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Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting '' The Gong Show'' and creating '' The Dating Game'' and '' The Newlywed Game''. He was also a songwriter who wrote " Palisades Park", recorded by
Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", " Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", and " ...
and also recorded by
Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United ...
. Barris wrote an autobiography titled ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'', which was made into the film of the same name and directed by
George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
.


Early life

Barris was born to a Jewish family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 3, 1929, the son of Edith (née Cohen) and Nathaniel Barris, a dentist. He was raised in Lower Merion Township and attended Lower Merion High School. His uncle was singer, songwriter and actor Harry Barris. He graduated in 1953 from
Drexel University Drexel University is a private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony J. Drexel, a financier and philanthropist. Founded as Drexel Institute of Art, S ...
where he was a columnist for the student newspaper, '' The Triangle''.


Career

Barris got his start in television as a page and later was part of the staff at NBC in New York City. Following his stint at NBC, Barris worked as a standards-and-practices person at the television music show ''
American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program 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 the pro ...
'' for ABC. Barris produced pop music for records and television, and wrote " Palisades Park," which was recorded by
Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", " Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", and " ...
and peaked at No. 3 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for two weeks (June 23–30, 1962) to become the biggest hit of Cannon's career. Barris also wrote or co-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 responsible for determining which game shows ABC would air. Barris told his bosses the game show concepts being pitched were worse than his own ideas. They suggested that Barris quit his programming job and become a producer. Barris formed his production company Chuck Barris Productions on June 14, 1965. His first success came in 1965 with '' The Dating Game'', which aired on ABC. This show was hosted by Jim Lange and featured three contestants who competed for a date with a person blocked from their view. The contestants' sexy banter and its " flower power"-motif studio set were a revolution for the game show genre. The show ran until 1980 and was twice revived, later in the 1980s and 1990s. A Celebrity version of the show began in June 2021. In 1966 Barris began '' The Newlywed Game'', originally created by Nick Nicholson and
E. Roger Muir Ernest Roger Muir (December 16, 1918 – October 23, 2008) was a Canadian-born American television producer who created several television programs and game shows. He was the creator and executive producer of children's program ''Howdy Doody'', w ...
, also for ABC. The combination of the newlywed couples' humorous candor and host Bob Eubanks's sly questioning made the show another hit for Barris. The show is the longest lasting of any developed by his company, broadcast until 1985, for a total of 19 full years on both "first run" network TV and syndication.
Game Show Network Game Show Network (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...
airs a current version with Sherri Shepherd. Interviewed on the NPR program '' Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' on August 1, 2009, Barris 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 often, 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 last 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 Hunt'' to throw a pie at emcee Geoff Edwards. However, Barris became a public figure in 1976 when he produced and served as the host of the talent show spoof '' The Gong Show'', which he packaged in partnership with television producer Chris Bearde. The show's
cult following A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...
has endured, though it ran only two seasons on NBC (1976–78) and four in syndication (1976–80). As with some of Barris' other 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 original host of the NBC show was John Barbour, who misunderstood the show's concept and considered it a straight talent show, as opposed to Barris' parody concept. Barris dropped Barbour at the last minute; in order to save the show, Barris followed the advice of an NBC executive who suggested that he should host his own show. Barris' 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 favorite closing lines) were 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 strange hats pulled over his head, if not his eyes), he became yet another performer of the show, and for many viewers, 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 a NBC stage carpenter who played "Father Ed," a priest who would get flustered when his cue cards were deliberately turned upside-down; stand-up 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 is a brand name for a variety of paper-based products such as facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, tampons, and diapers. Often used informally as a genericized trademark for facial tissue in the United States and Canada, the nam ...
), and "
Gene Gene the Dancing Machine Eugene Sidney Patton Sr. (April 25, 1932 – March 9, 2015), also known as Gene Patton and more widely known by his stage name Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, was a television personality, dancer and stagehand who worked at NBC Studios in Burb ...
" (Gene Patton), arguably the most popular member of the "cast", the show's 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. 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 Barris presented an onstage act consisting of two teenage girls, slowly and suggestively sucking popsicles. Another incident was when during a "Gene Gene, The Dancing Machine" segment, Jaye P. Morgan opened her blouse to reveal her bare breasts. In 1980, Barris starred in and directed '' The Gong Show Movie''. The film was a major failure at the box office. ''The Gong Show'' has had four subsequent revivals, one under Barris' title (with Don Bleu) in 1988–1989, 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. A fourth version, produced by Will Arnett and hosted by fictional British celebrity "Tommy Maitland" ( Mike Myers), aired on ABC beginning in 2017.


