unusual props, dressing in colorful and somewhat unusual clothing (such as the occasional hat pulled over his head, if not his eyes), he became yet another performer of the show, and for many, quite a cult hero. Dubbed "Chuckie Baby" by his fans, Barris was a perfect fit with the show's goofy, sometimes wild amateur performers and its panel of three judges (including regulars Jamie Farr
, Jaye P. Morgan
and Arte Johnson
). In addition, there was a growing "cast of characters" including an NBC electrician who played "Father Ed," a priest who would get flustered when his cue cards were deliberately turned upside-down; Canadian comedian Murray Langston, who as "The Unknown Comic" wore a paper bag over his head (with cut-outs for his eyes, mouth, and even a box of Kleenex
), and "Gene Gene the Dancing Machine
" (Gene Patton), arguably the most popular member of the "cast", another NBC stagehand who would show up and dance whenever the band played the song "Jumpin' at the Woodside". In the early 1980s, Patton was even pointed out by tour guides of incoming NBC tours as his onscreen character, while at the same time adhering to his more typical off-camera work duties. Siv Åberg, a one-time Miss Sweden
, was also on hand, acting more or less as the show's hostess.
One Gong Show episode consisted of every act appearing singing the song "Feelings
", which was popular at the time. One of its most infamous incidents came on the NBC version in 1978, when he presented an onstage act consisting of two young women slowly and suggestively sucking Popsicle
s. Another incident resulted in Jaye P. Morgan's firing from NBC broadcasts of the show, when she exposed her breasts on-camera during a woman's performance (coincidentally, the woman's performance also involved exposing herself while singing).
In 1980, he starred and directed The Gong Show Movie
. The film flopped at the box office. Its storyline and approach, though including a number of GS segments, was a bit less "zany" (another favourite Barris phrase) than some audiences may have expected.
The Gong Show eventually had three later revivals, one under Barris' title (with Don Bleu) in 1988-89, one on The Game Show Network in 2000 called Extreme Gong and another with current format owner Sony Pictures Television (with Dave Attell) in 2008.
in 1976 encouraged him to revive the Dating and Newlywed games, as well as adding the $1.98 Beauty Show
to his syndication empire. He also hosted a short lived primetime variety hour for NBC from February to April 1978, called The Chuck Barris Rah-Rah Show, essentially a noncompetitive knock-off of Gong.
The empire crumbled again amid the burnout of another of his creations, the 1979–80 Three's a Crowd
(in which three sets of wives and secretaries competed to see who knew more about their husbands/bosses). This show provoked protests from enraged feminist and socially conservative groups (two otherwise diametrically opposed viewpoints), who charged that the show deliberately exploited adultery, to advocate it as a social norm. Most stations dropped this show months before the season was over as a response to those criticisms. At the same time, Newlywed lost the sponsorships of Ford
and Procter & Gamble
and earned the resentment of Jackie Autry
, whose husband and business partner Gene Autry
owned the show's Los Angeles outlet and production base, KTLA
, because of its supposedly highly prurient content. So strong were the feelings of the Autrys that Newlywed came close to being expelled from the KTLA facilities, but the show was discontinued by the syndicator before any action occurred. Gong Show and Dating Game also ended otherwise successful syndicated runs in 1980 because of the Three's a Crowd and Newlywed controversies, likely because stations were fearful of community and advertiser retribution on account of Barris' reputation.
During the winter of 1980, Barris attempted to rebuild by bringing back another game show that was not an original of his, Camouflage
, in which contestants answered questions for the chance to locate a "hidden object" (such as a toaster
) concealed within a cartoon-type drawing. Although a noncontroversial format, it lasted only a short time in syndication. By September 1980, for the first time in his company's history, Barris had no shows in production.
After a year's inactivity, Barris revived Treasure Hunt again in 1981 in partnership with the original 1950s version's producer, Budd Granoff, who had become his business partner (the show itself was created by its original host, Jan Murray
). Unlike the 1970s version of Treasure Hunt, Barris did not have direct involvement with the production of the show itself. This revival, a five-day-a-week strip, lasted only one year.
