The Family Feud Story: The Dawson Years
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- Опубліковано 3 сер 2024
- www.connro.com/
Today, Family Feud is a ubiquitous piece of popular culture. Steve Harvey has catapulted the long-languishing franchise back into immense popularity for US audiences. But the show's original heyday may have been even more overwhelmingly successful. From 1976 to 1985, Family Feud dominated both daytime television and evening syndication, combining the intrigue of everyday people with the dashing persona of Richard Dawson to generate a true television phenomenon. In this video, we take a look at the genesis of what would become the most popular game show in two distinct generations of broadcasting -- and the factors that led to its initial descent, and ultimately to its cancellation.
0:00 Intro
1:07 Match Game Background
2:47 Early Feud Development
5:00 Richard Dawson Background
8:20 Picking a Host
9:46 The Pilot
10:58 The Gameplay
13:05 The Human Element
14:19 Rise to Prominence
17:01 The Egotism of Richard Dawson
20:16 The Kissing
22:48 Gretchen Johnson & Diana Dors
23:57 Late Night Dawson
29:09 Family Feud's Decline
32:28 Dawson's Final Monologue
35:08 Aftermath and Conclusion
If you made it this far, I really do appreciate that you took the time to watch this video and I really hope that you enjoyed it. More content is on the way! This project is shaping up to be a 3-part miniseries, but I expect part one to wind up the longest of the three. We'll see. (Edit - wow I was wrong about that)
If I made any mistakes, please let me know! I will update this webpage (www.connro.com/corrections) when mistakes are brought to my attention. - Розваги
Stopped the video to make a comment.....
Always liked Dawson, but....GOOD FOR HIM!! for telling the boss (who was pulling out dirty tricks and planning to not fulfill a promise on his contract - even though Richard was the hardest working most popular and most accurate celebrity on the payroll) that until the boss does as he should, Dawson would just sit on the job and be quiet. BRAVO!!!
Richard Dawson, the Father of "Quiet Quitting" 🤴
What Richard Dawson said on the finale was deep.
What did he say?
Mentioning God alone would be a no-no today.
@@ME-zp9co Did you watch this video??? They played the whole thing.
@@tomservo75 are you kidding? Steve Harvey plays off that all the time, "oh lord, we're going to hell", etc.
In one documentary, after Dawson said his goodbye speech and made his apologies, he actually asked to have it all edited out! He knew he had been a jerk and it was going to effect him later down the line.
For someone who looks like he was born twenty years after the first incarnation of the show went off the air, you come off sounding like you watched it on a daily basis! You hit on all the right points, and the story of its creation and its relationship with Match Game was fascinating. Well done!
Richard's final speech touched my heart, he really was a classy dude afterall
You forgot the best part about the Star Wheel on Match Game.
The rest of the celebrities hated that Richard always got picked, and everyone knew the wheel was to prevent Richard from always getting picked.
The wheel landed on Richard on its first spin. All the celebrities (Richard included) walked off the set.
The clip is on UA-cam. It’s hilarious.
Link please? I gotta know which one to click on.
@@TodoDekuOTP ua-cam.com/video/aGYIRK6bMsI/v-deo.html
Here’s the link. Prepare for some (unintentional) comedy gold.
Match game is outlandish imo, it makes me laugh. I'm 22 about to be 23 in a few days btw.
@@diaquallo happy (soon to be birthday), and I agree, Match Game is hilarious.
(I’m 22 btw)
ua-cam.com/video/cUzGrOsGkkA/v-deo.html&ab_channel=MatchGameProductions
Here it is
The thing that gets me about his beautiful speech is the fact that, when faced with the end of the road, he took a moment to admit, acknowledge, and accept all his real and perceived shortcomings and mistakes in front of EVERYONE. As ultimately "from a different time" as the kissing truly was, it's amusingly awkward to see someone screeching about something from the 70s as if it's happening right now when not only is that not allowed now, but the culprit HIMSELF already beat them to the punch on addressing it when his run ended all those decades ago. Dawson figured out how to start growing into a better person more than most people nowadays ever will.
