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The Gong Show
Genre	Game show
Created by	Chuck Barris
Starring	Chuck Barris (1976-1980); John Barbour (1976); Gary Owens (1976-1977); Announcer: Johnny Jacobs
Country of origin	United States
Production
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	Syndication
Original run	1976 – 1980

The Gong Show was a television variety show spoof broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978 and in first-run syndication in the U.S. from 1976 to 1980. The NBC incarnation and the later years of the syndicated version were emceed by Chuck Barris, who also produced them. Gary Owens hosted the first syndicated season. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... “Quiz show” redirects here. ... Chuck Barris (born Charles Hirsch Barris on June 3, 1929) is an American game show producer of the 1960s and 1970s and author. ... Chuck Barris (born Charles Hirsch Barris on June 3, 1929) is an American game show producer of the 1960s and 1970s and author. ... For the 19th-century U.S. senator from Virginia see John Strode Barbour Jr. ... Gary Owens (born Gary Altman on May 10, 1936) is a disc jockey and voice actor born in Mitchell, South Dakota. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... In broadcasting, syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast radio shows and television shows to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... See also: 1975 in television, other events of 1976, 1977 in television and the list of years in television. For the American network television schedule, please see 1976-77 American network television schedule. ... This is a list of television-related events in 1980. ... A variety show is a show with a variety of acts, often including music and comedy skits, especially on television. ... The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1976 Pick up sticks(MCMLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. ... The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American television network headquartered in the GE Building in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... Chuck Barris (born Charles Hirsch Barris on June 3, 1929) is an American game show producer of the 1960s and 1970s and author. ... Gary Owens (born Gary Altman on May 10, 1936) is a disc jockey and voice actor born in Mitchell, South Dakota. ...

Show format

Each show presented a contest between amateur performers of often dubious talent, with a panel of three celebrity judges. The program's frequent judges included Jaye P. Morgan, Arte Johnson, Rip Taylor, Jamie Farr, and Anson Williams. If any one of the judges considered an act to be particularly bad, he or she could strike a large gong, thus forcing the performer to stop. Most of the performers took the gong with sheepish good grace, but there were exceptions. Jaye P. Morgan (born Mary Margaret Morgan, December 3, 1931) is a retired popular American singer and game show panelist. ... Arte Johnson (born January 20, 1929), full name Arthur Stanton Eric Johnson, is a comedic actor. ... Rip Taylor (born Charles Elmer Taylor, Jr. ... Jamie Farr (born Jameel Joseph Farah on July 1, 1934) is an American television and film actor and popular game show panelist. ... Anson Williams is an actor and director. ... A gong is any one of a wide variety of metal percussion instruments. ...

Originally, panelists had to wait 20 seconds before they could gong an act; this was later extended to 30, and finally 45. Knowing this, some savvy contestants deliberately stopped performing just before the 45-second rule kicked in, but Barris would overrule this gambit and disqualify them. On other occasions, an act would be gonged before its minimum time was up; Barris would overrule the gong, and the hapless act would be obliged to continue with the full knowledge that their fate was sealed.

When an act was on the verge of being gonged, the laughter and anticipation built as the judges patiently waited to deliver the coup de grace: they would stand up slowly and heft their mallets deliberately, like baseball players in the on-deck circle, letting everyone (including the contestant) know what was coming. Sometimes, pantomimed disputes would erupt between judges, as one celebrity would attempt to physically obstruct another celebrity from gonging the act. The camera would cut back and forth between the performers onstage, and the mock struggle over their fate.

If the act survived without being gonged, he/she/they were given a score by each of the three judges on a scale of 1-10, for a maximum score of 30. On the NBC run, the contestant with the highest combined score won the grand prize of $516.32 (reportedly the Screen Actors Guild's minimum pay for a day's work) and a "Golden Gong" trophy. On the subsequent syndicated run, the prize was $712.05. In the event of a tie, three different tiebreakers were used in at various times during the show's run; at first, the studio audience decided the winner by their applause; later, the producers chose the winner; later still, the celebrities chose the winner. When Barris announced the final score, a dwarf in formal wear (former Munchkin Jerry Maren) would run onstage, throwing confetti while balloons dropped from overhead. The Screen Actors Guild (S.A.G.) is the labor union representing over 120,000 film actors in the United States. ... Men hur kommer man in i berget, frågade tomtepojken (But how do I get into the mountain? the young dwarf asked. ... Munchkins are the natives of the fictional Munchkin Country in the Oz books by L. Frank Baum. ... Jerry Maren (January 24, 1920 - ) is an actor, a short one. ...

