Chuck Barris Is Dead

ORIGIN
Chuck Barris was an American game show host, TV producer, songwriter, and author. He created the game shows ‘The Dating Game’, ‘The Newlywed Game’ and hosted ‘The Gong Show’. His autobiography ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’ was adopted into a 2002 film directed by George Clooney. Charles Hirsch Barris was born on June 3, 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were Edith and Nathaniel. He was a 1953 graduate of Drexel University.

CAREER
Barris began his television career with NBC in the early 1960s. He got laid off for a year before landing a gig at ABC. There he worked backstage on the music-performance show, American Bandstand. He worked alongside Dick Clark and before long was offered a full-time job in daytime television. Barris launched his own production company, Chuck Barris Productions, in 1965. He created ‘The Dating Game’ and sold the pilot to ABC. The show was hosted by Jim Lange and it ran on ABC from 1965 to 1973.

Barris followed up with the game show ‘The Newlywed Game’ in 1966. It featured newlywed couples facing off against each other to see how well they know their mates. Other shows include ‘The Family Game’, ‘How’s Your Mother-in-Law?’ and ‘The Parent Game’. In 1976, Barris produced and hosted ‘The Gong Show’ on NBC. The show ran from June 1976 to September 1989 for a total of 501 episodes.

In addition to television, Barris was a songwriter and author. He was best known for the 1962 single “Palisades Park”. It was recorded and performed by rock and roll singer Freddy Cannon. Other notable songs include “Summertime Guy” for Eddie Rambeau, and “Love Sickness” for Milton DeLugg. Barris’ first book ‘You and Me Babe’ was published in 1974. His 1984 autobiography ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’ was adopted into a 2002 film starring Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts, and Drew Barrymore. It also marked the directorial debut for actor George Clooney. Barris’ other publications include The Game Show King (1993), Bad Grass Never Dies (2004), and Della: A Memoir of My Daughter (2010).

PERSONAL
Chuck Barris died on March 21, 2017, at the age of 87. He died of natural causes at his home in Palisades, New York. Barris had an estimated net worth of $150 million. He was married to his first wife ‘Lyn Levy’ from 1957 to 1976. They had a daughter named Della who died from a drug overdose in 1998. Barris’ second wife was ‘Robin Altman’. They were together from 1980 to 1999. He was married to his third wife ‘Mary Clagett’ from 2000 until his death in 2017.

Chuck Barris Bio, Net Worth, Height