Chuck Barris | |
|---|---|
 Barris onThe Gong Show in 1976 | |
| Born | Charles Hirsch Barris (1929-06-03)June 3, 1929 |
| Died | March 21, 2017(2017-03-21) (aged 87) Palisades, New York, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Drexel Institute of Technology |
| Occupation(s) | TV producer,TV host,songwriter,author |
| Notable work | The Gong Show, The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, "Palisades Park", Confessions of a Dangerous Mind |
| Spouse(s) | Lyn Levy (1957–1976; divorced; 1 child) Robin Altman (1980–1999; divorced) Mary Rudolph (2000—2017; his death) |
Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 - March 21, 2017) was anAmerican game show creator, producer, and host. He was best known as thecreator of many populartelevisiongame shows. Some of his most famous shows wereThe Dating Game,The Newlywed Game andThe Gong Show. These shows appeared on American television from the mid-1960s until the early1980s.
Barris was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied atDrexel University.
Early in his career, Barris triedsongwriting. One of his songs, "Palisades Park", was ahitrecord forFreddy Cannon, a popularsinger.
Barris got his start in television as a page and later staffer atNBC inNew York, and eventually worked backstage at the TV music showAmerican Bandstand.
Barris was promoted to the daytime programming division at ABC inLos Angeles and was put in charge of deciding which game shows ABC would air. Before long, Barris admitted to his bosses that he disliked all the shows he was given to choose from, and believed he could make better ones. They suggested that he quit his programming job and become a show producer himself.
Barris first became successful during 1965 with his first game show creationThe Dating Game on ABC. The next year Barris beganThe Newlywed Game.
He went on to create several other short-lived games for ABC in the 1960s and forsyndication in the 1970s, all of which revolved around a common theme: the game play normally derived its interest (and oftentimes, humor) from the excitement, vulnerability, embarrassment, or anger of female contestants or participants in the game.
Barris became a public figure in a big way in 1976, when he produced - and served as thehost of the talent contest spoofThe Gong Show, which he packaged in partnership with TV producerChris Bearde. The show's cult stature far outstripped the two years it spent on NBC (1976-78) and the four years it ran in syndication (1976-1980).
AfterThe Gong Show went off the air, Barris kept a lower profile (did not attract as much attention), but still worked in television. In the 1980s, he published amemoir,Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Barris claimed in the book to have been aCIA (Central Intelligence Agency)agent andassassin, who regretted his earlier life. He also regretted making "puerile" (childish) television shows, thatcatered to poortaste. It was republished in the1990s.
Many people believeConfessions does not tell a true story. Others are not sure if it is fact orfiction. Some, includingcelebrities who knew Barris, do not know or care, and enjoy his stories asentertainment. The CIA itselfdenies Barris ever worked for them.
George Clooney madeConfessions into amovie, starringSam Rockwell,Drew Barrymore andJulia Roberts.
Barris was married to Lyn Levy from 1957 until they divorced in 1976. He later married Robin Altman from 1980 until they divorced in 1999. He later married Mary Rudolph in 2000. Barris had one child with Levy.
Barris died on March 21, 2017 ofnatural causes at his home inPalisades,New York at the age of 87.[1]