On one memorable occasion, all the acts were so bad that everybody got gonged. When the time came to announce the winner, the curtains opened on an empty stage -- but Barris still made his usual triumphant curtain speech, exulting, "We just saved $516.32!"

Originally, the show was advertised as having each day's winning contestants come back after a few weeks (this is also mentioned in the pilot episode) to compete in a "tournament of champions", with the winner being given the chance to appear in an unspecified nightclub act. However, only one of these tournaments was ever held. The winners on the NBC version became eligible to appear on the syndicated version for a chance to earn that show's prize.

Hostesses included Siv Aberg, a Swedish-born model who appeared on Barris's syndicated New Treasure Hunt, and Barris's then-teenaged daughter Della. Johnny Jacobs and, on occasion, Jack Clark served as announcers. Treasure Hunt (or The New Treasure Hunt) was a United States television game show that ran in the 1950s, 1970s and 1980s. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Jack Clark (December 13, 1921 - July 21, 1988) was a American game show emcee and announcer. ...

The show celebrated many holidays such as Christmas, the Fourth of July, and Thanksgiving, but invariably did so by singing the Irving Berlin standard, "Easter Parade." (When Easter was feted, the cast and crew would sing "White Christmas.") The annual Christmas episode also featured a major rule change; for one day, in honor of the holiday spirit, judges were not permitted to gong contestants. Predictably, Christmas shows were heavily loaded with the most unappealing or talentless acts available. Christmas is an annual holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus. ... In the United States, Independence Day (commonly known as the “Fourth of July,” “July Fourth”, the “Glorious Fourth”, or simply the “Fourth”) is a federal holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. ... Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is an annual one-day holiday to give thanks, traditionally to God, for the things one has at the end of the harvest season. ... Irving Berlin (May 11, 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist, one of the most prodigious and famous American songwriters in history. ... Easter Parade is a 1948 musical film starring Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Tyndale · Luther · Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Pope · Archbishop of Canterbury Patriarch of Constantinople Christianity Portal This box:      Easter, the Sunday of... White Christmas is an Irving Berlin song whose lyrics reminisce about White Christmases. ...

Barris as emcee

Chuck Barris, an established game show producer (The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game) was not the original host; he was an emergency replacement for John Barbour. Barbour, who later hosted Real People for NBC, objected to the satirical concept and tried to steer the show toward a traditional amateur-hour format. (The very earliest episodes had the celebrity judges earnestly giving helpful advice to the amateur performers.) An NBC executive who had watched Barris rehearse the show suggested that Barris replace Barbour. Only when the executive threatened not to take the show at all did the reluctant Barris agree to put on the host's tuxedo himself. Chuck Barris (born Charles Hirsch Barris on June 3, 1929) is an American game show producer of the 1960s and 1970s and author. ... “Quiz show” redirects here. ... 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. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Real People was an NBC reality television series that aired from 1979 to 1984, generally on Sunday nights. ...

Barris was ill at ease before the camera, but his determination to make a success of the show was obvious to the viewer, and his awkwardness was curiously endearing. He had a nervous habit of clapping his hands together and pointing to the camera while talking. He did this so often that, by the show's second year, it had become a running gag: the audience members began clapping their hands in unison with Barris whenever they saw him doing it. Barris caught on, and would sometimes pretend to clap, deliberately stopping short to sucker the audience (who were unable to stop their clap). The running gag is a popular hallmark of comic and serious forms of entertainment. ...

Barris wore a variety of unfashionable hats on camera, and frequently changed them during the show. A hat rack could be seen at stage right, next to the house band, Milton DeLugg and His Band with a Thug (a play on venerable maestro Les Brown and His Band of Renown). Milton DeLugg (born in 1918) is an American composer and arranger. ...

