| The Gong Show | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Created by | Chris Bearde |
| Directed by | John Dorsey Terry Kyne |
| Presented by | Chuck Barris John Barbour Gary Owens Don Bleu Dave Attell Mike Myers as Tommy Maitland |
| Announcer | Johnny Jacobs Jack Clark Charlie O'Donnell Will Arnett |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 500 (NBC)[1] 156 (Syndicated 1976-80) 20 (ABC) |
| Production | |
| Producers | Gene Banks Diane Fell Linda Howard |
| Production locations | NBC Studios Burbank, California (1976–78) Golden West Broadcasting Hollywood, California (1978–80) CBS Television City Hollywood, California (1988–89) Sony Pictures Studios Culver City, California (2017–18) |
| Running time | 18 minutes (early NBC episodes) 23 minutes 42 minutes |
| Production companies | Chuck Barris Productions (1976–80) Chris Bearde Productions (1976–78, 1988–89) Barris Productions (1988–89) Barris Industries (1988–89) Den of Thieves (2017–2018) Sony Pictures Television (2017–2018) |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | June 14, 1976 (1976-06-14) – July 21, 1978 (1978-07-21) |
| Network | Syndicated |
| Release | September 1976 (1976-09) – September 1980 (1980-09) |
| Release | September 12, 1988 (1988-09-12) – May 26, 1989 (1989-05-26) |
| Network | ABC |
| Release | June 22, 2017 (2017-06-22) – August 30, 2018 (2018-08-30) |
The Gong Show is an American amateur talent contest created byChuck Barris in 1976 and franchised bySony Pictures Television to many countries. Each performer was evaluated by a panel of three celebrity judges who could strike agong to end a performance they disliked. A small cash prize has typically been awarded to each episode's winner.The Gong Show is known for itsabsurdist humor, and often features amateurish, racy or questionable performers interspersed with more legitimate acts. The actual competition was typically secondary to the outlandish acts, and the series is also known for its free-form style which featured various interruptions, digressions andrunning jokes.
The Gong Show was broadcast onNBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and infirst-run syndication from 1976 to 1980 and 1988 to 1989, briefly revived in 2008 hosted byDave Attell, and was revived in 2017 for broadcast on ABC. The show was created and originally produced by Barris, who also served as host for the NBC run and from 1977 to 1980 in syndication. Its most recent version was executive-produced byWill Arnett and hosted by Tommy Maitland, a fictional character performed byMike Myers (uncredited in Season 1).
Each show presented a competition of amateur performers of often dubious talent, with a panel of three celebrity judges. If any judge considered an act to be particularly bad, they could force it to stop by striking a largegong, a trope adapted from the durable radio showMajor Bowes Amateur Hour[2] of the 1930s and 1940s. The host would then ask the judges in question why they had gonged the act, usually receiving a facetious response. Judges had to let each act run for a set minimum length of time before they could gong it, and any act that ended before reaching this length would be automatically disqualified.
Any act that survived without being gonged was given a score by each of the three judges on a scale of 0 to 10, for a maximum possible score of 30. On the NBC series, the contestant who achieved the highest combined score won the grand prize: a check for $516.32 (a "highly unusual amount", in Barris's words; reportedly theScreen Actors Guild's minimum pay for a day's work at the time) and a "Golden Gong" trophy. In the show's opening monologue, Barris would describe the amount as "five hundred and sixteen big ones, and thirty-two little ones". The syndicated series' top prize was originally $712.05 (the first episode was $996.83) and later decreased to $716.32.[3] In the event of a tie, three different tiebreakers were used at various times during the show's run. Originally the studio audience determined the winner by applause, but this was later changed to a decision by the producers, and later by the celebrity judges. On a few, rare occasions, both winning acts each received a check and a trophy. No prize was awarded if all of the acts on a particular episode were gonged, which occurred at least twice. Runners-up received various prizes;Maureen Orth, on her February 24, 1977, appearance, reported receiving aclothes iron valued at $33.95 for her second-place finish.[4]
The original program's regular judges includedJamie Farr,Jaye P. Morgan,Arte Johnson,Patty Andrews,Steve Garvey,Anson Williams,Rex Reed,Pat McCormick,Rip Taylor,Phyllis Diller,Charlie Brill andMitzi McCall. Throughout the program's run, several other celebrities occasionally appeared as judges includingDavid Letterman,Steve Martin,Mort Sahl,Pat Paulsen,Chuck Woolery,Peter Lawford,David Sheiner,Carl Ballantine,Louis Nye,Allen Ludden,Dick Shawn,Pat Harrington Jr.,Abbe Lane,Gary Mule Deer,Ruth Buzzi,Joanne Worley,Michele Lee,Wayland Flowers,Paul Williams,Ken Berry,Soupy Sales,Henny Youngman,Sarah Vaughn,Pearl Bailey,Della Reese,Clifton Davis,Eva Gabor,Sandy Duncan,Rue McClanahan,Candy Clark,Roger Miller,Avery Schreiber,Ronnie Schell,Fred Travalena,Pamela Mason,Charlotte Rae,Milt Kamen,Ed Bernard,Johnny Paycheck,Mabel King,Liz Torres andWillie Bobo.