Barris, by this time living in France, came back again in the mid-1980s
. After a week-long trial of The Newlywed Game on ABC in 1984 (with Dating Game emcee Jim Lange
), Barris produced the daily Newlywed Game (titled The New Newlywed Game) in syndication from 1985 to 1989, with original host Eubanks (and in 1988, comedian Paul Rodriguez
). The Dating Game returned to syndication the next year for a three year run (the first year hosted by Elaine Joyce
, and the next two hosted by Jeff MacGregor). The Gong Show would also return for one season in 1988, now hosted by "True" Don Bleu. All of those shows (except for the one week trial run of Newlywed on ABC) aired in syndication, not on the networks.
In 1988, Chuck Barris acquired the Guber-Peters Company. After the shows' runs ended, Sony Corporation acquired Guber-Peters Entertainment (formerly Barris Industries) for $200 million, which revived Dating and Newlywed from 1996 to 1999. Sony also revived The Gong Show in 1998, this time as Extreme Gong, a Game Show Network
(GSN) original production. Three's a Crowd would be revived as All New Three's a Crowd, which, like Extreme Gong, was a GSN original. A few years after Extreme Gong ended, Sony planned to revive the show again under its classic name and format for The WB Television Network
, but this version was never realized. Sony and MTV Networks
' Comedy Central
collaborated on a fourth Gong Show revival as The Gong Show with Dave Attell
in 2008; this did sell and aired on Comedy Central from July to September 2008.
One more attempt at reviving an old game show that was not his own originally resulted in an unsold pilot
of the 1950s-era game Dollar a Second, hosted by Bob Eubanks. It had at least one showing on GSN, and has since become part of the collector/trader's circuit. Another unsold pilot was called Comedy Courtroom.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
, originally published in 1984, Barris claimed to have worked for the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA) as an assassin
in the 1960s and the 1970s. “Obviously, I never went around killing people for the CIA,” he said in 1984. “I was trying to make a point.” But a 2002 feature film version, directed by George Clooney
and starring Sam Rockwell
, depicts Barris as killing 33 people. Barris wrote the sequel Bad Grass Never Dies in 2004.
The CIA denies Barris ever worked for them in any capacity. After the release of the movie, CIA spokesman Paul Nowack said Barris' assertions that he worked for the spy agency "[are] ridiculous. It's absolutely not true." In his August 1, 2009 appearance on NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," Barris said that he had never conceded that he "was or was not" a CIA assassin. Alluding to his most famous game show, a CIA official said that if Barris believed he had been an assassin, he "must have been standing too close to the gong."
in 1998 at age 36. He married twice more, to "Red" Robin Altman, and later to Mary Rudolph. His uncle was singer/songwriter/actor Harry Barris
. Chuck Barris now resides outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
.
Barris also composed the following songs (with performer, who performed the music first, listed on each). The first two songs were released on "Swan" 45rpm records, and the third released on a "Decca" LP record:
In 1973, Barris released an LP of television game show music, Chuck Barris Presents Themes From TV Game Shows (Friends Records). All tracks are instrumentals and are arranged by Tom Scott, Mike Barone, and Dale Oehler. The tracks for the LP, as listed from the back of the LP jacket, are as follows:
Side 1
Side 2
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
game show
Game show
A game show is a type of radio or television program in which members of the public, television personalities or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, play a game which involves answering questions or solving puzzles usually for money and/or prizes...
producer, film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and presenter best known for hosting The Gong Show
The Gong Show
The Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976–1980 and 1988–1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served...
and creating The Dating Game
The Dating Game
The Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s...
. Barris, a survivor of lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
, is also an author and claims to have worked for the CIA.
Early career
Barris was born in Oakland, New Jersey to a Jewish family. He attended Drexel UniversityDrexel University
Drexel University is a private research university with the main campus located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a noted financier and philanthropist. Drexel offers 70 full-time undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees...
where he was a columnist at the student newspaper The Triangle
The Triangle (newspaper)
The Triangle is the independent student newspaper of Drexel University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Editions of the paper are printed early every Friday morning; they are distributed in buildings on Drexel's campus as well as in select locations in University City, Philadelphia.The Triangle was...
. He graduated in 1953.
Barris got his start in television as a page and later staffer at NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and eventually worked backstage at the TV music show American Bandstand
American Bandstand
American Bandstand is an American music-performance show that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989 and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as producer...
, originally as a standards-and-practices person for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. Barris soon became a music industry figure. He produced pop music on records and TV, but his most successful venture was writing "Palisades Park
Palisades Park (song)
"Palisades Park" is a song written by Chuck Barris and recorded by Freddy Cannon. A tribute to New Jersey's Palisades Amusement Park, the song is an up-tempo tune led by a distinctive organ part. It also incorporates amusement park sound effects....
