'Gong Show' creator Chuck Barris dies at 87 [View all]
Source: ABC News
Chuck Barris, whose game show empire included "The Dating Game," ''The Newlywed Game" and that infamous factory of cheese, "The Gong Show," died at 87.
Barris died of natural causes Tuesday afternoon at his home in Palisades, New York, according to publicist Paul Shefrin, who announced the death on behalf of Barris' family.
Barris made game show history right off the bat, in 1966, with "The Dating Game," hosted by Jim Lange. The gimmick: a young female questions three males, hidden from her view, to determine which would be the best date. Sometimes the process was switched, with a male questioning three females. But in all cases the questions were designed by the show's writers to elicit sexy answers.
Celebrities and future celebrities who appeared as contestants included Michael Jackson, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Steve Martin and a pre-"Charlie's Angels" Farrah Fawcett, introduced as "an accomplished artist and sculptress" with a dream to open her own gallery.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/gong-show-creator-chuck-barris-dies-87-46292682
FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2002 file photo, Chuck Barris, the man behind TV's "The Dating Game," poses in the lobby of his apartment in New York. Game show impresario Barris has died at 87. Barris, the madcap producer of "The Gong Show" and "The Dating Game," died of natural causes Tuesday afternoon, March 21, 2017, at his home in Palisades, New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews, File)
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