"Gong Show" host Chuck Barris - RIP

How ironic is it that ABC is premiering their revival of the show this week:

ABC Orders ‘The Gong Show’ Revival Produced By Will Arnett

 

I hope Chuck Norris is OK!

But seriously: R.I.P. to the creator of some of the most twisted TV of my childhood. I loved "The Gong Show" back in the day. The Unknown Comic was my hero!

 

That is really strange. Now I'm wondering if the same would happen if either Elvis Costello or Elton Motello passes away?

 

Part of my youth.

 

It's funny to note how well-regarded The Gong Show is now; I'm just old enough to remember when it was accused of being, along with maybe Let's Make a Deal, the death knell of civilization.

 

And he passed away in Palisades NY.

 

How innocent we all were then, how we all thought we knew where the bottom was. Actually, it was many miles below. The barrel has been scraped clean through - and the dirt and the bedrock below that. I think we're somewhere in the volcanic magma now.

 

Let's not forget the most morbid show in TV history: "Queen For A Day."

 

Think of this: you say to someone back then, 'by 2015, one of the biggest shows on television will be about the family of a woman who made a graphic pornography tape. They've built on the porn tape to be richer than they ever dreamed. And the show is just about them sitting around talking about nothing."

 

No thanks. Don't like the unnecessary game show remakes.

 

"Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind" is highly entertaining regardless of how truthful it might be.

 

...Naaaahhh! I'm not going for the usual saddened comments. Mr. Barris was all about music and humor. This isn't at all intended to be a swipe at Mr. Barris, as I grew up with, and love his game shows, but the humorous side of him probably waited until the other Chuck passed away first out of respect. I hope we can see the humor in that.

Thanks for the good times, Chuck! You will be missed! And, thanks for introducing millions of us to the great sounds of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass. Also, his show was instrumental in getting Cheryl Lynn a recording contract in 1978. One of my favorite shows was when he had every contestant doing the song "The Way We Were". He gave us The Unknown Comic and Gene! Gene! The Dancing Machine!!!!!

The Dating Game was an early precursor to dating sites.

No RIP. I consider him Gonged! I hope he's in the afterlife giving them moooore Stuff!

 

✡

 

Favorite clip of Gong Show was when they featured an act called the Band From Far Away. These were guys dressed like aliens with green capes and tiny little round orange heads, miming to "Immigrant Song."

 

RIP - and do the Worm!

 

Yep, and it had one of my fave promo posters too. I have a framed copy of this hanging in my living room:

 

I wouldn't trade my Dr. No for it, but it is visually arresting.
The nice part about yours, it's a real conversation piece............'what the hell movie was that? Did that really exist?'

 

It amazes me what Chuck managed to get past Standards & Practices...all I can say is, thank goodness I live on the East Coast...needless to say, NSFW...

 

The coincidence that both Chuck Berry and now Chuck Barris have passed away in the same week bring up a joke from WKRP:

Johnny Fever (Howard Hessman): Did you know that 9 out of 10 people think Chuck Berry was the host of the Gong Show?

 

OMG! Thank you! I remember seeing that on the show at the time. I think that was the most I ever laughed at the show. NSFW also equals 'not suitable for wives'.

 

Reminds me of when I was a kid. RIP.

 

RIP - Not so odd, they were both old men.

 

Watched the gong show many times when a kid, it was so off-the-wall nutty you had to laugh. Just going from memory but didn't he come on Art Bell's radio show? Anyone remember?

 

Aw crap, just saw this, somehow missed it earlier, don't know how that happens. I loved the Gong Show in the '70s soooo much. I used to love imagining dumb acts I could put together for it and how soon they'd get gonged. This one really hurts. I used to skip classes to watch it, same with Match Game. I even bought not one but two shady DVD-R collections!

Say it ain't so! Baw! I don't know a thing about all that secret agent or aliens jazz though, 'cept I wish the saucer folks would make with the evolutionary ray baths for us all real soon!