". Recorded by Freddy Cannon
Freddy Cannon
Frederick Anthony Picariello Jr. , known as Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", and "Palisades Park".-Biography:...
, it peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
on 12 March 1962, the biggest hit of Cannon's career. Barris also co-wrote or wrote some of the music that appeared on his game shows.
Barris was promoted to the daytime programming division at ABC in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and was put in charge of deciding which game shows ABC would air. Barris told his bosses that the producer/packagers' pitches of game show concepts were worse than Barris' own ideas. They suggested that he quit his ABC programming job and become a producer.
Barris first became successful during 1965 with his first game show creation, The Dating Game
The Dating Game
The Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s...
, on ABC. On this show, which was hosted by Jim Lange
Jim Lange
Jim Lange is a former American game show host and disc jockey. He was particularly well known to listeners in the San Francisco and Los Angeles radio markets with stints at several stations in both markets, racking up over 45 years on the air...
, three bachelors or "bachelorettes" (unmarried women) competed for the favor of a contestant of the opposite sex blocked from their view. The contestants' racy banter, and its "flower power
Flower power
Flower power is a slogan used by the American counterculture movement during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American Beat poet Allen Ginsberg in...
"-motif studio set, was a revolution for the game show genre. The show would air for eleven of the next fifteen years and be revived twice in the 1980s and 1990s.
The next year Barris began The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game is an American television game show that pits newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know each other. The program, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir The Newlywed Game is an American...
, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir
E. Roger Muir
E. Roger Muir was a television producer who created several television programs and game shows. He was the creator and executive producer of children's program The Howdy Doody Show which ran from 1947 until 1960....
, also for ABC. The combination of the newlywed couples' humorous candor and host Bob Eubanks
Bob Eubanks
Robert Leland "Bob" Eubanks is an American television/radio personality and game show host, best known for hosting the game show The Newlywed Game on and off since 1966, where he was known for using the catchphrase, "Makin' Whoopee"...
's exuberant sly questioning made the show another hit for Barris. The show is the longest lasting of any developed by his company, running for 19 full years on 'first run' TV, network and syndicated. Game Show Network
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
airs a current version with Sherri Shepherd
Sherri Shepherd
Sherri Evonne Shepherd is an American comedienne, actress, and television personality. She is one of five co-hosts on the ABC daytime talkshow, The View, as well as being the current host of the Newlywed Game and having a recurring role as Angie Jordan on the NBC series 30 Rock...
. Interviewed on the NPR program "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" on August 1, 2009, he said that the Newlywed Game was the easiest program he had developed. "All I needed was four couples, eight questions, and a washer-dryer."
Barris created several other short-lived game shows for ABC in the 1960s and for syndication
Television syndication
In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows by multiple radio stations and television stations, without going through a broadcast network, though the process of syndication may conjure up structures like those of a network itself, by its very...
in the 1970s, all of which revolved around a common theme: the game play normally derived its interest (and oftentimes, humor) from the excitement, vulnerability, embarrassment, or anger of the contestants or participants in the game. Barris also made several attempts through the years at non-game formats, such as ABC's Operation Entertainment, a variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
staged at military bases akin to USO shows, a CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
revival of Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade
Your Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
, and The Bobby Vinton Show
The Bobby Vinton Show
The Bobby Vinton Show was a Canadian musical variety television series produced for the CTV Television Network between 1975 and 1978, with a total of 52 episodes broadcast. Starring Bobby Vinton, a best selling pop singer since the early 1960s, the series mixed comedy skits with musical interludes....
, a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
-based syndicated variety show for singer Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton
Bobby Vinton is an American pop music singer of Polish origin. In pop music circles, he became known as "The Polish Prince".-Early life:...
(produced in conjunction with Chris Bearde
Chris Bearde
Chris Bearde is a comedy writer, producer and director best known for his work as a writer on the '60s zeitgeist hit Laugh In and for co-writing and producing TV specials for Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Sonny and Cher, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Andy Williams, The Jackson Five, The...
and Allan Blye); the latter was his most successful program other than a game show.
The Gong Show
The somewhat shy Barris rarely appeared on camera, though he once dashed onto the set of The New Treasure HuntThe New Treasure Hunt
Treasure Hunt is an American television game show that ran in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s...
to throw a pie at emcee Geoff Edwards
Geoff Edwards
Geoffrey Bruce Owen "Geoff" Edwards is an American television actor, game show host and radio personality. Over the past decade and a half, he has been a writer and broadcaster on travel. He was born in Westfield, New Jersey....