I knew who Richard Dawson was when he hosted the 94-95 Feud, but I never knew that he was the original host until I watched the classic Feud on the old Game Show Network. People can say what they want about Dawson, but he was a good host and he did care for everyone that he worked with
If they thought Dawson had an ego, imagine if Shatner had been picked as host.
There is a reason it took so long to find "the right fit" as far as hosts go. It is the same reason why Match Game has had so many hosts. Richard Dawson was a great man.
HE’S BACK! we all really missed you!
The executives, according to Dawson, claimed the sponsors felt kissing women without knowing their martial status or getting their permission was uncomely. Dawson insinuates that it may have to do with him kissing two non-white female contestants. The actual number of all votes was 14,600 to 704 in favor of kissing. Contestants filled out a questionnaire before each game including, "Do you mind if Richard Dawson greets you with a kiss?" Apparently, not many declined.
Family Feud contender, Geoff Edwards, wound up hosting my personal favorite 1980s game show, Starcade. He was absolutely great, he knew the game backwards and forwards, he could be funny on the spot and he got on really well with the contestants. Top notch host. Miss you, Geoff!
Hey the UPN and Wheel guy's back! Hooray! Looking forward to this!
I hate when people attack him for the kissing. It’s a different time and we need to judge based on the moment if we must judge. I don’t think he was ever accused of anything off the show
And you've got to give props to Richard and the crew for seeking permission from female contestants and respecting the wishes of those who refused.
I once worked in a hotel where I had to do my very best to try to help a gentleman who was coming in from Europe, and he was having a very hard time getting everything together for his reservation. But ultimately I ended up taking about an hour out of my time to make sure he would be all set for his arrival. When he came to check in The next month, he was so elated to see me because of all the effort I had taken to help him, that he embraced me in a giant hug and kissed me on both cheeks.
I did not ask for that hug or kiss, but I could feel that it came from a place of great love and respect and appreciation. We all have our own personal spaces, and we should all strive to respect other people's.
That being said, I believe fully that when Richard Dawson kissed somebody, it was legitimately for luck and for love as he said. And if people were being asked backstage if they were fine with that, then I don't really see how it's creepy. I see it as genuine human expression.
Again, assuming everybody was being asked.
Dawson will always be the best host that Family Feud had. He was so good at hosting it and he was very funny and caring and the women loved him. Nearly all the female contestants had no problem getting a kiss. Still to this day when I watch a old episode of the Dawson years on Buzzr channel I have to stop and watch fast money.
It's funny to see how many people today get triggered by Dawson's kissing thing.
No one back in the day really squirmed over it. The subject would come up amongst our elders, we didn't care and most of us from that era who've grown up still don't get bothered by it.
But seriously, it's funny to see people say they're bothered by it. And hearing flamboyant people say, "Why didn't he kiss the men?" just crystalizes our state of affairs today.
There are real problems in the world.
There were then and there are today.
And Richard Dawson kissing women on TV was never one of those real problems.
I always like Richard Dawson from Hogan's Heroes to Match Game to Family Feud. His last show comments were absolutely beautiful ❤️ His mom was a true treasure.
I never knew that female contestants gave permission to bring kissed. As such, it doesn't seem like a big deal since they are both agreeing to it.
Also, I've watched reruns of the Dawson years and it was a fun show with him hosting, although I found it difficult to guess some of the answers due to the difference between the 1970s and today.
Personally I wouldn't have minded being kissed by Richard. He was handsome, charming, and I love a British accent.
It’s only a big deal to woke losers who are offended at everything nowadays
Female contestants on The Match Game would sometimes ask to go over and kiss Richard.
MY BOY!!! Also unexpected face reveal!!!