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 Show'' 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
prime time Prime time or the peak time is the block of broadcast programming taking place during the middle of the evening for a television show. It is mostly targeted towards adults (and sometimes families). It is used by the major television networks to ...
variety hour for NBC from February to April 1978, called ''The Chuck Barris Rah-Rah Show,'' essentially a non-competitive knock-off of ''Gong''. The empire crumbled again amid the burnout of another of his creations, the 1979–1980 '' 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 both feminist and socially conservative groups, 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, ''The Newlywed Game'' lost the sponsorships of Ford and Procter & Gamble and earned the resentment of Jackie Autry, whose husband and business partner
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
owned the show's Los Angeles outlet and production base,
KTLA KTLA (channel 5) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast flagship of The CW. It is the largest directly owned property of the network's majority owner, Nexstar Media Group, and is the seco ...
, because of its supposedly highly prurient content. So strong were the feelings of the Autrys that ''The Newlywed Game'' came close to being expelled from the KTLA facilities, but the show was discontinued by the syndicator before any action occurred. ''The Gong Show'' and ''The Dating Game'' also ended otherwise successful syndicated runs in 1980. 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 with 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 1984 and formed Barris Industries. He formed a distributor arm called Bel-Air Program Sales (later Barris Program Sales) and an ad-sales barter called Clarion Communications (later Barris Advertising Sales). 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. Chuck Barris sold his shares of Barris Industries, Inc. in 1987 to Burt Sugarman and left to move back to France and was no longer directly involved in his media company. In 1988, Barris Industries acquired the Guber-Peters Company. On September 7, 1989, Barris Industries was renamed as the Guber-Peters Entertainment Company. After the shows' runs ended, Sony Corporation acquired Guber-Peters Entertainment (formerly Barris Industries) for $200 million on September 29, 1989, a day after Sony Corporation of Japan acquired
Columbia Pictures Entertainment Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. is an American film production studio that is a member of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment, which is one of the Big Five studios and a subsidiary of the multi ...
. The sale was completed on November 9, 1989, after Sony's acquisition of Columbia Pictures Entertainment a day earlier. Sony 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 (GSN) is an American basic cable channel owned by Sony Pictures Television. The channel's programming is primarily dedicated to game shows, including reruns of acquired game shows, along with new, first-run original and revive ...
(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 ''The Gong Show with Dave Attell'' was 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. It was produced by Adam Sandler's production company Hap ...
'' 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. Two more unsold pilots were called ''Bamboozle'' and ''Comedy Courtroom''. Barris published ''Della: A Memoir of My Daughter'' in 2010 about the death of his only child, who died in 1998 after a long struggle with drug addiction.


CIA career claims

In 1984, Barris wrote an autobiography, ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind''. In the book he states that he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as an assassin in the 1960s and the 1970s in Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. A 2002 feature film version, directed by
George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by George Clooney, numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Awards, British Academy Film A ...
and starring Sam Rockwell, depicts Barris killing 33 people. Barris wrote a sequel to ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'' in 2004 called ''Bad Grass Never Dies''. The CIA denied 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 “ reridiculous. It's absolutely not true". In an interview on NBC's '' Today Show'' in 1984, Barris admitted to having made the story up. "No, I was never a CIA hit man. I never did those things. I once applied for the CIA, and while I was going through the process I got a job and went on television. But I had always wondered what would have happened if I had done both." In an interview in 2010 with the Television Academy Foundation, he was asked if he had ever disclosed the truth to anyone, including his wife. "No, never," Barris said. "I'll never say, one way or the other".


