Gong Show
| The Gong Show | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Created by | Chris Bearde |
| Directed by | John "The Fox" Dorsey Terry Kyne |
| Presented by |
Chuck Barris (1976–80) John Barbour (1976) Gary Owens (1976–77, nighttime) Don Bleu (1988–89) Dave Attell (2008) Mike Myers as Tommy Maitland (2017) |
| Narrated by |
Johnny Jacobs (1976–80) Charlie O'Donnell (1988–89) Will Arnett (2017) |
| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of episodes | 501 NBC 5 Revival |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Gene Banks Diane Fell Linda Howard |
| Location(s) |
NBC Studios Burbank, California (1976–80) CBS Television City Hollywood, California (1988–89) |
| Running time | 18 minutes (early NBC episodes) 23 minutes |
| Production company(s) |
Chuck Barris Productions (1976–80) Chris Bearde Productions (1976–78, 1988–89) Barris Productions (1988–89) Barris Industries (1988–89) Sony Pictures Television (2017–present) |
| Distributor | Firestone Program Syndication Co. (1976–80) Barris Advertising Sales (1988–89) (ad-sales) Barris Program Sales (1988–89) Sony Pictures Television |
| Release | |
| Original network |
NBC (1976-1978) Syndicated (1976–77, 1977–80, 1988–89) Comedy Central (2008) ABC (2017–) |
| Original release | June 14, 1976 – September 15, 1989 Revival series June 22, 2017 – present |
The Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976, through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1980 and 1988 to 1989, and was revived in 2017 for broadcast on ABC. The show was created and originally produced by Chuck Barris, who also served as host for the NBC run and from 1977 to 1980 in syndication. It is currently produced by Will Arnett and hosted by Tommy Maitland, who is actually a fictitious British celebrity that is portrayed by actor Mike Myers. The Gong Show is known for its absurdist humor and style, with outlandish losing acts being more memorable than the winners, and often awarding ridiculous and worthless prizes.
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, Jamie Farr, Arte Johnson, Rip Taylor, Phyllis Diller, Anson Williams, Steve Garvey and Rex Reed. If any judge considered an act to be particularly bad, he or she could force it to stop by striking a large gong, a trope adapted from the durable radio show Major Bowes Amateur Hour. Most of the performers took the gong with sheepish good grace, but there were exceptions. Barris would then ask the judge(s) in question why they gonged the act.
Originally, panelists had to wait 20 seconds before they could gong an act; in short order this was extended to 30 seconds and then 45. Some performers deliberately ended their acts before the minimum time had elapsed, but Barris would immediately disqualify them. In other cases, a judge would gong an act before its minimum time was up; Barris would overrule the gong, and the act would be obliged to continue with its fate already sealed.
...
Wikipedia