0:57 Richard Dawson
0:58 Ray Combs
0:59 Louie Anderson
1:00 Richard Karn
1:01 John O'Hurley (my personal favorite)
1:02 Steve Harvey
27:11 😂😂😂
John was my fav too
@@christinelauderback6165 Good to know I'm not the only one.
In all fairness, Gene Rayburn started the kissing thing , on Match Game! They really went overboard with it, ; Richard wasn’t as wild with it, as he only gave a peck of a kiss, in better taste, so to speak! Totally different approach. I loved both shows, and love the reruns, now and then. 🧡🙏
8:20 Geoff Edwards had previously worked as a news reporter for KHJ-AM radio. He was in the basement of Dallas police headquarters when Jack Ruby shot suspected John F. Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963. Edwards was one of the witnesses interviewed by NBC television correspondent Tom Pettit on the scene.
29:38 is pretty much also how Who Wants to Be a Millionaire went from the #1 show on TV pulling in 25-30 million viewers an episode to canceled within 2 years, oversaturation. Love the deep dive and can't wait to see what other deep dives you come up with.
R.I.P. Regis Philbin
Some networks don't learn. The same happened with NBC and Deal or No Deal.
there was other reasons why Millionaire fell.
Overreliance on Celebrity episodes (Which Feud did also as shown by this documentary)
Changing the format (Which Feud also did)
Putting in Hosts who didn't fit the show at all
Making the game a struggle to play because of budget limits on the Syndicated version
Relying on a Tournament to give away the top prize that had more risk than reward (literally if you chose the wrong answer your winnings would be dropped down after already winning them)
Having the show go to a celebrity-only format when it returned in Primetime
Wow, only two years?
@@ricardocantoral7672 Yes. To be fair, ABC was in dire straits ratings wise at the time and relied on Millionaire out of necessity since it was their most reliable hit.
Wow! You are an excellent documentary narrorator/presenter. You did you homework on The history of family feud and Richard Dawson, and you did it with total maturity and professionalism! Can't wait to see more of these kinds of videos from you!
Richard Dawson was a genius on Family Feud. Give him all the credit!!! Still love him the best!!!
Nice job. It wasn't until years later that I heard his kissing became controversial. I never really thought about it being a guy. The women seemed to like it, though. For me, it was no harm, no foul. That young people today are turned off by it is sort of alarming and sort of indicates another nail in the togetherness coffin. It was clearly innocent, so what's the big deal? And the fact that apparently 99 percent of the women contestants on the show were OK with it only supports that contention. Dawson was a genius on the Feud and Match Game. Unfortunately, he let his ego get in the way. Also, he stuck up for the contestants, too, which I think only added to his popularity. Watch school riot from Match Game. Dawson was completely in the right.
When he came back in 1994, I felt he tried too hard. Regardless, the O.J. Simpson trial was also that year which contributed to the shows cancellation.
Goodson-Todman did not have Concentration. That was a Barry-Enright format that ended up being owned by NBC after the scandals. The versions they produced was under license of NBC.
I thought about something: if people complained that Richard’s kissing was too much, they should see how Gene Rayburn was on Match Game with his kissing. Sometimes Gene tended to go a little too far on most occasions, particularly around the prettier new female celebs that dropped by and with some of the prettier women contestants. Or even one under the radar worse: Fergie Olver on the Canadian Kids Game Show “Just Like Mom” and that show worked with kids.
I wonder how many communicable diseases were spread.
It's the "me-too" era where permission forms signed in triplicate and notarized are necessary even for a first date. I'm sure people were concerned in the 80s too but not enough to react in the same inane way people do today.
@@tomservo75 It's a new world. I hope It's just growing pains and we learn to manage and gauge human interaction to a humanized level where we can be simultaneously authentic and respectful.
You're setting a really high bar with these scripts and production value!
I did a double take when I saw a new vid. Didn't expect you back. Another great one. Can't wait for the next part
It's one of the reasons I'm actually surprised both Feud and Price are doing so well today.