. Barris became a public figure in 1976, when he produced and served as the host of the talent contest spoof The Gong Show
The Gong Show
The Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976–1980 and 1988–1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served...
, which he packaged in partnership with TV producer Chris Bearde
Chris Bearde
Chris Bearde is a comedy writer, producer and director best known for his work as a writer on the '60s zeitgeist hit Laugh In and for co-writing and producing TV specials for Elvis Presley, Bob Hope, Sonny and Cher, Bill Cosby, Steve Martin, Jim Carrey, Andy Williams, The Jackson Five, The...
. The show's cult status far outstripped the two years it spent on NBC (1976–78) and the four years it ran in syndication (1976–80). Like some other Barris projects (including The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game
The Newlywed Game is an American television game show that pits newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know each other. The program, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir The Newlywed Game is an American...
) it was at one point possible to see The Gong Show
The Gong Show
The Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976–1980 and 1988–1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served...
twice daily, a relatively uncommon feat in the years prior to cable TV's expansion into the commercial market.
The planned host of the NBC show was John Barbour
John Barbour (actor)
John Barbour is an actor, comedian, and television host, known as one of the hosts of the reality television series Real People.-Career:Barbour moved to the United States in the early sixties...
, who did not understand the show's concept and considered it a straight talent show as opposed to Barris's parody concept. Barris scrapped Barbour at the last minute; in order to save the show, Barris followed the advice of an NBC executive that he should host the show himself.
Barris's jokey, bumbling personality, his accentuated hand-clapping between sentences (which eventually had the studio audience joining in with him), and his catchphrases (he would usually go into commercial break with, "We'll be right back with more er... STUFF...", occasionally paired with shifting his head to reveal the ubiquitous sign behind the stage reading simply "STUFF," and "This is me saying 'bye'" was one of his favourite closing lines) was the antithesis of the smooth TV host (such as Gary Owens
Gary Owens
Gary Owens is an American disc jockey and voice actor. His polished baritone speaking voice generally offers deadpan recitations of total nonsense, which he frequently demonstrated as the announcer on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Owens is equally proficient in straight or silly assignments and is...
, who hosted the syndicated version in its first season). Barris joined in with the eccentricity of the format, using unusual props, dressing in colorful and somewhat unusual clothing (such as the occasional hat pulled over his head, if not his eyes), he became yet another performer of the show, and for many, quite a cult hero. Dubbed "Chuckie Baby" by his fans, Barris was a perfect fit with the show's goofy, sometimes wild amateur performers and its panel of three judges (including regulars Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr
Jamie Farr is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H.-Early life:...
, Jaye P. Morgan
Jaye P. Morgan
Mary Margaret Morgan , known professionally as Jaye P. Morgan, is a retired popular music American singer, actress and game show panelist.-Early life:...
and Arte Johnson
Arte Johnson
Arthur Stanton Eric "Arte" Johnson is an American comic actor. Johnson was a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In. His best-remembered "character" was that of a German soldier with the catchphrase: "Verrrry interesting, but...['stupid', 'not very funny', and other variations]".-Early life:Johnson...
). In addition, there was a growing "cast of characters" including an NBC electrician who played "Father Ed," a priest who would get flustered when his cue cards were deliberately turned upside-down; Canadian comedian Murray Langston, who as "The Unknown Comic" wore a paper bag over his head (with cut-outs for his eyes, mouth, and even a box of Kleenex
Kleenex
Kleenex is a brand name for a variety of toiletry paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, and diapers. The name Kleenex is a registered trademark of Kimberly-Clark Worldwide, Inc. Often used as a genericized trademark, especially in the United States, "Kleenex"...
), and "Gene Gene the Dancing Machine
Gene Gene the Dancing Machine
Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, aka Eugene Patton , was a member of the stage crew and occasional performer on The Gong Show. Gene was the first African-American member of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, Local 33.He was one of several amateur performers who would "warm...
" (Gene Patton), arguably the most popular member of the "cast", another NBC stagehand who would show up and dance whenever the band played the song "Jumpin' at the Woodside". In the early 1980s, Patton was even pointed out by tour guides of incoming NBC tours as his onscreen character, while at the same time adhering to his more typical off-camera work duties. Siv Åberg, a one-time Miss Sweden
Miss Sweden
Miss Sweden , is the title of the Swedish beauty pageant, which ran from 1949-2003, by the female magazine VeckoRevyn and production company Strix in partnership with MTG. The competition qualified delegates to the global contests Miss Universe and first runner ups to Miss World...
