October 18 - Where Are They Now? Wednesday - Chuck Barris

This week’s WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WEDNESDAY is Chuck Barris.

Chuck was the host of The Gong Show, a NBC Daytime Game Show from June 14, 1976 - July 21, 1978.

It was a precursor of today’s reality shows like American Idol and America’s Got Talent.

Three celebrities served as judges of the talent each week. The judges viewed acts performed by amateurs and each member of the panel rated the acts on a scale of one to ten. Any act that was deemed too awful to continue could be gonged at any time and be rejected immediately. The gong takes the place of a Simon Cowell sarcastic or cutting remark. The top scorer of the day won the grand prize of $516.32.

In his unauthorized autobiography “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind”, Barris claimed to have also worked as a CIA hit man, with over 100 kills (the movie suggested only 33 kills.) As of yet, these claims have not been verified or repudiated. In 2002, the book was made into a film, directed by George Clooney. Sam Rockwell starred as Barris.

I have two Chuck Barris related stories.

#1 – As a sophomore in high school, I was selected to play the “Unknown Comic” on a Gong Show-like performance for the school assembly. The Unknown Comic was a regular character on The Gong Show. At right, is the original Unknown Comic. My 1978 adaptation is at the bottom of this post.

#2 – While on vacation along the South of France in 1995, my wife and I spent a couple of days in St. Tropez. When speaking to the locals in my broken high school French, I learned that Chuck Barris was living in St. Tropez. I was determined to locate him in order to share our Unknown Comic connection. I missed him by a few minutes as he had completed his bocce ball game and had left the area. Maybe it was whack someone, I’m not sure.

Where is Chuck Barris Now? Per the web, he splits his time living in Los Angeles and St. Tropez, France. At any rate, Chuck is still on the right side of the soil. He should ask American Idol for royalties or sue them for theft of his original idea. Chuck Barris' 2006 photo is on the left.