When Barris announced the final score, actorJerry Maren (alittle person) ran onstage in top hat and tails, throwing confetti while balloons dropped from overhead.
The dailyGong Show also gave out a "Worst Act of the Week" award (later changed to the "Most Outrageous Act of the Week"), selected by the producers and each week's judges. The winner of this award was announced following the trophy presentation on the Friday show, and the performer received a dirtytube sock and a check for $516.32.
Several legitimate performers received early exposure viaThe Gong Show. Twelve-year-oldAndrea McArdle appeared on an early episode in 1976, shortly before she won the leading role in the hitBroadway musicalAnnie. FollowingCheryl Lynn'sGong Show appearance in 1976, she received a recording contract withColumbia Records and recorded theTop 40disco hit "Got To Be Real", released in 1978. Actress-singerMare Winningham sang theBeatles song "Here, There, and Everywhere" on the program in 1976, which led to her being signed to an acting contract.
Among the other legitimate talents that appeared on the show were country singerBoxcar Willie; actorKevin Peter Hall who later appeared as the originalPredator in the 1987 film and as Harry inHarry and the Hendersons; comics and actorsPaul Reubens andJohn Paragon (best known asPee Wee Herman andJambi the Genie); actorEddie Deezen;Joey D'Auria ("Dr. Flameo", laterWGN's secondBozo the Clown); impressionist/comicMichael Winslow; novelty rock bandGreen Jellÿ;[5] and an unknown band calledThe Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo which evolved intoOingo Boingo, led byDanny Elfman who later found fame as a composer of film music.
In 1979, street gang leaderStanley Tookie Williams appeared on the show as a bodybuilder shortly before his arrest and subsequent conviction for murder. DancerDanny Lockin, who had played Barnaby in the filmHello Dolly!, was murdered hours after winning the show taped August 21, 1977.[6] PerformerRhonda Shear appeared on the program in 1979. JournalistMaureen Orth, then writing forNewsweek, won second-place on a 1977 show, appearing as "The World's Oldest Cheerleader."[4]
Longtime urban legend, and some news sources, claimed that football player and coachBrian Billick made an appearance performing a routine known as the "spider monkey", but Billick has confirmed this is untrue.[7]
An establishedgame show producer (The Dating Game,The Newlywed Game), Barris was originally creator and co-producer ofThe Gong Show and had no intention of hosting the show himself. Barris was a last minute replacement for original hostJohn Barbour, who left the show after objecting to its satirical concept and pressing for more of a legitimate amateur-hour format.Barbour would eventually serve as producer and co-host of the hit NBCReality TV series,Real People (1979–84). Barris initially appeared somewhat nervous and uncomfortable as host, but before long he was working so loosely on camera that many viewers assumed that he was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. In a videotaped interview with theArchive of American Television, Barris recounted that he was never intoxicated on camera and forbade the use of drugs by anyone in his production company.[8]
Co-Producer Chris Bearde, formerly ofRowan and Martin's Laugh-In andThe Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, soon clashed with Barris over the program's content, favoring more scripted comedy over chaotic nonsense. (Bearde's "new talent" segments onLaugh-In had featured oddball performers, the most celebrated beingTiny Tim.) After a heated argument between Barris and Bearde over the future direction of the show turned violent with the throwing of chairs and other objects and finally came to blows, Bearde resigned, leaving Barris fully in charge ofThe Gong Show.
