1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:05,840 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, a 3 00:00:09,880 --> 00:00:14,120 Speaker 1: show for those who can never know enough about history. 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,600 Speaker 1: I'm Gay Bluesier and in this episode, we're looking at 5 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:21,439 Speaker 1: the story behind one of the most famous game shows 6 00:00:21,480 --> 00:00:26,440 Speaker 1: in TV history, including the notorious kissing controversy sparked by 7 00:00:26,480 --> 00:00:36,720 Speaker 1: its original hosts. The day was July twelfth, nineteen seventy six. 8 00:00:37,520 --> 00:00:41,080 Speaker 1: The long running TV game show Family Feud aired for 9 00:00:41,120 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: the first time on ABC. It was part of a 10 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:47,800 Speaker 1: game show boom in the mid nineteen seventies, when the 11 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:51,240 Speaker 1: three major networks combined were airing as many as two 12 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:56,000 Speaker 1: dozen different game shows every day. Many of those shows 13 00:00:56,040 --> 00:01:01,360 Speaker 1: were produced by Goodson Todman productions, including Alix Trebek's Doubledare, 14 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,839 Speaker 1: Bob Barker's The Prices Right, and Gene Rayburn's Match Game. 15 00:01:06,959 --> 00:01:09,760 Speaker 1: Family Feud was developed as a spin off of that 16 00:01:09,920 --> 00:01:14,440 Speaker 1: last one, which had premiered on CBS in nineteen seventy three. 17 00:01:14,640 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 1: Match games format tasked contestants with filling in the blank 18 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: in a given sentence in the hopes of matching the 19 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:26,040 Speaker 1: written responses provided by a panel of celebrity guests. One 20 00:01:26,040 --> 00:01:29,760 Speaker 1: of the most frequent and most popular panelists was British 21 00:01:29,840 --> 00:01:33,039 Speaker 1: actor and comedian Richard Dawson, who would later go on 22 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: to host Family Feud. In one of the bonus rounds 23 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,320 Speaker 1: of Match Game, called super Match, the contestant was shown 24 00:01:40,360 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: a short fill in the blank phrase for which the 25 00:01:42,880 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: members of a previous studio audience had provided responses. The 26 00:01:47,480 --> 00:01:50,440 Speaker 1: three most common answers were hidden on the board, and 27 00:01:50,480 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: the contestant had to try to match one of them 28 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,000 Speaker 1: in order to win the corresponding cash prize, with the 29 00:01:56,040 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: most popular response being worth the most money in Team 30 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:05,160 Speaker 1: seventy six. Match Game's success convinced Goodson Todman to develop 31 00:02:05,200 --> 00:02:08,320 Speaker 1: a new game show for ABC based on the super 32 00:02:08,360 --> 00:02:12,520 Speaker 1: Match formula, and because Richard Dawson was popular with viewers 33 00:02:12,720 --> 00:02:15,560 Speaker 1: and already familiar with the concept, he was hired on 34 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,920 Speaker 1: as its host. The premise of Family Feud expanded on 35 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,000 Speaker 1: the audience match format by having two families compete against 36 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 1: each other to guess the most popular responses to a 37 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: survey question posed to one hundred people. The more answers 38 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,200 Speaker 1: a family guest, the more points they earned, with the 39 00:02:34,280 --> 00:02:37,640 Speaker 1: highest scoring family continuing on to a bonus round for 40 00:02:37,720 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: a chance to win ten thousand dollars. Each round began 41 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: with a member from each opposing family facing off for 42 00:02:45,160 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: control of the board by trying to be the first 43 00:02:47,520 --> 00:02:50,320 Speaker 1: to ring in with a correct answer. Here's a clip 44 00:02:50,360 --> 00:02:53,120 Speaker 1: from an early episode with Richard Dawson to show you 45 00:02:53,160 --> 00:02:54,160 Speaker 1: how it all played out. 46 00:02:54,520 --> 00:02:57,440 Speaker 2: One hundred people survey. Top six answers are on the board. 47 00:02:57,480 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 2: You got to try and get the most popular answer. 48 00:03:00,160 --> 00:03:05,280 Speaker 2: Here's the question, name an occasion in their children's lives 49 00:03:06,280 --> 00:03:12,040 Speaker 2: makes parents get sentimental? Marrit they're married? 50 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 1: Why are past? 51 00:03:16,680 --> 00:03:17,480 Speaker 2: We're going to appraise it. 52 00:03:18,080 --> 00:03:21,320 Speaker 1: In the early years of Family Feud, the survey responses 53 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,960 Speaker 1: were provided by volunteers who answered the writer's questions through 54 00:03:24,960 --> 00:03:28,400 Speaker 1: a mailing list, but in later seasons, the surveys were 55 00:03:28,400 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 1: conducted by a polling firm that would call random people 56 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,160 Speaker 1: on the phone and solicit their responses without disclosing what 57 00:03:35,280 --> 00:03:39,920 Speaker 1: exactly they'd be used for. Relatable topical questions were the 58 00:03:39,960 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: standard during Dawson's tenure, but the writers would occasionally slip 59 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,720 Speaker 1: in more risque questions meant to solicit humorous or off 60 