Because it appears two major components of the shows -- Dawson's kissing and Bob's inneundos on EVERYBODY -- would never fly today.
Great job. I've worked in game for years and I learned a few things!!
Overall, this was a great video. A couple of points to make:
1. I don't think Dawson was blacklisted on The Tonight Show after the Operation Eagle Claw fiasco. First, Dawson did a Family Feud sketch on The Tonight Show in 1982-83 with Johnny Carson playing Ronald Reagan. Part of that sketch appears on one of "The Best of Carson" videos. Second, if you look at Dawson on The Tonight Show at the 24:31 mark of the video, the set design is a bit later than 1980. Perhaps they blacklisted Dawson from being a guest host after the Operation Eagle Claw fiasco, but he did appear as a guest on the show afterwards.
2. Howard Felsher tends to come off as a bit too sympathetic in my humble opinion. However, Felsher was involved in the quiz show scandal of the 1950s. He admitted to Congress that he implored 30 contestants and all his production staff to lie to the grand jury. Felsher even admitted that 75% of Tic-Tac-Toe, the show he produced, was rigged. Yet, somehow, Mark Goodson kept giving him jobs. If you listen to Dawson's Foundation interview, he states that he noticed how a contestant who was attractive or delightful would get a few extra seconds than someone who was not. Dawson was very clear that he did not play those kinds of games. He was pro-contestant, but he also wanted fairness.
I'm not saying Dawson was a saint. But I think some of his behaviors look a bit different if you add this bit of context to the story.
I hope you haven't given up making content. I watched the UPN story and now on this. People say this too often... but don't.... This channel is CRIMINALLY underrated. Very well researched. Very well edited. Very charismatic on camera and in narration. Don't give up or if you've moved platforms let me know. Excellent work man
Richard's exiting speech was absolutely amazing and beautiful 😍
Nice job, Connor! As one who's been working in the game show field for a while, I appreciated the deep dive and detail. Look forward to watching more - just clicked subscribe!
Yeah, the kid should move on to greater success. He's like a Dick Clark or Ryan Seacrest.
Welcome back Connor! This was a really interesting video :3 looking forward to part 2!
20:41 After Watergate, Vietnam, etc. The kissing was a nice change of pace.
I was in a UA-cam algorithm rabbit hole and got into your videos. I saw WHNT in this video and thought “Is this guy from HSV@. Anyway, went to your bio and realized we went to the same high school in Athens! Great videos and glad to see a local doing great work!
In 1973, Dawson appeared in two episodes of The New Zoo Revue playing historical characters and even referencing the show's name on a Match Game '74 episode while comparing it with Masquerade Party.
This was great! Very well done, sir.
I remember reading that according to Howard Felsher, Richard later regretted saying nice things about Felsher in his closing monologue and had the clip removed before the final episode aired on network television. That seems to match up with his reputation for being a real jerk behind-the-scenes.
I agree completely. Dawson was an excellent host but needed to get called out for his douchebag behavior. I understand the importance of trying to please the audiences but not at the expense of putting down your staff who’s also responsible for the shows success. I really feel bad for Howard Felsher for what he had to endure.
No wonder his casting in The Running Man was so effective. He wasn't really acting in that movie, he was just being himself.
Wow! I think we need a Netflix Family Feud soap. Crazy how some celebs come off so likable but ate monsters behind the scenes. Although, we did see hints throughout his career.
However Felsher was a jerk and prick himself because he had the same issues with Ray Combs. Dawson was just defending his role.
@@jdayala-wright8875 don't forget that Felsher was involved in the 1950s Quiz Show scandals so he is by no means an innocent person. He rigged the 1950s version of Tic Tac Dough and tried to convince former contestants and the producers to lie to the Grand Jury about it and even lied himself to them.
I remember Richard Dawson often asked the head of the family “What do we have here?” and if they don’t have something, another member of the family does.
