The Gong Show
The somewhat shy Barris rarely appeared on camera, though he once dashed onto the set of The New Treasure Hunt to throw a pie at emcee Geoff Edwards. Barris became a public figure in 1976, when he produced and served as the host of the talent contest spoof The Gong Show, which he packaged in partnership with TV producer Chris Bearde. The show's cult status far outstripped the two years it spent on NBC (1976–78) and the four years it ran in syndication (1976–80). As with some of Barris' other projects (including The Newlywed Game), it was at one point possible to see The Gong Show twice daily, a relatively uncommon feat in the years prior to cable TV's expansion into the commercial market.
The planned host of the NBC show was John Barbour, who did not understand the show's concept and considered it a straight talent show as opposed to Barris's parody concept. Barris scrapped Barbour at the last minute; in order to save the show, Barris followed the advice of an NBC executive that he should host the show himself.
Barris' jokey, bumbling personality; his accentuated hand-clapping between sentences (which eventually had the studio audience joining in with him); and his catchphrases (he would usually go into commercial break with, "We'll be right back with more er... STUFF...", occasionally paired with shifting his head to reveal the ubiquitous sign behind the stage reading simply "STUFF," and "This is me saying 'bye'" was one of his favorite closing lines) were the antithesis of the smooth TV host (such as Gary Owens, who hosted the syndicated version in its first season). Barris joined in with the eccentricity of the format, using unusual props, dressing in colorful and somewhat unusual clothing (such as the occasional hat pulled over his head, if not his eyes), he became yet another performer of the show, and for many, quite a cult hero. Dubbed "Chuckie Baby" by his fans, Barris was a perfect fit with the show's goofy, sometimes wild amateur performers and its panel of three judges (including regulars Jamie Farr, Jaye P. Morgan and Arte Johnson). In addition, there was a growing "cast of characters" including an NBC electrician who played "Father Ed," a priest who would get flustered when his cue cards were deliberately turned upside-down; Canadian comedian Murray Langston, who as "The Unknown Comic" wore a paper bag over his head (with cut-outs for his eyes, mouth, and even a box of Kleenex), and "Gene Gene the Dancing Machine" (Gene Patton), arguably the most popular member of the "cast", another NBC stagehand who would show up and dance whenever the band played the song "Jumpin' at the Woodside". In the early 1980s, Patton was even pointed out by tour guides of incoming NBC tours as his onscreen character, while at the same time adhering to his more typical off-camera work duties. Siv Åberg, a one-time Miss Sweden, was also on hand, acting more or less as the show's hostess.
One Gong Show episode consisted of every act appearing singing the song "Feelings", which was popular at the time. One of its most infamous incidents came on the NBC version in 1978, when he presented an onstage act consisting of two young women slowly and suggestively sucking Popsicles. Another incident resulted in Jaye P. Morgan's firing from NBC broadcasts of the show, when she exposed her breasts on-camera during a woman's performance (coincidentally, the woman's performance also involved exposing herself while singing).
In 1980, he starred and directed The Gong Show Movie. The film flopped at the box office. Its storyline and approach, though including a number of GS segments, was a bit less "zany" (another favorite Barris phrase) than some audiences may have expected.
The Gong Show eventually had three later revivals, one under Barris' title (with Don Bleu) in 1988-89, one on The Game Show Network in 2000 called Extreme Gong and another with current format owner Sony Pictures Television (with Dave Attell) in 2008.
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