Producer Chris Bearde, formerly of Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In, clashed with Chuck Barris over the show's content, favoring scripted comedy over chaotic nonsense. (Bearde's "new talent" segments on Laugh-In had featured oddball performers, the most famous being Tiny Tim.) Bearde eventually withdrew from The Gong Show, leaving Barris in full charge of the show. Before long Barris was working so loosely that some viewers assumed he was drunk (or worse). He would pull his hat down over his eyes, totally obscuring them. His monologues, never exactly crisp or slick, occasionally rambled. Barris later recounted in an interview that he was never drunk, and that he would not allow drugs in his production company. Rowan & Martins Laugh-In was a United States comedy television show broadcast from January 22, 1968 through 1973 over the NBC network. ... Rowan & Martins Laugh-In was a United States comedy television show broadcast from January 22, 1968 through 1973 over the NBC Network. ... Herbert Buckingham Khaury (April 12, 1923–November 30, 1996), better known by the stage name Tiny Tim, was an American singer, ukulele player, and musical archivist. ...

If Barris enjoyed an act, it was obvious: he would stand there beaming. For the losers, no matter how untalented, Barris was unfailingly positive about their performances, often consoling them after being gonged with supposedly comforting words like "I don't know why they did that! I loved your act. But then again, I also like getting a tick bath." Or, "But then again, I love cramps." The celebrity who had gonged the performer was typically asked "Why'd you do that?" and was expected to provide an explanation, joke, or further insult.

Frequently, Barris would lead into commercial breaks with the vague promise, "We'll be right back, with more... stuff!"

Bandleader Milton DeLugg

DeLugg, a popular musician and bandleader of the 1940s, got the Gong Show job by default; as musical director for the network, he was responsible for any NBC project that required special music (like the annual telecasts of the Thanksgiving Day parade). Barris originally regarded Milton DeLugg as "an anachronism", but he soon found that DeLugg was very much attuned to the crazy tone of the show, and his band kept the show's energy level high. The band even led into station breaks, with Barris's enthusiastic "Take me into the commercial, Milt!" cueing the musicians. DeLugg also participated in NBC's prime-time spinoff, The Chuck Barris Rah Rah Show (see "Spinoffs" below for notes). The Gong Show was a television variety show/game show spoof that was broadcast in first-run syndication in the United States from 1976 until 1980. ...

Recurring bits

The show had many running gags, and characters who appeared as regular performers.

• The Unknown Comic (Murray Langston, formerly of the Sonny and Cher TV stock company) was a stand-up comedian who told intentionally corny jokes while wearing a paper bag over his head. On one occasion the Unknown Comic brought a dog on stage -- with a paper bag over its head. "You've heard of a boxer?", asked Langston. "This is a bagger!" Eventually, Langston would beckon to "Chuckie" and tell insulting jokes at his expense ("Have you ever made love to your wife in the shower?" "No." "Well, you should, she loves it!"). Barris would then feign anger and eject Langston from the show. Langston later on even hosted the show on the finale, and even made appearances as a judge on the show.
• Gene Gene the Dancing Machine was Gene Patton, a beefy, middle-aged black man wearing a warm-up suit and flat hat. Gene-Gene's arrival was always treated as though it were a glorious surprise to everyone on the show, especially Barris. Upon hearing the opening notes to his theme music (Jumpin' at the Woodside, a popular Count Basie song), Barris's face lit up and he stopped the show, yielding the stage to Gene-Gene. Members of the crew tossed random objects from the wings, which would eventually litter the stage while Gene-Gene danced on, oblivious to the activity around him. Barris and the panelists would enthusiastically mimic Gene-Gene's dance moves, which largely alternated between a slow-footed chug-chug motion, and an exultant fist pointed skyward. Typically, the dance break would only be interrupted by the promotional announcements, or the commercial. In reality, Patton was an NBC stagehand whose backstage dancing caught the attention of Barris, who moved him out in front of the curtain. Occasionally, Gene-Gene filled in as one of the three mallet-wielding judges. Patton's popularity was such that his retirement from NBC made the national news wires in 1997, unique attention for a stagehand.
• Writer Larry Spencer, appearing as himself; the audience was encouraged to hiss at him as if he were a villain from a 19th century melodrama.
• "I'm Gonna Play My _____", an alleged musician (also portrayed by Spencer) whose various appearances featured a series of different instruments. His call-and-response act featured him proclaiming, "I'm gonna play my (trumpet, fiddle, xylophone, kettle drum, etc.)" and the audience shouting back, "Whatcha gonna do?" This exchange would be repeated twice, after which he would announce, "I'm gonna play my (instrument) nowwww!" Instead of playing, though, he would merely repeat his audience-punctuated declaration. After a few verses of this, the skit generally ended with Spencer failing to play his instrument; either time ran out, the instrument malfunctioned or was booby trapped, or he would struggle to produce a few inept notes before being permanently interrupted by Barris.
• Matt Idol, a hunky singer; his vocals were always drowned out by swooning women in the audience, at which point he was ushered offstage since he could no longer be heard above the screaming in the audience.
• Scarlett and Rhett, two men dressed as Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler. The act always began with Rhett saying, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn", and Scarlett replying, "Oh, Rhett, you can't say that on television!" Rhett would then say, "Oh really, Scarlett? Then how about..." and launch into a string of obscenity-laced riddles (bleeped out for the telecast) while Scarlett feigned horror. This act was also always quickly ushered offstage by an allegedly shocked and offended Barris. Scarlett and Rhett were really wardrobe man Jefferson Becker and makeup man Peter Mims.
• Chuckie's Fables, featuring "The Mighty Gong Show Players", an alleged acting troupe (in actuality, members of the production and stage crews). Barris would flop into a rocking chair and read a narrative from an oversized storybook, while the Players would pantomime the action behind him. These stories always ended with a convoluted moral. The name was a takeoff on the "Mighty Carson Art Players" from the Tonight Show, which in turn was a copy of Fred Allen's "Mighty Allen Art Players."
• The Worm, a supposed "dance craze" consisting of three men who flung themselves to the floor and wriggled on the ground. At the end of each of their performances, Barris would come out and say, "One - More - Time!" The Worm would often be performed four or five times in succession before the commercial break interrupted the men's performance.