You deserve a reward for all the research you did this video was so thorough and well done 👍😊😁
Such an amazing video deserves millions of views
I still remember watching Family Feud with my family in the early 80s and I swear there were repeats in the late 80s. But anyway I remember the kissing and as an 8 or 9 year old thought it was no big deal at all, nor did any of my family. It was just seen as "what he does" and as long as it was consensual that's all people cared about in the 80s. It's only our current "me-too" culture that makes such a big deal of things. Don't forget the people calling the kissing "problematic" now are the same people who would have men get a form signed in triplicate and notarized to even get a peck on the cheek. Times have changed, but not necessarily for the better.
I know this might draw a bit of controversy but say what you will about Richard’s ego, at least he owned up to his reputable bad backstage behavior and never got sued by his crew, unlike Bob Barker in the later years of his time hosting The Price is Right. The Holly Hallstrom firing and lawsuit is a perfect example of that and that started the beginning of countless lawsuits against Bob Barker as well as the lawsuits against the show.
Bob also had the Dian Parkinson stuff too. And after the Holly stuff, it led to them firing all the OG models in retaliation (especially sad since Janice Pennington had been there since the first episode.)
Richard’s ego made him an insufferable asshole, but that’s about it. Granted, it still sucks, but I’d rather work with an asshole than a guy doing what Bob did.
Let’s not also forget the rumor of how awful Barker treated Rod Roddy in his later seasons not giving him on screen appearances in his last few seasons which all stems from Rod confronting Barker wanting to give him entry level pay for nighttime specials despite Rod already announced the show for over 15 years by that time.
That's because Dawson aired out that persona in The Running Man, stunt casting that to this day remains one of the best such performances in Hollywood history. Barker could easily have been similarly effacing about it publicly, but instead chose to handle the whole show like a Republican senator. The best days of TPIR ended with Johnny Olson's death IMHO.
@@omaid482 Dian literally lied and claimed she was sexually assulted when she consented to it, and seeing how she lied i imagine all the other models lied as well to make money. #believeallwomen has really ruined this country and so has this culture of suing everyone for everything.
@@dr.alexander7039 Rod looked horrible in his last few seasons due to the cancer, you really wanted to see someone look that way? And by the way I wonder if Rod was a pedophile since he took multiple trips to Thailand, a country known for very seedy activites.
GREAT job Connor...watched both your Family Feud and Wheel uploads. Well done!
Holy shit bro your style is so polished. I thought you had a million subscribers. I can't believe you have so few videos when they're this accomplished.
Great job!! When I researched all this, it was 1982-88 and we had to find the info in books and magazines. No internet existed! Yes! It was a pain! Again, great job. You pretty much nailed this. Needs more of Richard’s personal life added. Depending on where you wanted this to go I suppose. 😊
Fantastic vid! Looking forward to Part 2
3:04 technically barry enright started out Concentration. It wouldn't become Goodson and Toddman until they made a syndicated series out of it from 1973-1978
I didn't know a lot of the background on how FF was created. This was a very informative video. Thank you, sir!
connor, this was awesome. thank you for creating it!!
I always kind of knew that Richard Dawson was like his character in Running Man... It just seemed to fit him...
Very informative and entertaining video. Thank you for all the hard work of making this.
Well on the upside of the whole kissing thing, we should at least commend those behind the scenes with asking the female contestants if they were OK with it and respecting the wishes of those who weren’t, however few and far between they may have been. does that count for nothing?
This was well-done research and a nice take on Feud as well!!!
Young man I found this refreshingly entertaining as well as informative, you’re a natural at this, bravo and thanks
Wake up babe, a new conner higgins video dropped
Nicely done Connor!
Ayyy conners back with another great interesting game show vid. Great job :D
NO WAY, HE’S BACK!!!! I MISSED YOUR VIDEOS.