Milton DeLugg was a popular musician and bandleader during the 1940s and 1950s. He got theGong Show job by default; as the longtime music director of NBC, he was responsible for any network project that required special music (like the annual telecasts of theMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade). Although DeLugg had previously arranged the theme forThe Newlywed Game, Barris initially regarded him as "an anachronism"; however, Barris was soon pleased to discover that DeLugg's sense of humor was very much kindred to the facetious tone of the show and he appeared alongside Barris in recurring comedy skits as various characters including bad-joke perveyor, "Naso Literatus" and the aged philosopher, "Old Drool".
Veteran composerJoey Carbone provided musical arrangements for the late 1980s revival with his own lineup of studio musicians, known as "The Gong Show Guys".
Johnny Jacobs, who had worked for years as announcer for other Barris game shows, served as the main announcer on theGong Show from 1976 to 1980. When Jacobs was sidelined with an extended illness,Jack Clark substituted from October 3 through December 23, 1977.Charlie O'Donnell served as announcer for the late 1980s revival.
Gong Show hostesses included Siv Åberg (a formerMiss Sweden, model and actress who also appeared on Barris' syndicatedNew Treasure Hunt), actressesMarlena Clark andMarkie Post, porn starCarol Connors and Barris' teenage daughter, Della. Some episodes would also have a special guest introduce Barris, ranging from celebrities such asDick Van Dyke,Carol Burnett andKate Jackson to show staffers and their relatives, including Jerry Maren's wife Elizabeth and Barris' own grandmother.[9]
TheGong Show featured several regular performers, the most popular beingGene Gene the Dancing Machine (Gene Patton), an NBC stagehand who impressed Barris with his energetic dancing andThe Unknown Comic, thealter ego of comedianMurray Langston who told intentionally bad jokes while dressed in frowsy attire and wearing a brown paper bag with cutout eyes and mouth, over his head.
NBC first broadcast the show at 12:30 p.m. (11:30 a.m.Central andPacific). This was the network's least important time slot, as programs running at that time had to share the half-hour with a five-minute NBC newscast anchored byEdwin Newman. As a result, the first six-plus months ofThe Gong Show featured approximately twenty minutes of program content in a twenty-five-minute episode.
Many NBC affiliates in some larger markets opted not to run network programming during the noon hour at all, preferring to broadcast local news and talk shows instead. ThusThe Gong Show made its debut mainly on medium-market and smaller stations or on large-market rival stations that had picked up the program from the NBC affiliate that had rejected it. For example, inBoston, then-NBC affiliateWBZ-TV did not run the series, allowing local UHF independent outletWSBK-TV to broadcast it.
The Gong Show's time slot was given to a new soap opera,Lovers and Friends, on January 3, 1977, and the show replaced the cancelledAnother World spinoffSomerset at 4:00 p.m. The time change allowedThe Gong Show to expand to a full half-hour.
NBC broadcast a one-hour prime-timeGong Show special on April 26, 1977, featuring in-studio special guestsTony Randall,Alice Cooper andHarry James and His Orchestra. The winning act on this special was The Bait Brothers, and the panelists were Jaye P. Morgan, Jamie Farr and Arte Johnson.[10]
DuringThe Gong Show's run, Barris became well known for his clashes with the network censors, intentionally bringing in risque acts as a diversion to allow some of the less racy acts to slip by. On the September 20, 1977 episode, one of these bait acts, called "Have You Got a Nickel?", made it onto the show. The act consisted of two teenage girls, both clad in shorts, sitting cross-legged on the stage floor and silently eatingpopsicles in a manner that suggested they were performingfellatio on the frozen treats. The nature of their act led to the two girls being referred to as the "Popsicle Twins".
