The Gong Show

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The Gong Show

The Gong Show, which aired from 1976 until 1980, was one of the most bizarre programs ever to appear on television (see entry under 1940s—TV and Radio in volume 3). Created by producer Chuck Barris (1929–), the game show (see entry under 1950s—TV and Radio in volume 3) offered viewers a satire on traditional talent competitions. Occasionally, the series was a showcase for legitimate amateur talent, but more often it presented acts that were revolting, intentionally awful, or just plain weird.

During the 1960s, Barris had achieved great success as the executive producer of television's The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. These programs drew much of their humor from the embarrassing comments made by contestants. In The Gong Show, Barris extended his popular blend of competition and humiliation by having terrible acts perform before celebrities in a talent contest. Each episode followed an established format: amateur entertainers had two minutes to perform before three celebrity judges who could immediately end the performance by banging a huge gong. Often, no winner could be determined as the celebrities "gonged" every act in an episode. Those who did survive the full two minutes were then rated by the panel from zero to ten, for a possible total of thirty points. The act with the highest score would receive a Golden Gong trophy and a check for either $516.32 (in the show's daytime version) or $712.05 (nighttime).

American television viewers had never seen "talent" like the performers who appeared on every episode of The Gong Show. Typical acts included "Professor Flamo," a man who sang out in pain while lowering his hand onto a candle flame; a man who broke eggs over his head while making faces through a sheet of Plexiglas; and an assortment of zany singers and dancers. One of the most popular recurring performers was "Gene Gene the Dancing Machine" (Gene Patton), an actual stagehand who danced while the audience threw various items at him. The celebrity panel varied each episode and included

Jaye P. Morgan (1931–), Jamie Farr (1934–), Rip Taylor (1934–), David Letterman (1947–; see entry under 1980s—TV and Radio in volume 5), Steve Martin (1945–), Arte Johnson (1929–), and Phyllis Diller (1917–).

NBC canceled The Gong Show in 1978 after it had become too risqué and extreme. It continued in syndication until 1980. That same year, Barris directed The Gong Show Movie, but audiences had grown tired of Barris and his wacky amateurs. A short-lived revival with Don Bleu as host failed in 1988. Barris's version of the series can still be seen on The Game Show Network. The Gong Show was gross, crude, raunchy, lowbrow— and loved by audiences.

—Charles Coletta