, was also on hand, acting more or less as the show's hostess.
One Gong Show episode consisted of every act appearing singing the song "Feelings
Feelings (song)
"Feelings" is a song based on a melody composed by Loulou Gasté and made famous by Morris Albert, who recorded it as a single released in 1974 that later appeared as the title track of his 1975 debut album. The song's lyrics, recognizable by their "whoa whoa whoa" chorus, concern the singer's...
", which was popular at the time. One of its most infamous incidents came on the NBC version in 1978, when he presented an onstage act consisting of two young women slowly and suggestively sucking Popsicle
Popsicle
Popsicle is the most popular brand of ice pop in the United States and Canada. The first ice pop was created by accident in 1905 when 11-year-old Frank Epperson left a cup of soda on his porch in cold weather overnight. The next morning he went to go get the soda and it was frozen, so he put two...
s. Another incident resulted in Jaye P. Morgan's firing from NBC broadcasts of the show, when she exposed her breasts on-camera during a woman's performance (coincidentally, the woman's performance also involved exposing herself while singing).
In 1980, he starred and directed The Gong Show Movie
The Gong Show Movie
The Gong Show Movie is a 1980 film that shows how Chuck Barris lives through a week of being the host and creator of The Gong Show, through a series of outrageous competitors, stressful situations, a nervous breakdown and other comic hijinks in his life and work on the TV show...
. The film flopped at the box office. Its storyline and approach, though including a number of GS segments, was a bit less "zany" (another favourite Barris phrase) than some audiences may have expected.
The Gong Show eventually had three later revivals, one under Barris' title (with Don Bleu) in 1988-89, one on The Game Show Network in 2000 called Extreme Gong and another with current format owner Sony Pictures Television (with Dave Attell) in 2008.
Comebacks and setbacks
Barris continued strongly until the mid-1970s, when ABC cancelled the Dating and Newlywed games. This left Barris with only one show, his weekly syndicated effort The New Treasure Hunt. But the success of The Gong ShowThe Gong Show
The Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976–1980 and 1988–1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served...
in 1976 encouraged him to revive the Dating and Newlywed games, as well as adding the $1.98 Beauty Show
$1.98 Beauty Show
The $1.98 Beauty Show is an American game show that aired in syndication from September 1978 to September 1980.Hosted by Rip Taylor, the series is a parody of beauty contests, and featured six female contestants competing for the...
to his syndication empire. He also hosted a short lived primetime variety hour for NBC from February to April 1978, called The Chuck Barris Rah-Rah Show, essentially a noncompetitive knock-off of Gong.
The empire crumbled again amid the burnout of another of his creations, the 1979–80 Three's a Crowd
Three's a Crowd (game show)
Three's a Crowd was an American game show originally packaged by Chuck Barris Productions. The first version aired in syndication from September 17, 1979 to February 1, 1980...
(in which three sets of wives and secretaries competed to see who knew more about their husbands/bosses). This show provoked protests from enraged feminist and socially conservative groups (two otherwise diametrically opposed viewpoints), who charged that the show deliberately exploited adultery, to advocate it as a social norm. Most stations dropped this show months before the season was over as a response to those criticisms. At the same time, Newlywed lost the sponsorships of Ford
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...
and Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble
Procter & Gamble is a Fortune 500 American multinational corporation headquartered in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio and manufactures a wide range of consumer goods....
and earned the resentment of Jackie Autry
Jackie Autry
Jackie Autry, is the former owner of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and widow of singer, actor and businessman Gene Autry...
, whose husband and business partner Gene Autry
Gene Autry
Orvon Grover Autry , better known as Gene Autry, was an American performer who gained fame as The Singing Cowboy on the radio, in movies and on television for more than three decades beginning in the 1930s...
owned the show's Los Angeles outlet and production base, KTLA
KTLA
KTLA, virtual channel 5, is a television station in Los Angeles, California, USA. Owned by the Tribune Company, KTLA is an affiliate of the CW Television Network. KTLA's studios are on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and its transmitter is located atop Mount Wilson...