While the girls were able to complete their act without being gonged, they were given low scores by two of the judges.Phyllis Diller gave them a zero (the only zero an act ever received), whileJamie Farr followed with a marginally better 2.Jaye P. Morgan awarded them a 10, quipping, "Do you know that's the way I started (in show business)?" and proceeded to eat one of the girls' popsicles.[11]
The girls' act was approved by the NBC censors, who apparently did not see anything wrong with it during the rehearsals. However, after the episode was shown in the Eastern Time Zone, NBC cut the act from the later tape delay broadcast for western time zones.[12]KNBC in Los Angeles, alerted to the content, was able to preempt it.[11] The act was not cut from all the tapes, and the "Popsicle Twins" incident has been seen in reruns and retrospectives. Barris said in a 2001 interview withSalon that this particular act began making him reconsider his career.[12]
Despite its popularity and respectable ratings for a non-soap-opera midday show, NBC cancelledThe Gong Show, with its final episode broadcast on July 21, 1978. At the time, there was much speculation as to the network's true motivations for dumping the popular show. Barris has commented that he heard that NBC's official reason was because of both "lower than expected ratings" and a desire by the network to "re-tailor the morning shows to fit the standard morning demographics" (the move coincided with the arrival of new NBC presidentFred Silverman, who was well known for such programming overhauls and was reported to have dislikedThe Gong Show).America Alive!, a magazine-style variety program hosted byArt Linkletter's sonJack, replacedGong.[13]
Following the cancellation, many critics and industry analysts – includingGene Shalit andRona Barrett – reported having heard comments from within the NBC programming department from "sources preferring anonymity" that the true reason behind the cancellation was Barris's refusal to tone down the increasingly risqué nature of the show. According to the sources, after the "Popsicle Twins" incident[12] and an episode in which Jaye P. Morgan spontaneously exposed her breasts on air during aGene Gene the Dancing Machine segment, Barris had been given an ultimatum by the network'sStandards and Practices department to deliver less racy shows for his audience, which included many younger viewers, or NBC would cancel the program.
NBC allowed Barris to continue the show for the rest of his contract, and Barris made no perceptible change in preparation for the July 21, 1978 finale. The celebrity judges for the final NBC episode of The Gong Show were Jamie Farr, Patty Andrews and Carl Ballantine; staff member Larry Gotterer appeared as "Fenwick Gotterer" to host after Barris began the final show with a "Chuckie's Fables" sketch. The rest of the final episode tried to explain the life of the show and its cancellation. Barris managed to have the last word on the show's demise, appearing as a contestant. Playing in a country music band called "The Hollywood Cowboys" with the house band's rhythm section, Barris sang a slightly modified version ofJohnny Paycheck's "Take This Job and Shove It", giving NBCthe finger during the song to accentuate his point. NBC censored the gesture, with the word "OOPS!" superimposed over a still shot of the set. Barris was gonged by Jamie Farr, who quipped, "Because that little fella's been saying that I've been long of nose, I'm also long of gong, fella."
The last act on the show, the group "Lobster Repair", performedHarry Belafonte's song "Day-O" and won the final $516.32 and trophy of the NBC era. Gotterer presented the award and Barris closed the show by thanking the crew and introducing Gene, Gene the Dancing Machine, along with Jaye P. Morgan, whom NBC had banned from appearing on the show after exposing her breasts.
Immediately after taping the final NBC episode, Barris was evicted from NBC's Burbank studios andThe Gong Show set was moved to the studios ofGolden West Broadcasters (nowSunset Bronson Studios) in Hollywood. Production of the syndicated nighttime/weekend version ofThe Gong Show continued there for two years. The entire syndicated run from September 1976 to September 1980 was distributed by Firestone Program Services. While the series eventually met its demise in syndication as it had on NBC, according to Barris, the problem did not lie with any outrageous acts, but instead the controversy and public outcry over another series he had produced.
In September 1979, Barris launched the game showThree's a Crowd, which was a spin-off ofThe Newlywed Game. Instead of recently married couples trying to match answers, the wives and secretaries of married men would compete to show who knew the men better. Religious activists and feminist groups protested againstThree's a Crowd and its ratings eventually forced the show's cancellation during the middle of the season.