The Gong Show was a television variety show/game show spoof that was broadcast in first-run syndication in the United States from 1976 until 1980. ... Murray Langston as The Unknown Comic The Unknown Comic is the stage name for American actor and stand-up comic Murray Langston, best known for his comic performances on The Gong Show, usually appearing with a paper bag over his head. ... Sonny and Cher were an American rock and roll duo, made up of husband and wife team Sonny Bono and Cher in the 1960s and 1970s. ... Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, aka Eugene Patton (born April 25, 1932), was a member of the stage crew and occasional performer on The Gong Show. ... William Count Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. ... Poster for The Perils of Pauline (1914). ... Gone with the Wind, an American novel by Margaret Mitchell, was published in 1936 and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. ... Scarlett OHara (full name Katie Scarlett OHara Hamilton Kennedy Butler) of French-Irish ancestry is the protagonist in Margaret Mitchells 1936 novel, Gone with the Wind, and in the later film of the same name. ... Rhett Butler is a handsome, dashing hero of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. ... Lady on a rocking chair by Victor Borisov-Musatov, 1897 A rocking chair or rocker is a chair with two curved bands of wood (also know as rockers) attached to the bottom of the legs (one on the left two legs and one on the right two legs). ... The First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush and current host Jay Leno. ... He has eyes like Venetian blinds and a tongue like an adder — radio/television critic John Crosby about humourist Fred Allen, portrayed here by caricaturist Al Hirschfeld. ...

Controversial acts

The Gong Show was infamous for a few especially controversial acts. The most memorable of all of them was an act called "Have You Got a Nickel?" (also known as "The Popsicle Twins"), which consisted of two 17-year-old girls, sitting on stage and provocatively sucking Popsicles, all with no musical accompaniment. Jaye P. Morgan would not allow either of the other judges to hit the gong on the non-act. The Gong Show Movie includes 10 seconds of footage from the Popsicle Twins. Popsicle logo Popsicle is the most popular brand name in the U.S. and Canada for a brand of ice pop. ... The Gong Show Movie poster The Gong Show Movie 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 comical characters involved in his life and work on the...

Years later, Barris told an interviewer that the censors would regularly reject acts that he thought were safe enough to air. So, he made it a point to submit acts to the censors that were totally over the line, in the hope that some of the less questionable ones would slip through. The Popsicle Twins' act was, in Barris's mind, far too suggestive, and he'd submitted it as a stalking horse. In a May 2007 interview with Minneapolis deejay Dan Barriero, Barris corrected the commonly-held belief that the women were merely portraying minors, revealing that the girls were just 17 years old at the time. He said that the usually diligent censors were asleep at the wheel during pre-screening and the act was allowed to go on in the Eastern and Central time zones before they realized what was going on, but the network did censor the telecast for the Mountain and Pacific time zones. Some insiders have claimed that it was this act that led to The Gong Show being canceled. As performers, the Popsicle Twins' act did not go over very well at all with the celebrity judges, who awarded it a combined score of only 12 points (though they did receive a perfect 10 from Jaye P. Morgan, who quipped, "That's how I got started!"). Look up Stalking horse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about the city in Minnesota. ...