, because of its supposedly highly prurient content. So strong were the feelings of the Autrys that Newlywed came close to being expelled from the KTLA facilities, but the show was discontinued by the syndicator before any action occurred. Gong Show and Dating Game also ended otherwise successful syndicated runs in 1980 because of the Three's a Crowd and Newlywed controversies, likely because stations were fearful of community and advertiser retribution on account of Barris' reputation.
During the winter of 1980, Barris attempted to rebuild by bringing back another game show that was not an original of his, Camouflage
Camouflage (TV series)
Camouflage is a United States television game show originally produced in 1961-1962 and revived in 1980.-1961-1962:The original game show was created and produced by Jerry Hammer of Jerry Hammer Productions, directed by Gilbert Cates with Don Morrow as host, and Johnny Gilbert as the announcer ,...
, in which contestants answered questions for the chance to locate a "hidden object" (such as a toaster
Toaster
The toaster is typically a small electric kitchen appliance designed to toast multiple types of bread products. A typical modern two-slice toaster draws anywhere between 600 and 1200 W and makes toast in 1 to 3 minutes...
) concealed within a cartoon-type drawing. Although a noncontroversial format, it lasted only a short time in syndication. By September 1980, for the first time in his company's history, Barris had no shows in production.
After a year's inactivity, Barris revived Treasure Hunt again in 1981 in partnership with the original 1950s version's producer, Budd Granoff, who had become his business partner (the show itself was created by its original host, Jan Murray
Jan Murray
Jan Murray was an American stand-up comedian, actor, and game show host who made his name on the Borscht Belt.-Early life:Murray was born Murray Janofsky in The Bronx, New York City...
). Unlike the 1970s version of Treasure Hunt, Barris did not have direct involvement with the production of the show itself. This revival, a five-day-a-week strip, lasted only one year.
Barris, by this time living in France, came back again in the mid-1980s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
. After a week-long trial of The Newlywed Game on ABC in 1984 (with Dating Game emcee Jim Lange
Jim Lange
Jim Lange is a former American game show host and disc jockey. He was particularly well known to listeners in the San Francisco and Los Angeles radio markets with stints at several stations in both markets, racking up over 45 years on the air...
), Barris produced the daily Newlywed Game (titled The New Newlywed Game) in syndication from 1985 to 1989, with original host Eubanks (and in 1988, comedian Paul Rodriguez
Paul Rodríguez
Paul Rodriguez is a Mexican-American stand-up comedian and actor.-Personal life:Rodriguez was born in Culiacán, Sinaloa, México to Mexican agriculture ranchers.. His family migrated to East Los Angeles, where he enlisted in the military; he was stationed in Iceland and Duluth, Minnesota...
). The Dating Game returned to syndication the next year for a three year run (the first year hosted by Elaine Joyce
Elaine Joyce
Elaine Joyce is an American actress.Joyce was born in Kansas City, Missouri. She made her film debut in 1961 as an extra in West Side Story and made uncredited appearances in several musical films, including The Music Man, Bye Bye Birdie, and Funny Girl before being cast in Such Good Friends in 1971...
, and the next two hosted by Jeff MacGregor). The Gong Show would also return for one season in 1988, now hosted by "True" Don Bleu. All of those shows (except for the one week trial run of Newlywed on ABC) aired in syndication, not on the networks.
In 1988, Chuck Barris acquired the Guber-Peters Company. After the shows' runs ended, Sony Corporation acquired Guber-Peters Entertainment (formerly Barris Industries) for $200 million, which revived Dating and Newlywed from 1996 to 1999. Sony also revived The Gong Show in 1998, this time as Extreme Gong, a Game Show Network
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
(GSN) original production. Three's a Crowd would be revived as All New Three's a Crowd, which, like Extreme Gong, was a GSN original. A few years after Extreme Gong ended, Sony planned to revive the show again under its classic name and format for The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
, but this version was never realized. Sony and MTV Networks
MTV Networks
MTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
' Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
collaborated on a fourth Gong Show revival as The Gong Show with Dave Attell
The Gong Show with Dave Attell
The Gong Show with Dave Attell is a revival of the 1970s Chuck Barris comedy game show called The Gong Show, hosted by comedian Dave Attell. The show premiered on July 17, 2008...
in 2008; this did sell and aired on Comedy Central from July to September 2008.