Richard Dawson's Family Feud was the last successful game show on ABC Daytime. After The $20,000 Pyramid was cancelled in June 1980, FF was the only game show on ABC Daytime until October 1984 when Trivia Trap debuted. Except for the 1990-91 version of Match Game, none of the post Richard Dawson Family Feud game shows (All Star Blitz, Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak, Double Talk, and Bargain Hunters) lasted a year. Even Trivia Trap only lasted 6 months before being replaced by All Star Blitz. ABC since the early 1980s has relied on its' soap operas, sitcom reruns, and talk shows like The View in its' daytime schedule. Growing up in the 1980s, CBS and NBC primarily had the game shows on network daytime TV.
Exactly, CBS got back into the Game Show Biz in 1982 with the arrival of The NEW TattleTales with the late Bert Convy which debut in January and The NEW $25,000 Pyramid with the late TV Icon Dick Clark and Child's Play with the late Bill Cullen which both debut in September and Child's Play got replaced by Press Your Luck with the late Peter Tomarken and later Card Sharks with Bob Eubanks all joining The Price is Right with Barker
and as for NBC, it got back to the Game Show Biz with the arrival of The NEW $ale of the Century with the late Jim Perry and in 1984, came The Original SCRABBLE with Chuck Woolery and Super Password with the late Bert Convy joining up with the Daytime Version of Wheel of Fortune with Pat Sajak & Vanna White which continues to this day on Nighttime Syndication
1989 was the year that Daytime Television took a turn for Talk Shows, News Magazines or More Local News and NBC has 4 Hours of TODAY which I find absurd, Thank GOD that Good Morning America and CBS This Morning kept their 2 hour formats
@@tnawcwvictoria In 1984, Tattletales was replaced by Body Language with the late Tom Kennedy. BL was canceled in 1986 to air Card Sharks. Both Sale Of The Century and Super Password were canceled on the same day in March 1989. Scrabble was canceled in 1990, though it revived in early 1993 for a short time.
@@good03boy also, in 1989, NBC not only cancelled Daytime Wheel of Fortune, but also, Daytime Win, Lose or Draw with Game Show Queen Vicki Lawrence while Bert Convy left the syndicated version of WLOD in favor of 4rd Degree thus hiring Rob Weller formally of Entertainment Tonight to host WLOD
@@tnawcwvictoria In September 1982, NBC debuted Fantasy with Peter Marshall and Leslie Uggams. It aired for an hour at 3pm/2pm central and pacific. It aired until October 1983 when it was replaced by Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour.
"Except for the 1990-91 version of Match Game, none of the post Richard Dawson Family Feud game shows (All Star Blitz, Bruce Forsyth's Hot Streak, Double Talk, and Bargain Hunters) lasted a year."
And it's weird of the two game shows on ABC with British hosts that one had an incredible run (and has had multiple hosts, on ABC, CBS, and in syndie) and has become pretty much a worldwide phenomenon, and the other (from early '86) became just a flash-in-the-pan.
It's a shame you didn't show this last message Richard did at the end of the last episode right after they stopped taping. I think this was more geared at the production crew but it is possible some audience members were still present. It's just as heart felt as his aired final speech:
ua-cam.com/video/i69xMQmEnPQ/v-deo.html
* You can even see Gene Wood at the end facing away from the camera trying to prevent anyone from seeing him cry.
I'll always love Richard Dawson as the host of Family Feud. He had a chemistry that truly was unique and worked. I also like Ray Combs and Harvey but Ray lacked the chemistry with the contestants in favor of making a joke all the time, and Harvey is great, but he milks the jokes and "situations" to the point where the phrase "Beat the dead horsey" becomes tiresome. I think Richard knew when it was time to be funny, new how to welcome people and make them at home with the game and to loosen them up with some jokes, but Ray and Harvey seemed more interested in either just making jokes or making fun of people. And that's NOT a game show to me.
We will always miss you Richard! Hope you are pulling one over on Colonel Klink up there!
18:22 There was another match game rule change where you can't pick the same celebrity twice/three times in a row
Well done, Connor. I think Richard was completely in the right to not do the Friday taping of the Tonight Show. He was a military man, served during the Korean conflict for the Allies, so Operation Eagle Claw probably hit home for him.
