Richard Dawson
Birth name Colin Lionel Emm Born November 20, 1932 (1932-11-20) (age 74) Gosport, Hampshire, England
Statistics Occupation Actor, Comedian, Game show host and panelist Spouse Diana Dors (1959–1966); divorced Gretchen Johnson (1991-present) Children Mark (b. 1960) Gary (b. 1962) Shannon Nicole (b. 1990) Notable credit(s) Cpl. Peter Newkirk in Hogan's Heroes (1965–1971) Frequent panelist on Match Game Family Feud host (1976–1985; 1994–1995)

Richard Dawson (born November 20, 1932) is a British-born American actor, comedian, game show panelist and host. He is best known for his role as Bob Crane's British non-commissioned officer, Corporal Peter Newkirk, on the World War II situation comedy Hogan's Heroes, and as the original host of the Family Feud game show from 1976–1985 on ABC and again in 1994. Dawson also appeared as a panelist on Gene Rayburn's revamped 1970s version of Match Game on CBS, from 1973–1978. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_England. ... Gosport is a town and district in Hampshire with around 77,000 inhabitants (including Lee-on-the-Solent), situated on the south coast of England. ... For other uses, see Hampshire (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... “Quiz show” redirects here. ... Diana Dors (October 23, 1931 – May 4, 1984) was a British actress and sex symbol. ... Hogans Heroes was an American television situation comedy that ran from September 17, 1965 to July 4, 1971 on the CBS network for 168 episodes. ... The Match Game was an American television game show, most often hosted by Gene Rayburn. ... This article is about the American game show. ... is the 324th day of the year (325th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1932 (MCMXXXII) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1932 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Actor (disambiguation). ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... “Quiz show” redirects here. ... Bob Crane as Col. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... This article is about a genre of comedy. ... Hogans Heroes was an American television situation comedy that ran from September 17, 1965 to July 4, 1971 on the CBS network for 168 episodes. ... This article is about the American game show. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... Gene Rayburn (December 22, 1917 – November 29, 1999) was an Emmy-nominated American radio and television personality. ... Year 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Match Game was an American television game show, most often hosted by Gene Rayburn. ... This article is about the broadcast network. ...

Early life to 1973

Dawson was born in Gosport, England, as Colin Emm. At the age of 14, he ran away from home to join the Merchant Marines, where he pursued a boxing career. Having married British sex symbol Diana Dors, Dawson moved to Los Angeles, California, where he gained fame in the hit show Hogan's Heroes opposite Bob Crane's character, as Cpl. Peter Newkirk. The war-related sitcom was one of the highest-rated shows on television during its six-year run from 1965 to 1971. Dawson and Dors eventually divorced, and Dawson gained custody of both their children, Gary and Mark. Immediately following the cancellation of Heroes, Dawson performed as a regular on the popular NBC variety show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In from 1971 to 1973, and would also be a regular on The New Dick Van Dyke Show from 1973 to 1974. Dawson also appeared as a panelist on the 1972–73 syndicated revival of I've Got a Secret. Gosport is a town and district in Hampshire with around 77,000 inhabitants (including Lee-on-the-Solent), situated on the south coast of England. ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... For other senses of these words, see boxing (disambiguation) or boxer (disambiguation). ... Marilyn Monroe, one of the most iconic and famous female sex symbols of all time. ... Diana Dors (October 23, 1931 – May 4, 1984) was a British actress and sex symbol. ... Nickname: Location within Los Angeles County in the state of California Coordinates: , State County Settled 1781 Incorporated April 4, 1850 Government  - Type Mayor-Council  - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa  - City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo  - Governing body City Council Area  - City  498. ... Hogans Heroes was an American television situation comedy that ran from September 17, 1965 to July 4, 1971 on the CBS network for 168 episodes. ... Bob Crane as Col. ... Divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. ... Custody can refer to: Child custody Police custody (Arrest) Custody account, see either Custodian bank or Clearing house (finance) Banking) Category: ... This article is about the television network. ... Rowan & Martins Laugh-In was a United States comedy television show broadcast from January 22, 1968 through 1973 over the NBC network. ... The New Dick Van Dyke Show brought Van Dyke back into TV in 1971, but despite running for three years is no longer seen, in contrast with Mary Tyler Moore, which became as successful as the original Dick Van Dyke Show. ... Ive Got a Secret (abbreviated as IGAS) was a weekly panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television and was created by Allan Sherman as essentially a knockoff of Whats My Line?. The original version of the show premiered in June 19, 1952...

1973-1985

After Laugh-In left the airwaves in 1973, game show pioneer Mark Goodson signed Dawson to appear as a regular on Match Game '73. Dawson, who had already served a year as panelist for Goodson's revival of I've Got a Secret, proved to be a solid and funny gameplayer and was the frequent choice of contestants for the "Head-to-Head Match" portion of the show's bonus round, in which the contestant and Dawson had to obtain an exact match to the requested prompt. “Quiz show” redirects here. ... Mark Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an accomplished American television producer who specialized in game shows. ... The Match Game was an American television game show, most often hosted by Gene Rayburn. ... Ive Got a Secret (abbreviated as IGAS) was a weekly panel game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman for CBS television and was created by Allan Sherman as essentially a knockoff of Whats My Line?. The original version of the show premiered in June 19, 1952...

In a classic episode of Match Game 77, he and fellow panelist Debralee Scott revolted when their answer "Finishing School" did not match the answer "school" in the judges' mind; thus sparking the "School Riot". Debralee Scott (April 2, 1953 – April 5, 2005) was an American actress best known for her role on the soap opera spoof Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman as the title characters trampy younger and prettier sister, Cathy Shumway. Scott was raised in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where she was born, and...