One more attempt at reviving an old game show that was not his own originally resulted in an unsold pilot
Television pilot
A "television pilot" is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell the show to a television network. At the time of its inception, the pilot is meant to be the "testing ground" to see if a series will be possibly desired and successful and therefore a test episode of an...
of the 1950s-era game Dollar a Second, hosted by Bob Eubanks. It had at least one showing on GSN, and has since become part of the collector/trader's circuit. Another unsold pilot was called Comedy Courtroom.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
In Barris's autobiographyAutobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a 2002 biographical spy film depicting the life of popular game show host and producer Chuck Barris, who claimed to have also been an assassin for the Central Intelligence Agency...
, originally published in 1984, Barris claimed to have worked for the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA) as an assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
in the 1960s and the 1970s. “Obviously, I never went around killing people for the CIA,” he said in 1984. “I was trying to make a point.” But a 2002 feature film version, directed by George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
and starring Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell
Sam Rockwell is an American actor known for his leading roles in Lawn Dogs, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Choke and Moon, as well as for his supporting roles in The Green Mile, Iron Man 2, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Frost/Nixon, Galaxy Quest, Matchstick Men, The Assassination of...
, depicts Barris as killing 33 people. Barris wrote the sequel Bad Grass Never Dies in 2004.
The CIA denies Barris ever worked for them in any capacity. After the release of the movie, CIA spokesman Paul Nowack said Barris' assertions that he worked for the spy agency "[are] ridiculous. It's absolutely not true." In his August 1, 2009 appearance on NPR's "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," Barris said that he had never conceded that he "was or was not" a CIA assassin. Alluding to his most famous game show, a CIA official said that if Barris believed he had been an assassin, he "must have been standing too close to the gong."
Family
Barris married Lyn Levy, niece of one of the founders of CBS. Their daughter, Della Barris, who sometimes appeared on The Gong Show, died of a drug overdoseDrug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
in 1998 at age 36. He married twice more, to "Red" Robin Altman, and later to Mary Rudolph. His uncle was singer/songwriter/actor Harry Barris
Harry Barris
Harry Barris was an American popular singer and songwriter.Born in New York City, he was a member of the Rhythm Boys, a late 1920s singing trio which included Al Rinker and Bing Crosby, and was Crosby's entry into show business...
. Chuck Barris now resides outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Shows
- The $1.98 Beauty Show
- The Bobby Vinton ShowThe Bobby Vinton ShowThe Bobby Vinton Show was a Canadian musical variety television series produced for the CTV Television Network between 1975 and 1978, with a total of 52 episodes broadcast. Starring Bobby Vinton, a best selling pop singer since the early 1960s, the series mixed comedy skits with musical interludes....
- CamouflageCamouflage (TV series)Camouflage is a United States television game show originally produced in 1961-1962 and revived in 1980.-1961-1962:The original game show was created and produced by Jerry Hammer of Jerry Hammer Productions, directed by Gilbert Cates with Don Morrow as host, and Johnny Gilbert as the announcer ,...
- The Chuck Barris Rah-Rah Show
- Cop-Out (unsold pilot)
- The Dating GameThe Dating GameThe Dating Game is an ABC television show that first aired on December 20, 1965 and was the first of many shows created and packaged by Chuck Barris from the 1960s through the 1980s...
- Dollar a SecondDollar a SecondDollar a Second is a comedy game show hosted by Jan Murray which originally aired from September 20, 1953 to June 14, 1954 on the DuMont Television Network.-Game play:...
(unsold pilot) - Dream Girl of '67
- Family GameFamily GameThe Family Game was a game show that ran on ABC for six months in 1967. Geoff Edwards was originally to host the pilot, but was dropped at the last minute and was replaced by producer Chuck Barris...
- The Game GameThe Game GameThe Game Game was a game show hosted by Jim McKrell. It was packaged by Chuck Barris and aired during the 1969-1970 season; the show was Barris' first syndicated program.-Gameplay:The game involved one contestant and three celebrities...
- The Gong ShowThe Gong ShowThe Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976–1980 and 1988–1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served...
- How's Your Mother-in-Law?How's Your Mother-in-Law?How's Your Mother-in-Law? was a comedy game show hosted by Wink Martindale that aired on ABC from December 4, 1967 to March 1, 1968.The series was produced and created by Chuck Barris during a period which, as he recounted in his autobiography Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, had him creating...
- Leave It To The Women
- The Newlywed GameThe Newlywed GameThe Newlywed Game is an American television game show that pits newly married couples against each other in a series of revealing question rounds to determine how well the spouses know each other. The program, originally created by Nick Nicholson and E. Roger Muir The Newlywed Game is an American...