Another impromptu moment came in early 1978, when Jaye P. Morgan ripped off her top and exposed her breasts while Gene Gene was dancing; this "flashing" incident was the last straw for NBC, who promptly dropped her from the show for the remainder of its daytime run (though she would continue to appear as a regular on the nighttime syndicated version). The ribald Morgan often inserted risque material into the programs, such as during a performance by Chuck D'Imperio, "The Shower Singer". D'Imperio sang "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown" while naked in a shower, inspiring judges Morgan, Jamie Farr and Arte Johnson to do a rousing dance around the shower stall at center stage. Jaye P. poked her head inside the shower, and later commented, "I didn't care too much for his singing, but I'll certainly give him a big 10 for what I saw in the shower!" She later on made an appearance on the NBC finale, dancing along with Chuck and the others. Jaye P. Morgan (born Mary Margaret Morgan, December 3, 1931) is a retired popular American singer and game show panelist. ...

The young David Letterman guested as a Gong Show panelist when he was unknown to most of the national public. After he gonged one act, the outraged performer glared at Letterman and shouted, "Who are you?" David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947, in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) is an award-winning American comedian, late night talk show host, television producer, philanthropist, and IRL IndyCar Series car owner. ...

Legitimate talent

The two biggest Gong Show-related show-biz successes were Andrea McArdle and Cheryl Lynn. Twelve-year-old McArdle appeared on an early show in 1976, shortly before winning the lead role in the hit Broadway musical Annie. Lynn was signed to a recording contract as a result of her appearance and recorded the top-20 disco hit "Got To Be Real." Andrea McArdle is an American singer and actress. ... Cheryl Lynn (born Lynda Cheryl Smith, 11 March 1957, in Los Angeles, California) is a known disco, R&B and soul singer, who scored fame then success beginning in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s. ... Annie is a musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. ...

Among the other true talents that appeared on the show were:

• Paul Reubens (3 times)

Later famous as Pee Wee Herman)

• The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo

The musical theater group that would evolve into the new wave band Oingo Boingo)

• Green Jelly

Billed as "the world's worst band"

• RuPaul
• Mare Winningham

Singing under the pseudonym "Sharon Shamus"

• Impressionist Michael Winslow

He later appeared in the Police Academy film series.

• Joey D'Auria

He would go on to be WGN's second Bozo the Clown from 1984 to 2001). He appeared more than once as "Professor Flamo" -- holding his hand directly over lighted candles, the Professor would "sing" in pained tones as he moved from "low-note" to "high-note" candles.

• Hillary Carlip

Juggler, comedienne and comedy writer. "Queen of the Oddballs"

• Tony Randall

Actor. Removed a leaf from a tree, put it up to his mouth, and "played" the leaf. He was "gonged".

Paul Reubens (born Paul Rubenfeld on August 27, 1952) is an American actor, writer, and comedian, known professionally for his character Pee-wee Herman. ... Paul Reubens as Pee-Wee in Pee-wees Big Adventure. ... Oingo Boingo Oingo Boingo was the band of composer Danny Elfman from the mid-1970s to October 31, 1995. ... Oingo Boingo was a critically acclaimed American New Wave rock band better known for their influence, soundtrack contributions, and high energy Halloween concerts rather than their chart successes. ... Green Jellÿ is an American comedy heavy metal musical group. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Mary Megan Winningham (born May 16, 1959) is an American film and television actress. ... Michael Winslow (born September 6, 1958 in Spokane, Washington) is an American actor and comedian known as the Man of 10,000 Sound Effects for his ability to make realistic sound effects using only his voice. ... Captain Harris, Tackleberry, and Proctor in Sweden 1989 to promote Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. ... Joey DAuria is an actor and a voice actor who was best known for his role of Bozo the Clown. ... Pinto Colvig, the original Bozo the Clown (circa 1948) Bozo the Clown (also known as Bozo), is the name of a clown whose widespread franchising in early television made him the best-known clown character in the United States. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Tony Randall (February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American comic actor. ...