In 1975, Dawson was hired by Goodson to emcee an upcoming project entitled Family Feud which debuted in the summer of 1976 on ABC's daytime schedule. Unlike his flop in 1974 with Masquerade Party, Family Feud became a breakout hit (particularly the syndicated nighttime version), eventually surpassing the ratings of Match Game in late 1977. In 1978 he left Match Game but won a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Game Show Host for his work on Family Feud. After Dawson became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1984, he showed his passport and photo during the introduction of an episode of Family Feud. He continued hosting the Feud until the show was canceled in 1985. This article is about the American game show. ... The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... A masquerade ball (or masque) is an event which the participants attend in costume, usually including a mask. ... The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming. ... “Quiz show” redirects here. ... Naturalization is the process whereby a person becomes a national of a nation, or a citizen of a country, other than the one of his birth. ... For Microsoft Corporation’s “universal login” service, formerly known as Microsoft Passport Network, see Windows Live ID. For other types of travel document, see Travel document. ... This article is about the American game show. ...

1985-present

Dawson parodied his TV persona by co-starring in the action movie The Running Man in 1987 as evil, egotistical, dark-sided game-show host Damon Killian. Of Dawson's performance, film critic Roger Ebert wrote, "Playing a character who always seems three-quarters drunk, Dawson chain-smokes his way through backstage planning sessions and then pops up in front of the cameras as a cauldron of false jollity. Working the audience, milking the laughs and the tears, he is not really much different than most genuine game show hosts - and that's the movie's private joke."[1] The Running Man is a film loosely based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, released in 1987, and was directed by Paul Michael Glaser, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Ben Richards. ... Roger Joseph Ebert (born June 18, 1942) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic. ...

Dawson hosted an unsold pilot for a revival of the classic game show You Bet Your Life in 1988. In the fall of 1994, he returned to Family Feud, replacing Ray Combs for what became the final season of the show's official second run (1988–1995). He was considered for the current version of Family Feud, but elected not to host. A television pilot is a test episode of an intended television series. ... You Bet Your Life is an American radio and television quiz show. ... This article is about the American game show. ... Raymond Neil Combs, Jr. ...

Dawson currently resides in Beverly Hills, California, with his wife since 1991, Gretchen (Johnson) Dawson, whom he met when she was a contestant on Family Feud in 1981. They have a daughter, Shannon Nicole Dawson (born in 1990). Richard also has three grandchildren: Lindsay Dors Dawson, Tyler Emm Dawson, and Emma Rose Dawson. “Beverly Hills” redirects here. ...

Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

• Dawson had been friends with Bill Bixby since 1968, appearing on an episode of The Dating Game. Four years later, Bixby appeared with Dawson in a pilot of a game show that hasn't been aired, Cop-Out, and two game shows such as: Password and Masquerade Party, where Bixby was the panelist and Dawson served as host.

• According to Werner Klemperer, Dawson and Bob Crane were like oil and water. Klemperer told "E! Hollywood Story" that there "was no love lost between the two". Ironically, Dawson had introduced Crane to John Carpenter, the former video camera salesman who was later implicated in Crane's murder in 1978.

• In 2006, Brett Somers told the Game Show Network (GSN) that many of the Match Game personnel were "relieved" when Dawson quit the show in 1978. Dawson was annoyed that a "star" wheel was added to select celebrities, as most contestants would choose him 3 to 1 over the other five panelists prior to the wheel's addition (in fact, he himself admitted that he took the addition of the wheel as, as he put it, "a direct slight"). Richard had already been starring as host of Family Feud on ABC prior to leaving MG and had been trying to quit MG in order to focus on his "Feud" duties. Producers initially didn't want to release him from his contract. Because of this, in later years of MG, Dawson could be seen wearing large, dark sunglasses, speaking in a quiet, raspy voice, or otherwise looking like he was sulking and didn't want to participate.

• Dawson had a small role in King Rat (1965 film). As Paratrooper Captain Weaver, Dawson makes a dramatic entrance near the movie's end, signaling the liberation of captives from a World War II POW camp.

• Dawson was played by actor Michael E. Rodgers in the 2002 film Auto Focus.

• Dawson was mentioned in the Wu-Tang Clan song "Wu-Tang Clan Ain't Nuthing Ta F' Wit" in the line "I'm causin' more family feuds than Richard Dawson"

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Dating Game was 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. ... Look up Cop out in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Although Password can be played without any equipment, commercial versions of the game have also been successful. ... A masquerade ball (or masque) is an event which the participants attend in costume, usually including a mask. ... Klemperer as Colonel Klink on Hogans Heroes Werner Klemperer (March 22 1920Cologne – December 6, 2000) was an Emmy Award-winning comedic actor, best known for his role as Colonel Klink on the television sitcom, Hogans Heroes. ... Bob Crane as Col. ... Brett Somers (July 11, 1924 – September 15, 2007)[1] was a Canadian-born American actress, singer, and comedienne. ... “GSN” redirects here. ... The Match Game was an American television game show, most often hosted by Gene Rayburn. ... King Rat is a 1965 film version of the James Clavell novel King Rat. ... An American USMC Paratrooper using a MC1-B series parachute Paratroopers are soldiers trained in parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. ... Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ... Michael E. Rodgers (born on 8th May 1969 in Scotland) is a film, television and theater actor. ... A device connected to an optical system. ... “Wu-Tang” redirects here. ...

External links

• Richard Dawson at the Internet Movie Database
• The Richard Dawson Experience, a fan site