Yeah ㅣ think the host was generally pretty fair, but it's kind of bad taste to shit on somebody for needing a mental health day.
Richard was perfect for Feud. The followers are amateurs. Let him have a deserved "ego". He was THE ONLY one who made the show work.
Ray Combs: Am I joke to you? I think you probably do!
And yet, just imagine what would've happened to Family Feud if the ones that followed Dawson said no.
*AWESOME "Feud"* biopic!! I just love your way with words! Are you planning on doing one on the history of *"Pyramid"* any time soon? That would be awesome... 😀
I’d watch that one for sure; also wish he’d do one on “Love Connection.“
"I've never presumed to tell someone who could make a rainbow what color to make a child."
That's a very nice sentiment from Dawson's mom. It's a shame he got so egotistical and difficult to work with but he is a human being, and success can go to anybody's head. Also, I was always put off by his kissing every woman on the show, but I'm at least glad to learn that he did get their permission first off screen.
A great Documentary Connor. Your Game Show Documentaries on Family Feud are very informative. Your very good at coming across with the facts, and you make your commentaries very interesting. You give a fantastic delivery of the facts, and you voice is very good for Documentaries. Can you do a Family Feud on the John O' Hurley years? Keep up the good work!
Really enjoyed this. Plz do more
OMG THE LEGEND HAD RETUNED!!!
Really enjoying this retrospective. Awesome stuff. As far as his kissing, it was the 70s. 🤷♂️ Not everything ages well, 😂.
Omg ur videos are so well made
As an X'er, I truly respect Dawson for kissing the women, he was a true gentleman of a classic age, fit for 80's.
Welcome back old friend😇
Wow...great job on this video
Connor, I'm from Brazil and the way you talk about american television culture is really impressive and didactic. I hope that one The WB and Fox video comes up, but if you feel like do one about how syndication works too, cause I don't know if I quite get that yet 😅
Syndication is where a distributor sells shows to TV stations. They are mostly game shows, talk shows, and courtroom shows.
Great content, Connor and Future Connor. You could do this for a living. I'm always happy to see young people taking a serious interest in old popular culture. I watched the original run. I've occasionally seen clips from later incarnations. But Dawson was the absolute best, to the point where it's hard to watch anyone else. A problematic person, for sure; not someone I would want to work with. But really good.
The producer of the show was involved in the 1950s quiz show scandals, and i'm sure there were probably a few more who were involved with it as well.
Brilliant video!!
As a child of the 70s and 80s, loved the Dawson years...still do! My generation saw NOTHING wrong with the kissing.
The thing is, though, if the staff sought consent from female contestants and it was granted, I don't see how Richard Dawson's penchant for kissing them should be disturbing to anyone. We can get into another debate about women's inability to say "No" in those days but citing Twitter and other media sources known for actively judging the past through heavily flawed "Modern Lenses" does not lend a neutral retrospective to the issue. Additionally, many women found Richard Dawson, like any male celebrity, handsome, friendly, clean-cut, and charming so of course they'll say "Yes" to receiving a kiss from him.
Connor, have you ever done a video about late 90s/early 00s game shows? Like Millionaire, Deal or No Deal, etc? These high pressure, high stakes game shows that have a lot of dead space in the game where they just let suspense build and stuff. Also, no parting gifts. These shows had a lot of All-Or-Nothing, compared to 80s shows, where even losers got nice prizes.
YOU’RE BACK!
Man, you are great. Keep it up.
Dude you are like my favorite UA-camr
These are great videos.
I remember watching if not THE first, then one of the first episodes of FEUD with Dawson. Always wondered how they came up with the idea. Thanks.