In Barris's autobiographyThe Game Show King, he wrote that "the public backlash fromThree's a Crowd not only caused the program to be canceled, but it took three other TV shows of mine with it. I went to my house in Malibu and stayed there for a year."The Gong Show was one of those shows to be canceled, and Barris never hosted another series. The trauma from theThree's a Crowd's backlash was so severe, in the last several weeks ofThe Gong Show, Barris reportedly had "a small nervous breakdown" on-air, because he was "bored to death" with broadcasting.[14] His next two series, revivals of the 1960s game showCamouflage (the replacement forThree's a Crowd) and his 1973–77 seriesTreasure Hunt (in which Barris had practically no involvement, according to hostGeoff Edwards), both failed to find audiences and Barris went further into his self-imposed exile from television. Barris would not have another hit series until the 1985 syndication revival ofThe Newlywed Game.
Reruns of the NBCGong Show began in syndication during the autumn of 1979. In the 1980s, the NBC and syndicated episodes were rerun on theUSA Network and later, theGame Show Network, although by the time GSN picked up the series, many episodes had to be edited or were not broadcast due to musical performance clearance issues. No episodes from the first syndicated season ofThe Gong Show, hosted byGary Owens, have been seen since their original broadcast.
A syndicated weekday revival ofThe Gong Show, hosted by San Francisco disc jockeyDon Bleu, ran during the 1988–89 season from September 12, 1988, to May 26, 1989, with reruns airing through September 15. Each winner was paid $701.The last show of the Don Bleu's revival is dedicated for a long-week tribute to France.
Extreme Gong, a later incarnation ofThe Gong Show on theGame Show Network had viewers vote on its acts by telephone. It was hosted byGeorge Gray and ran from October 5, 1998, to August 27, 1999,[15] with reruns continuing to air up until Fall of 2000. Winners received $317.69. This version was well known for two known incidents: one episode featuring "Cody the Talking Dog" for which he tried to say things like "I love you" and "ice cream" but did not succeed in talking, and another featuring aVillage People parody asThe Village Little People where they sang a cover of "YMCA". Orange County comedy punk bandthe Radioactive Chicken Heads (then called Joe & the Chicken Heads) made their national television debut onExtreme Gong, though they were gonged midway through their performance. Near the end of the show's run, an hour-long "Tournament of Talent" special was aired in August 1999, with twelve previous winning acts (chosen by viewers via a phone-in poll) competing for a payoff of $10,000.
Comedy Central debuted a new incarnation calledThe Gong Show with Dave Attell, which lasted for eight weeks in the summer of 2008.[16] The show's format was similar to the original, but its scoring was based on a scale of 0 to 500, and winning acts received $600. The $600 was shown as paid in cash on the spot, rather than being paid by check as in earlier versions, but in reality (because of contestant eligibility regulations by Sony) was paid as a check from Sony Pictures. In place of a typical trophy, winners were awarded a belt in the style of boxing championship belts.
A live stage version ofThe Gong Show took place at B.B. King's Blues Club, in theTimes Square district ofNew York City on August 12, 2010.[17] It was produced byThe Radio Chick, and is the Sony authorized stage production. This production went into development in 2011–12 and now runs regularly in New York City, with engagements in other U.S. cities.[18]
On October 3, 2016, ABC and Sony Pictures announced a 10-episode summer 2017 revival ofThe Gong Show executive produced byWill Arnett.[19][20]
The broadcast of the 2017 revival premiered on ABC on June 22, 2017,[21] hosted by previously unknown "British comedian" Tommy Maitland. Maitland was, in fact, a character portrayed byMike Myers, although neither ABC nor Myers confirmed this and ABC officially credited Maitland as host and executive producer.[22] Maitland's catchphrase was "Who's a cheeky monkey?"[23] He also periodically used Barris's "back with more stuff" catchphrase to lead into commercials.