Ratings/Scheduling

At the time of its debut, The Gong Show was an unlikely choice to find a slot on a daytime schedule. But NBC decided to take the chance on Barris's talent show to fix a scheduling problem at 12:30 p.m. Eastern/11:30 a.m. Central, where no fewer than seven shows had aired in the past two-and-a-half years. This was NBC's least important time slot, running only 25 minutes (leaving room for a five-minute newscast anchored by Edwin Newman), so the actual program content was less than 20 minutes. Many NBC affiliates in larger eastern-time-zone markets opted not to run network programming during the noon hour at all, preferring to broadcast local news and talk shows instead. Thus Gong made its debut mainly on medium-market and smaller stations (or on large-market rival stations that picked up the program from the NBC affiliate that had rejected it, as occurred in Boston). Edwin Newman (born January 25, 1919) is a journalist and writer. ... WBZ-TV is the CBS owned-and-operated television station serving the Boston, Massachusetts television market. ...

NBC hoped the show would attract different audiences than those watching the soap operas on ABC and CBS. CBS' regularly scheduled soap, Search for Tomorrow, had run for 25 years. According to the A. C. Nielsen company, the demographics for Gong showed very low viewership (well behind the competing soaps) among the section of the viewing audience that made up the largest percentage of the total viewing audience for the time block from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET: women, ages 30-65, married and/or widowed, and primarily employed only as homemakers with two to five children. The same demographic data showed, however, that Gong managed to bring in viewers from target markets that traditionally were not TV viewers during the daytime hours--males, ages 16-30, single or married, fully employed--more than any other daytime show for the two years the show broadcast on the network. This meant that Gong had not stolen away audience share from the other networks; rather, it had attracted a new one. The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) operates television and radio networks in the United States and is also shown on basic cable in Canada. ... CBS Broadcasting, Inc. ... Search for Tomorrow was a soap opera which started airing on Monday, September 3, 1951 on CBS. The show was moved from CBS, its original broadcaster, on Friday, March 26, 1982, with NBC picking it up on the following Monday, March 29, 1982. ... ACNielsen is a U.S. marketing research firm, based in New York City. ...

After the New Year, Gong found itself at 4 p.m./3 Central (and expanded to a full 30 minutes), succeeding the cancelled soap Somerset. However, numerous NBC affiliates had been pre-empting the slot for years, meaning that Gong ran at a disadvantage against CBS's Tattletales and ABC's The Edge of Night. By early December, the network decided to return Gong to 12:30/11:30; at the start of the year, NBC had discontinued the five-minute newscast, meaning the program could remain at a full 30 minutes. Somerset (sometimes called Another World in Somerset) was a soap opera which ran on NBC from March 30, 1970 until December 31, 1976. ... Tattletales was a game show which first aired on the CBS daytime schedule on February 18, 1974. ... The Edge of Night title card from 1956-67. ...

Despite fairly respectable ratings for a non-soap-opera midday show, NBC cancelled Gong, with its final episode to air on July 21, 1978. Much speculation occurred as to the network's true motivations for dumping the show. Barris himself has commented that the official reason he heard was that NBC acted in response to both "lower than expected ratings" and a desire by the network to "re-tailor the morning shows to fit the standard morning demographics." America Alive, a magazine-style variety program hosted by Art Linkletter's son Jack, replaced Gong. is the 202nd day of the year (203rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar). ... Art Linkletter caricature by Sam Berman for NBCs 1947 promotion book Art Linkletter (born Gordon Arthur Kelly on July 17, 1912) was the host of two of the longest-running shows in broadcast history: House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are...

Following the cancellation, many critics and industry analysts--including Gene Shalit and Rona Barrett--reported having heard comments from within NBC's programming department from "sources preferring anonymity" that the true reason behind the cancellation was Barris's refusal to tone down the racy nature of the show. According to the sources, after the "Popsicle Twins" incident and Morgan's "breast baring", Barris had been given an ultimatum by NBC's Standards and Practices department to deliver cleaner shows, with a particular eye to the potential children and youth watching the show. Barris, however, continued to deliver shows with the same amount of supposedly questionable content, apparently in an effort to call the network's bluff. Gene Shalit Gene Shalit (born March 25, 1932 in New York City) is the film and book critic on NBCs The Today Show. ... Rona Barrett (born October 8, 1936) is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. ...