You earned a sub for this series, just came across it tonight and looking forward to watching through it in order as I can. Really cool and very in-depth, love the use of the old school footage too to compliment your narrating. One thing I would like to add though if I may that you left out, in regards to upping the target goal from $300 to $400 in the show's final year on the air, the reason it killed the show so much was not just because of the increase, but the way the game was then structured as well. By that I mean, in the past under the previous format, the game would go at a maximum usually of 5 rounds, 6 at most if the two families were struggling to get through boards. And it'd be set up where you'd play 2-3 single rounds depending on the period, 1 to 2 doubles and a triple, only again rarely needing anymore than that.
Well, when they switched to the $400 goal (a total BTW that was often hit anyway under the old format, meaning you really didn't need to change anything for it to work), this structure changed, to where now you had FOUR single rounds, THEN a double and a triple, meaning you were guaranteed at LEAST 5 questions per show if not like you said 6 or 7. It totally broke the format to do it like that. Had they left it alone, even with the $400 goal, it coulda still worked, but they added rounds they didn't need to add instead, in part actually from what I understand because of Dawson taking up so much time (to the point of edits being needed) with monologues at tops of shows. So it was a way to get back at him as much as a change for change's sake in that era. Sad way for show to end all around regardless though.
Nice job.
Howard Felsher hired me at Goodson Todman to work on another show.
Although Richard's wit added a lot, I disagree with your conclusion that he was the main attraction. The show succeeded because the game was strong and Goodson knew it. That's why he auditioned other emcees besides Dawson. The show has continued through a succession of emcees since Dawson left. Without a good game, 11 people on stage would have nothing to do. You can't build a successful game show around Richard kissing female contestants.
Goodson's production designer, Ted Cooper, had a hand in the development of Fast Money. The main game was an extension of Match Game's Super Match as you correctly point out.
One insider tells me that Dawson's already-immense ego swelled to even more massive proportions and Richard became even more insufferable after he guest hosted the Tonight show. Howard claims that Richard was disputing his every call in a deliberate effort to get his daughter in law promoted to producer.
Goodson had a second pair of eyes at FF tapings: veteran GT producer-director Paul Alter. Richard's antics on the set quickly made it around the office.
I understand Richard's farewell speech was excised from the original ABC airing.
In 1980 GT produced a pilot for NBC, who passed on it. We then showed it to CBS who also passed on it. We did not show it to ABC because of the disagreement over the FF "steal" which you noted.
So what are your thoughts on Howard Felsher's involvement in the 1950s quiz show scandals. Did people ever talk to him about that and how he tried to convince contestants to lie under oath and how he himself lied under oath?
WELCOME BACK CONNOR!!!
Great video. Informative
The clip you use of Dawson on the couch is actually from 11/5/82 almost three years after the guest host incident. Richard was on to do a Family Feud parody sketch with Johnny playing Reagan. So apparently after that incident the staff had set their differences aside. Johnny was even quite friendly with him during his panel interview as well.
Is that interview/full show anywhere on here? I've been wanting to see anything Dawson did in that era for Johnny for a while, but never have found anything. EDIT: I take it back, there is an interview he did with William Shatner (ironically enough lol) around from 1979 that I just found, so there's something out there at least. ua-cam.com/video/cLy6qu1ttmgv/v-deo.html
@@ajk Thanks for digging that up! That's such a cool find.
@@connro You're welcome, I thought so too! Kinda was hoping the Feud hosting battle as it were woulda came up though lol.
Richard Dawson the best host. the kissing ladies was nice.
Love the classic game shows. Thanks for sharing your video with us. Love the Dawson years on Match Game and Family Feud. Richard Dawson was just as famous for kissing the women as he was for being the host. Mostly the women loved it.
I absolutely love these videos. They're so intelligent and thoughtful and I hope I get see more soon
Keep an eye out for part 2 in the next few days!
@@connro you did an incredible job on that video so thanks
But he didn't sound British
this is awesome.
1:15 I 100% thought you were going to a sponsor read and started skipping forward 😂😂😂
I use you for research for when I start a channel thank you
This was damn good