- Operation Entertainment
- The Parent GameThe Parent GameThe Parent Game is an American game show that ran in syndication from 1972–1973. The show was hosted by Clark Race, a Los Angeles radio personality, with Johnny Jacobs was the announcer...
- People Pickers (unsold pilot)
- Three's a CrowdThree's a Crowd (game show)Three's a Crowd was an American game show originally packaged by Chuck Barris Productions. The first version aired in syndication from September 17, 1979 to February 1, 1980...
- Treasure Hunt/The New Treasure HuntThe New Treasure HuntTreasure Hunt is an American television game show that ran in the 1950s, 1970s, and 1980s...
- Your Hit ParadeYour Hit ParadeYour Hit Parade, is an American radio and television music program that was broadcast from 1935 to 1955 on radio, and seen from 1950 to 1959 on television. It was sponsored by American Tobacco's Lucky Strike cigarettes. During this 24-year run, the show had 19 orchestra leaders and 52 singers or...
(CBS, 1974)
Discography
Barris composed music and released them on the following 45 rpm records. Songs with an asterisk (*) are songs not composed by Barris, yet featured on the recordings:- Too Rich / I Know A Child (Capital Records)
- Baja California / *Donnie (Dot Records)
- Why Me Oh Lord / Sometimes It Just Doesn't Pay To Get Up (MCA Records)
Barris also composed the following songs (with performer, who performed the music first, listed on each). The first two songs were released on "Swan" 45rpm records, and the third released on a "Decca" LP record:
- Summertime GuySummertime GuySummertime Guy is a song by Eddie Rambeau issued by Swan Records, written by game show pioneer Chuck Barris. Rambeau was to originally debut the song on American Bandstand in 1962, but mere minutes before Rambeau was to perform, he was told the song couldn't be sung, due to Barris being an ABC...
(Eddie RambeauEddie RambeauEddie Rambeau is an American singer, songwriter, and actor.-Career:While performing in a high-school musical he had written, Rambeau met songwriter and musician Bud Rehak, who went on to become his manager...
; an instrumental version of this song was used as the theme for The Newlywed Game) - Palisades ParkPalisades Park (song)"Palisades Park" is a song written by Chuck Barris and recorded by Freddy Cannon. A tribute to New Jersey's Palisades Amusement Park, the song is an up-tempo tune led by a distinctive organ part. It also incorporates amusement park sound effects....
(Freddy CannonFreddy CannonFrederick Anthony Picariello Jr. , known as Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", "Way Down Yonder In New Orleans", and "Palisades Park".-Biography:...
) - Love Sickness (Milton DeLuggMilton DeLuggMilton DeLugg is an American composer and arranger.-Biography:A talented accordionist, he appeared in short Soundies musicals and occasional movies . He quickly became a successful arranger and composer...
)
In 1973, Barris released an LP of television game show music, Chuck Barris Presents Themes From TV Game Shows (Friends Records). All tracks are instrumentals and are arranged by Tom Scott, Mike Barone, and Dale Oehler. The tracks for the LP, as listed from the back of the LP jacket, are as follows:
Side 1
- "Dating Game Theme" (January/CBP Music, Inc. BMI Chuck Barris/David Mook)
- "Dating Game Closing Theme" (Little Rosie)
- "Newlywed Game Theme"
- "Treasure Hunt Theme"
- "True Grit - Winners Theme" (Bernstein) Famous Music ASCAP
- "Treasure Hunt Losers Theme"
- "People Pickers Theme" (Pretty Maidens)
Side 2
- "Operation Entertainment Theme" (Road Of Love)
- "Family Game Theme" (Too Rich)
- "Cop-Out Theme" (Little Russian Song)
- "Mother-In-Law Theme" (Mother Trucker)
- "Parent Game Theme" (Baja California)
- "Dream Girl Theme" (Hunk Of Love)
Books
- You and Me, Babe (1974)
- Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (1984)
- The Game Show King (1993)
- Bad Grass Never Dies (2004)
- The Big Question (2007)
- Who Killed Art Deco? (2009)
- Della: A Memoir of My Daughter (2010)
External links
- Chuck Barris page on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- Chuck Barris Interview at Archive of American TelevisionArchive of American TelevisionThe Archive of American Television is a division of the non-profit Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation that films interviews with notable people from all aspects of the television industry....