"The Gong Show" was probably the craziest TV show ever made. It was a non-talent show with outrageous behavior from everyone all the time. The most outrageous was the host, Chuck Barris. The most popular part of the show, and the silliest, was the fantastic "Gene Gene the Dancing Machine". Here's some background on the show, Barris, and Gene.
Chuck Barris – Host of "The Gong Show"
Barris was working in ABC's game show division when he told the exec's that he thought most of the ideas were terrible and he could make better shows on his own. They told him to go make some and he did. His first big success was "The Dating Game" which was some of the most racy TV at the time and was a huge hit. He followed that up with "The Newlywed Game" and became the game show rating king. He made several other shows, including the infamous "The Gong Show", but never had a hit as big as the first two.
If that isn't enough, Barris also claimed to be a CIA assassin with 33 kills. His autobriographical book "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" became a best seller and it was turned into a movie starring Sam Rockwell, George Clooney, and Julia Roberts. The CIA denies Barris worked for them and called the claims ridiculous.
All this sets the stage to what was his unique, and probably most memorable creation….
The Gong Show
The Gong Show is hard to describe because it started out one way and ended up creating a zany alternative universe. SplitSider does an excellent job describing the origins of the show and what is was like. Here's a quick snippet:
The Gong Show was initially dreamed up by mega-successful game show producer Chuck Barris (The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game) as a straightforward talent competition. But, the story goes, the first auditions didn’t unearth many good performers. It was then that Barris was struck by the epiphany that, three decades later, fueled the success of American Idol: Watching a person flop can be almost as entertaining as watching them soar. Watching someone act bizarre, even better. So the Gong Show not only featured a parade of bizarre and mediocre talent, it actively cultivated it (its promos called for “good or unusual acts”) — with the eponymous gong used to cut short acts so bad no one could take it anymore.
Like that other great 70s game show, Match Game, The Gong Show really wasn’t about the game, more the madness that surrounded it. By the end of the show, one or two acts stood heads and shoulders above the others, if only for sheer competence. They took home the unimpressive sum of $516.32, which according to one source, was the then-Guild minimum.
It is really a great article. Spend some time reading the whole thing if you get the chance.
The Legend: Gene Gene the Dancing Machine
Gene (Eugene Patton) was a member of the Gong Show set crew and early in the show's run he would go out and dance to warm up the crowd. Chuck Barris liked his act so he had him come out one show and he was a huge hit. Gene Gene the Dancing Machine then had a recurring role where he would show up in various episodes. In the early episodes Gene's introduction and dance were predictable and fun, but not too crazy. Then came the tradition of "suprise" appearances where Barris would be talking into the camera about something else and Gene's music would start playing. All hell would break loose. Gene would be dancing. Barris would be dancing and screaming. Stage hands, Barris, the judges, and members of the band would throw things at Gene. And the crowd would go crazy.
Hollywood veteran Mark Evanier describes what it was like to be there when Gene came on stage:
The minute they started playing his music — "Jumpin' at the Woodside," I think the tune's called — the studio positively erupted. Barris started dancing and the panelists jumped up and started dancing…and you could feel how much Gene Gene enjoyed what he was doing. Okay, fine, they're performers. It's part of the act. But the crew also started dancing — people not on screen. The guy operating Camera 1 was operating Camera 1 and dancing at the same time. Grips were dancing, lighting guys were dancing, the members of the band were dancing as much as they could and still play their instruments. And of course, the audience — an odd mix of younger Gong Show fans intermingled with old ladies who couldn't get in to the Hollywood Squares taping down the hall — simply had to leap up and boogie. Some of the show's performers and staffers were a little (shall we say) under the influence of something…but the crew wasn't and the audience wasn't. It was just an honest "high" of excitement.
I've been on many TV stages in my life. I've seen big stars, huge stars — Johnny, Frank, Sammy, Dino, Bob, you name 'em. I've seen great acts and great joy, and if you asked me to name the most thrilling moment I've witnessed in person, I might just opt for the Gong Show electrifying Stage 3 for all of 120 seconds. Maybe it was because it came so totally out of nowhere that it stunned me but everyone, including the stone-cold sober people, was suddenly just so…happy. There was something very, very invigorating and enjoyable about being in the midst of all that sudden happiness, however frivolous it may have been.
Gene In Action
The first video is from an early appearance when things are not too crazy yet. You can really see Gene's dance moves here!
This next video is my favorite. It is from a later episdoe and it shows just how crazy the whole thing had become. Barris is out of his mind. The crowd is having so much fun!!!
This is the famous episode where JP Morgan took off her shirt during the show. Gene Gene the Dancing Machine drives women crazy!
Another good one