Controversial Opinion: Richard Dawson

[Kyle]

I've come to realize something as I've watched the reruns of Match Game and Family Feud on Buzzr in the last few months: it's my belief that Richard Dawson was much better as a panelist on Match Game than he was as a host of Family Feud.

I'm going to offer that if you really watch Dawson on Family Feud, especially towards the middle to the end of the run, he so often directs his jokes and comments to Gene Wood (who is off camera, mind you) and they are often greeted by 95% silence by the studio audience that it really makes for some awkward moments. It seems that Richard almost rarely played to the home audience, being more concerned with kissing the ladies, making his quips to Gene and doing as little as possible actually hosting the game.

For example: as the years wore on, Richard would often set up the next round by lazily recapping the score and waiting for the contestants to come up for the face off ("170 there, nothing there, let's go", etc.), would often only just say "survey" in stead of "survey says" (the show's signature phrase, no less) and would usually walk immediately off stage as soon as a family won Fast Money. According to producer Howard Felsher (who's opinion is jaded, of course, considering his history with Dawson, but nevertheless), he was also of the opinion that towards the end of the original run of the show, Richard was just going through the motions of hosting the show.

Compare this to his time as a panelist on Match Game (prior to 1978 when he just wanted off the show) when he was much more engaged in the goings on of the game (as well as the people on stage with him that the television audience can actually see) by making jokes that actually elicit laughs from the audience (as well as the other panelists and contestants) - understandable that Dawson might better excel in this role as he's not responsible for moving the game along, keeping the show on time, etc.

I know Richard Dawson is often called the best host of Family Feud when comparing all of them, but let's be serious, that list is not really comprised of a lot of great hosts. But when you get right down to it, perhaps he really was better suited as a panelist than an outright emcee.

Comment is invited.

[howierules86]

I know I'm in the minority when I say that I preferred Dawson as a panelist on I've Got A Secret (the 1972-73 version), and as a host, he was much better on the 1994-95 version of Family Feud. On Family Feud 94, he stopped kissing the ladies (which always drove me crazy) and was more pleasant (IMO) to watch as a result. Also, if I have to choose a time period of the original Feud to watch, I'd pick the original 200-point format (two singles, then the doubles until a family got over 200) because all the chatting was usually done in the first five minutes then (as opposed to in the middle of the game once the 300-point format started).

[Teddy]

IMO, it doesn't matter what negative things you might have said about Richard Dawson, but he was, and still is, the best Family Feud host of all time. Sure, I could do without the kissing that he did his first time around or how he got Ray Combs kicked off, but he simply was the show. If you, your parents or grandparents ever saw Hogan's Heroes, that's where he truly shone, because as Newkirk, he did a lot of things that made you wonder how he got away with it, like fooling the higher-ups with his many voice impressions and costumes, as well as making his opponents lose bets in card games. On the game show side of things, Richard was also enjoyable as panelist on Match Game, although when Feud came along, he suddenly became a totally different person altogether. His rocky relationship with Howard Felsher was sort of the antithesis of the one that Bob Barker and Roger Dobkowitz enjoyed on TPIR, and he was a total grouch whenever something went wrong (technical mishaps, poor performance in Fast Money, etc.), and his most memorable example came in the well-known "September" episode, when he cracked up while trying to read the questions to the second contestant, and then growling "the hell with it!" when the buzzer sounded and allowing the player extra time to answer the questions that he never got to ask before the time ran out. But still, Richard Dawson is Family Feud, and not even Steve Harvey can hold a candle to him.

[Casey]

and his most memorable example came in the well-known "September" episode, when he cracked up while trying to read the questions to the second contestant, and then growling "the hell with it!" when the buzzer sounded and allowing the player extra time to answer the questions that he never got to ask before the time ran out.

I think you are painting this incident with a negative slant that it does not deserve, and doesn't represent what really happened.  The time ran out because he was still laughing from the September answer previously, and the second player gave an equally odd answer for "Name a noisy bird" with "cuckoo".  That broke Richard up again, the time had ran off a couple seconds, he started asking the rest of the questions and the buzzer sounded for time's up.  He said "oh, to hell with that" and allowed her to answer the question.  It wasn't "growled" - it was said in a humorous way given all the rest of what had happened that round.

There are many reasons one could criticize Richard, especially in the later years on Match Game and Family Feud.  This would not be one of them. 

[wink87]

Agreed. When Richard said "The hell with that" I laughed out loud. It was really hilarious!

[goldroadfanatic]

Richard was certainly one of the highlights of Match Game, his jokes and interaction with contestants allowed him to carry the bottom tier. By 1978, though, he was quite exhausted from hosting Family Feud and playing Match Game at the same time (he had to tape 12 episodes of each show for both daytime and syndicated versions). He was more interested in his newfound fame on Feud, and had issues with the Star Wheel on Match Game, so he left.

By 1983, Dawson's demeanor on Feud had certainly changed. After seven years as host, perhaps he was feeling tired of hosting the show (and the show itself was starting to look dated), ran out of anything new or novel to bring to the table, and put in what effort he could to move things along to get the show over with? This became a necessity after the $400 goal was instituted, as games now took usually 5-6 questions (rather than 4-5 in the $300 goal era), leaving little time for jokes or interaction with contestants. Also, the backstage battles with Howard Felsher must've taken their toll on Richard. Perhaps that affected his demeanor on the air (especially since opening monologues became far less frequent as the show went on).

Maybe Richard was suffering from burnout and needed a break? Richard seemed much happier when he hosted Feud in 1994 than in the later years of his original run. Perhaps not finding much work after Feud and getting married to a former contestant (and having a daughter with her) allowed him to recharge so he could return to Feud with a new enthusiasm?

[JohnHolder]

how he got Ray Combs kicked off

As far as I know, that was Jonathan Goodson, not Dawson.

[CaptainPrice]

I’m also certain it was Jonathan Goodson who axed Combs amidst the Feud’s low ratings.

[Teddy]

I’m also certain it was Jonathan Goodson who axed Combs amidst the Feud’s low ratings.

Maybe, but it was his father Mark who did not want Dawson back when the show first returned in '88 (kind of an "over my dead body" threat he made at the time that the show apparently took literally). Probably all was forgiven after Mark's death in 1992.

[wink87]

I’m also certain it was Jonathan Goodson who axed Combs amidst the Feud’s low ratings.

I don't see how the ratings could have been that low. Ray was a hell of a host and I personally didn't mind the one hour format.

[bigblue999]

I don't see how the ratings could have been that low. Ray was a hell of a host and I personally didn't mind the one hour format.

Ray wasn’t the reason why Family Feud was cancelled. It was the Bullseye game that turned people off. Took too long to play.

[wink87]

Ray wasn’t the reason why Family Feud was cancelled.

I didn't think so.

[Casey]

Probably all was forgiven after Mark's death in 1992.

If by "all was forgiven" you mean "we need to do something desperate to attempt to increase the show's rating, and the person who had veto power is dead", then you are probably right.

[Kyle]

Don't forget, Feud was severely overexposed in 1992, going an hour and a half every day, five days a week using a rushed format that was decidedly unpopular with the audience.

[someguy23475]

How was the syndicated Feud’s market clearance in 1992-94? I know in Detroit, it ended up on a lowly independent (WGPR-62) with a bad time slot, before moving to a better station (WKBD-50) around noontime when Dawson returned. The daytime Feud had the same fate, though airing at 10AM on a different independent (WADL-38).