Personal life and death

Barris' first wife was Lyn Levy, the niece of one of the founders of CBS. Their marriage lasted from 1957 to 1976, ending in divorce. Together they had a daughter, Della, who frequently appeared on ''The Gong Show'', usually introducing her father. Della died of an alcohol and cocaine overdose in 1998 at the age of 36. At the time of her death, she was HIV positive. In 1980, Barris married Robin Altman, 23 years his junior. That marriage also ended in divorce, in 1999. The following year, he married Mary Clagett. Barris was diagnosed with lung cancer in the 1990s. After undergoing surgery to remove part of his lung, he contracted an infection and spent a month in intensive care. Barris died on March 21, 2017, of
natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinct ...
at the age of 87 at his home in Palisades, New York, where he lived with Clagett.


Shows

* ''
The $1.98 Beauty Show ''The $1.98 Beauty Show'' is an American game show that aired in Broadcast syndication, syndication from September 1978 to September 1980. Hosted by Rip Taylor, the series is a parody of beauty contests, and featured six female contestants (inc ...
'' * ''Bamboozle'' (unsold pilot) * '' Camouflage'' * ''The Chuck Barris Rah-Rah Show'' * ''Comedy Courtroom'' (unsold pilot) * ''Cop Out'' (unsold pilot) * '' The Dating Game'' * '' Dollar a Second'' (unsold pilot) * ''Dream Girl of '67'' * ''The
Mama Cass Mama(s) or Mamma or Momma may refer to: Roles * Mother, a female parent * Mama-san, in Japan and East Asia, a woman in a position of authority *Mamas, a name for female associates of the Hells Angels Places * Mama, Russia, an urban-type settlem ...
Television Show'' (ABC special, 1969) * '' The Family Game'' * '' The Game Game'' * '' The Gong Show'' * '' How's Your Mother-in-Law?'' * '' Leave It to the Women'' * '' The Newlywed Game'' * '' Operation: Entertainment'' * '' The Parent Game'' * ''People Pickers'' (unsold pilot) * '' Three's a Crowd'' * '' The New Treasure Hunt/Treasure Hunt'' * '' Your Hit Parade'' (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" (Capitol Records) *"Baja California" / *Donnie" (Dot Records) *"Why Me Oh Lord" / "Sometimes It Just Don'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" 45 rpm records, and the third released on a "Decca" LP record: *"
Summertime Guy "Summertime Guy" is a song recorded by Eddie Rambeau, issued by Swan Records, and written and composed by game show pioneer Chuck Barrisbr> Originally, Rambeau was to debut the song on '' American Bandstand'' in 1962, but mere minutes before Ramb ...
" (
Eddie Rambeau Eddie Rambeau (born Edward Cletus Fluri; June 30, 1943) 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 ...
; an instrumental version of this song was used as the theme for ''The Newlywed Game'') *" Palisades Park" (
Freddy Cannon Frederick Anthony Picariello, Jr. (born December 4, 1936), better known by his stage name Freddy Cannon, is an American rock and roll singer, whose biggest international hits included "Tallahassee Lassie", " Way Down Yonder in New Orleans", and " ...
) *"Love Sickness" ( Milton DeLugg) 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) Novel *''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'' (1984) Memoir *''The Game Show King'' (1993) Memoir *''Bad Grass Never Dies'' (2004) Memoir *'' The Big Question'' (2007) Novel *''Who Killed Art Deco?'' (2009) Novel *''Della: A Memoir of My Daughter'' (2010) Memoir


CDs

*''Confessions of A Dangerous Singer'' ( Domo Records, 2003) *''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind'' (Domo Records, 2003)


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barris, Chuck 1929 births 2017 deaths American male comedians Film directors from Pennsylvania American game show hosts Television producers from Pennsylvania Drexel University alumni Jewish American comedians Television personalities from Philadelphia Writers from Philadelphia 20th-century American comedians 21st-century American comedians Domo Records artists 21st-century American Jews