Cancellation, and the final episode

NBC allowed Barris to continue the show for the rest of the contract, and Barris made no perceptible change in preparation for the end.

On the final episode, Murray Langston appeared in his real persona to host the show, after Chuck started the show doing a "Chuck's Fables" sketch. The rest of the show was done in sort of a way to explain the life of the show, and its cancellation. Barris managed to have the last word on the cancellation: he appeared as a contestant himself. Playing in a country music band called "The Hollywood Cowboys", Barris sang Johnny Paycheck's Take This Job and Shove It, and even gave the camera a "middle finger salute" (obscene gesture) to accentuate his point. The network, of course, censored the offending digit in the same way it handled offensive celebrity score cards: the word "OOPS!" superimposed over a still shot of the set. He was gonged by Jamie Farr. Gene Gene the Dancing Machine then came out after a few more skits, and did his famous dance. The rest of the cast, including staff members, people who participated, and even Jaye P. Morgan, all joined in at the end to dance with him. This article includes a list of works cited but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... Johnny Paycheck (May 31, 1938 – February 18, 2003) was a country music singer. ... Take This Job and Shove It is a song by Johnny Paycheck about the bitterness of a man who worked long and hard with no apparent reward. ...

Gong continued in syndication for two years after NBC's daytime dismissal, often airing on weekends. Not surprisingly, with censors largely out of the picture, this evening version pushed the envelope even further, with the choice by local stations to determine the show's suitability for local mores and taste. This version is chiefly responsible for the show's cult following, since it usually reached a far larger audience than had been possible on daytime.

Later incarnations

• A syndicated weekday revival of The Gong Show, hosted by San Francisco disc jockey Don Bleu, ran during the 1988-1989 season, but lasted only one year. Each winner was paid $701.
• The Gong Show was later revived on the Game Show Network as Extreme Gong, in which viewers could call in and vote on whether or not the act was bad. It was hosted by George Gray, better known as the host of the syndicated version of The Weakest Link.

This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... KIOI FM (Star 101. ... This is a list of television-related events in 1988. ... This is a list of television-related events in 1989. ... Game Show Network logo (Nicknamed Winnie among fans) used from December 1, 1994 to 1997 Game Show Network logo used from 1997 to March 15, 2004 GSN (formerly known on-air as Game Show Network) is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows, casino... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... Weakest Link UK Version The Weakest Link (now officially titled Weakest Link) is a television game show which first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000. ...

Film adaptation

• In 1980, The Gong Show Movie was released by Universal Pictures to scathing reviews. It is considered a minor cult classic by some. Advertising proclaimed it as "The Gong Show that Got Gonged by the Censor".* Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a film directed by George Clooney and written by Charlie Kaufman, based on the autobiography of Chuck Barris. Part of the film chronicles the making of The Gong Show, and features several clips from the original series.
• Following the success of the print and screen versions of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, GSN (The Game Show Network) produced a documentary called The Chuck Barris Story: My Life on the Edge.

The Gong Show Movie poster The Gong Show Movie 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 comical characters involved in his life and work on the... Universal Pictures is the main motion picture production/distribution arm of Universal Studios, a subsidiary of NBC Universal. ... Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a 2002 drama film directed by George Clooney. ... George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award and two-time Golden Globe-winning American actor, director, producer and screenwriter, known for his role in the first five seasons of the long-running television drama ER (1994–99), and his rise as an A-List movie star... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Foreign versions

• Red Faces, a segment on the long running Australian variety show Hey Hey It's Saturday was also similar to The Gong Show.
• A one-off British version of The Gong Show, aired on Channel 4 at Christmas 1985. The compere was Frankie Howerd. The show was deemed a failure and a series was not commissioned; this was considered surprising, as the station had recently been airing episodes of the original U.S. series and had been getting high audience ratings from them. In 2006, BBC Television aired Let Me Entertain You, a talent show with a similar format to The Gong Show.
• The Spanish language program Sábado gigante regularly airs a similar segment, El chacal de la trompeta ("The Jackal of the Trumpet"). During this contest, six contestants are given the chance to sing a song, with the bad performers being eliminated mid-song by el chacal, a ghostlike character who blows an old trumpet to end such acts. Unlike The Gong Show, el chacal does not have to wait a specific amount of time before eliminating someone (on many occasions, players have been eliminated almost immediately after beginning). The "surviving" performers are voted on by the audience, with the one receiving the most applause winning a prize or some cash.
• In the world of NASCAR, Roush Racing's auditions for future drivers are called "The Gong Show." The process was aired as the Discovery Channel reality series Roush Racing: Driver X.