Celebrity guest judges for the 2017 revival included Arnett,Zach Galifianakis,Alison Brie,Andy Samberg,Elizabeth Banks,Tracee Ellis Ross,Joel McHale,Megan Fox,Courteney Cox,Dana Carvey,Will Forte,Jack Black,Jennifer Aniston,Ken Jeong,Fred Armisen,Maya Rudolph andAnthony Anderson.[24] Among the more notable acts featured on the revival arethe Radioactive Chicken Heads, making their second appearance on aGong Show incarnation sinceExtreme Gong in 1998. The first season of this version also features a regular segment featuring a staff performer leading the audience in a sing-along of thenovelty song"Shaving Cream", reminiscent of the recurring gag acts on the earlier version.
The winner of each show received a gong trophy and an oversized check in the amount of US$2,000.17, later increased by a penny the following year.[25] The final episode of the first season featured a memorial to Barris, who died prior to the series' premiere in 2017.
On January 8, 2018, ABC announced that the revival would be picked up for a second season, officially confirmed Myers as the portrayer of Maitland and crediting Myers as an executive producer by name.[26] The second (and final) season premiered on June 21, 2018.[27] Celebrity guest judges for season 2 includedJimmy Kimmel,Jason Sudeikis,Brad Paisley,Dana Carvey,Alyson Hannigan,Ken Jeong,Kristen Schaal, andRob Riggle.[27] However, the series was not renewed for a third season and was quietly cancelled.
In May, 1980,Universal Pictures releasedThe Gong Show Movie to scathing reviews and such poor box office performance, the film was withdrawn from general release within one week. Advertising proclaimed it as "The Gong Show That Got Gonged by the Censor". It was seen periodically on cable TV, but was never released on home video[28][29] until March 29, 2016, after the film, which achievedcult status[30] was released onBlu-ray byShout! Factory.[31]
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, a film directed byGeorge Clooney and written byCharlie Kaufman, was based on the semi-fictional autobiography of the same name by Chuck Barris. Part of the film chronicles the making ofThe Gong Show, and features several clips from the original series.
Following the success of the print and screen versions ofConfessions, GSN produced a documentary calledThe Chuck Barris Story: My Life on the Edge, which included rare footage from the Gary Owens pilot.
| Country | Local name | Host | Network | Year aired |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | The Gong Show | Tim Evans | Network Ten | 1976 |
| Chile | ¿Y usted qué hace? (Segment onSábados Gigantes) | Don Francisco | Canal 13 | 1983 |
| Germany[32] | Die Gong-Show | Paul Kuhn Götz Alsmann Marco Ströhlein | NDR RTL Sat.1 | 1981 1992–93 2003 |
| India | Sabse Badhkar Gong | ? | Sony TV | mid-1990s |
| Indonesia[33] | Gong Show | Arie Untung [id] andFenita Arie [id] | Trans TV | 2006–12 |
| Gong Show Indonesia | Gracia Indri | RCTI | 2019–20 | |
| New Zealand[34] | The Gong Show | Jeremy Corbett and Nigel Corbett | TV2 | August 9, 1997 – February 28, 1998 |
| Thailand | ก็องโชว์ | Shahkrit Yamnam | iTV | 2003 |
| United Kingdom | The Gong Show | Frankie Howerd | Southern Television Channel 4 | 1977 (pilot) December 9, 1985 (pilot) |
| United States (original format)[35][36] | The Gong Show | Chuck Barris | NBC | 1976–78 |
| Gary Owens Chuck Barris Don Bleu | Syndication | 1976–77 1977–80 1988–89 | ||
| Extreme Gong | George Gray | GSN | 1998–99 | |
| The Gong Show with Dave Attell | Dave Attell | Comedy Central | July 17, 2008 – September 4, 2008 | |
| The Gong Show | Tommy Maitland (Mike Myers) | ABC | June 22, 2017 – August 30, 2018 |
At the height of theGong Show's popularity, NBC gave Barris a prime-time variety hour,The Chuck Barris Rah Rah Show. This was played somewhat more seriously than theGong Show, withJaye P. Morgan singing straight pop songs as in her nightclub and recording days, and bygone headliners likeSlim Gaillard reprising their old hits for a studio audience. Other spinoffs includeThe $1.98 Beauty Show hosted byRip Taylor.