Red Faces was a segment on the popular Australian television show Hey Hey Its Saturday. ... Hey Hey Its Saturday was a long running variety television program on Australian television. ... Channel 4 is a public-service British television station, broadcast to all areas of the United Kingdom (and also the Republic of Ireland), which began transmissions in 1982. ... Year 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar). ... Frankie Howerd Frankie Howerd OBE (born Francis Alex Howard in York, England, 6 March 1917 - not 1922 as he claimed; died in London, 19 April 1992) was a distinctive English comedian and comic actor. ... BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which began in 1932. ... Let Me Entertain You is a daytime variety show made by Lion Television for BBC Two that began on August 21, 2006. ... This article is about the international language known as Spanish. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the French horn, trombone, baritone, euphonium, and tuba. ... Jeff Burton (99), Elliott Sadler (38), Ricky Rudd (21), Dale Jarrett (88), Sterling Marlin (40), Jimmie Johnson (48), and Casey Mears (41) practice for the 2004 Daytona 500 The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the largest sanctioning body of motorsports in the United States. ... Outside Roush headquarters. ... Discovery Channel is a United States-based TV channel founded by John Hendricks. ...

Spinoffs

• At the height of the show's popularity, NBC gave Barris a prime-time variety hour, The Chuck Barris Rah Rah Show. This was played somewhat more seriously than the zany Gong Show, with Jaye P. Morgan singing straight pop songs as in her nightclub and recording days, and bygone headliners like Slim Gaillard reprising their old hits for an enthusiastic studio audience.

The Gong Show was a television variety show/game show spoof that was broadcast in first-run syndication in the United States from 1976 until 1980. ... Jaye P. Morgan (born Mary Margaret Morgan, December 3, 1931) is a retired popular American singer and game show panelist. ... Bulee Slim Gaillard (January 4, 1911 or 1916 – February 26, 1991) was a African-American jazz singer, songwriter, pianist, and guitarist, noted for his scat singing and word play. ...

Episode status

All episodes of The Gong Show are presumed to exist and have been seen on GSN (except the Gary Owens version). Unknown status on the Don Bleu version. The Game Show Network (GSN) is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and interactive television games. ...

Legacy

During its run, many critics excoriated The Gong Show as one of the worst shows in TV history. Today, The Gong Show is seen as an inspiration for much of the modern-day genre of reality television. Reality television is a genre of television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. ...

The Gong Show was part of a long continuum of nonprofessional talent shows such as the Major Bowes Amateur Hour, a very popular radio broadcast of the 1930s and '40s. Using a gong or boxing bell, Edward Bowes would chime performers off the stage who he considered to be "dying" onstage. Major Bowes Amateur Hour was a radio program in the 1930s and 1940s on the CBS Radio Network. ... Edward Bowes (14 June 1874—14 June 1946) was an American radio personality of the 1930s and 40s. ...

Although many televised talent shows had preceded it, The Gong Show's sardonic outlook continues to influence many unsympathetic talent and celebreality shows including American Idol, America's Got Talent, and especially Pants-Off Dance-Off, where the often out-of shape ecdysiast contestants are frequent objects of derision. Look up Schadenfreude in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Celebreality is a term that combines the words celebrity and reality and is generally used to refer to television programming in which celebrities star and participate in reality television shows. ... AMERICAN IDOL HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO DEATH OF SIMON ... Americas Got Talent is an American reality television series on the NBC television network. ... Pants-Off Dance-Off is a dance contest airing on FUSE TV that premiered on April 18, 2006. ... For the book or movie Striptease see Striptease (book) and Striptease (movie) A striptease is a performance, usually a dance, in which the performer gradually removes their clothing for the purposes of sexually arousing the audience, usually performed in nightclubs. ...

External links

• The Gong Show at the Internet Movie Database