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,960 Speaker 1: color responses. That approach became more common as the years 61 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,440 Speaker 1: went by as fans of the current Steve Harvey iteration 62 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:59,360 Speaker 1: of the show are no doubt aware of. Still that's 63 00:03:59,440 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: not the same that Family Feud was completely innocent. In 64 00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:06,360 Speaker 1: its beginnings, Richard Dawson was known for his dry wit 65 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,480 Speaker 1: and sarcasm, but most of all for his pension for 66 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:14,320 Speaker 1: kissing the female contestants, often right on the lips. He 67 00:04:14,440 --> 00:04:18,280 Speaker 1: doled out this greeting to adult women of all ages, races, 68 00:04:18,320 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: and physical appearances, a liberal approach that earned him the 69 00:04:21,839 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: nickname the Kissing Bandit. Dawson's trademark smooches became such an 70 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: established part of the show that a Family Feud production 71 00:04:30,640 --> 00:04:35,200 Speaker 1: assistant was reportedly tasked with performing a mouth check ahead 72 00:04:35,240 --> 00:04:38,960 Speaker 1: of each episode to make sure contestants were free of disease. 73 00:04:40,120 --> 00:04:42,680 Speaker 1: Women had the option to opt out in favor of 74 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:45,480 Speaker 1: a kiss on the cheek or a handshake, but because 75 00:04:45,520 --> 00:04:49,280 Speaker 1: many found Dawson so endearing, they often went along with it. 76 00:04:50,360 --> 00:04:53,760 Speaker 1: Decades later, Richard Dawson claimed to have adopted the kissing 77 00:04:53,800 --> 00:04:56,000 Speaker 1: gesture on the fly as a way to put a 78 00:04:56,040 --> 00:05:00,239 Speaker 1: nervous female contestant at ease. According to him, one day, 79 00:05:00,360 --> 00:05:03,080 Speaker 1: just a few weeks into the show's first season, a 80 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:06,720 Speaker 1: competing family was asked to name a green vegetable, and 81 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:09,920 Speaker 1: as he described, quote, I got to a lady and 82 00:05:09,960 --> 00:05:12,719 Speaker 1: I could see her hands just shaking. So I always 83 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:15,600 Speaker 1: grabbed a hand and said, it's not open heart surgery. 84 00:05:16,200 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: She's still shaking. So I'm going to do something that 85 00:05:18,920 --> 00:05:20,919 Speaker 1: my mom would do to me whenever I had a 86 00:05:20,960 --> 00:05:23,719 Speaker 1: problem of any kind. I kissed her on the cheek 87 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: and I said that's for luck, and she said asparagus. 88 00:05:28,640 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 1: It's like I whispered the answer in her ear, but 89 00:05:31,360 --> 00:05:35,279 Speaker 1: you can see I didn't well intentioned or not. Some 90 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: viewers were understandably uncomfortable with the constant kissing, and ABC's 91 00:05:40,520 --> 00:05:45,200 Speaker 1: Standards and Practices division weren't big fans of it either. Eventually, 92 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,280 Speaker 1: after enough people complained, the show's producers conducted a different 93 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:52,520 Speaker 1: kind of survey, asking viewers to write in whether they 94 00:05:52,520 --> 00:05:56,359 Speaker 1: were four or against the kissing. In a clear sign 95 00:05:56,400 --> 00:06:00,800 Speaker 1: of the times, the response was overwhelmingly positive. According to 96 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:04,960 Speaker 1: producer Howard Felscher, quote, I don't remember the exact totals, 97 00:06:05,120 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: but it was something like fourteen thousand who said kiss 98 00:06:08,839 --> 00:06:11,920 Speaker 1: in three or four hundred who said don't kiss. It 99 00:06:12,000 --> 00:06:16,719 Speaker 1: was that lopsided. Although locking lips with contestants would never 100 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: fly today, it seemed to work out for Richard Dawson. 101 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:24,279 Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty one, he kissed a contestant named Gretchen Johnson, 102 00:06:24,600 --> 00:06:27,040 Speaker 1: and ten years later the two of them wound up 103 00:06:27,040 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: getting married. Family Feud did all right for itself as well. 104 00:06:32,040 --> 00:06:34,080 Speaker 1: The show was a ratings hit right out of the 105 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:38,200 Speaker 1: gate and quickly eclipsed its parent show Match Game and popularity. 106 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:43,000 Speaker 1: Dawson continued to host Family Feud until its cancelation in 107 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:46,920 Speaker 1: nineteen eighty five. Then three years later, the show was 108 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:51,599 Speaker 1: revived by CBS, with comedian Ray Combs taking over hosting duties. 109 00:06:52,279 --> 00:06:55,359 Speaker 1: The show was canceled again in nineteen ninety three, but 110 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:59,240 Speaker 1: was briefly brought back the following year, with Richard Dawson 111 00:06:59,320 --> 00:07:03,800 Speaker 1: returning by popular demand to host a single season. After 112 00:07:03,920 --> 00:07:08,960 Speaker 1: Dawson's swan song, Family Feud ceased production until nineteen ninety nine, 113 00:07:09,200 --> 00:07:13,200 Speaker 1: when it was resurrected yet again, this time seemingly for good. 114 00:07:14,200 --> 00:07:17,440 Speaker 1: Three different actors tried their hand at hosting over the 115 00:07:17,480 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: next decade, Louis Anderson, Richard carn and John O'Hurley. Then, 116 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:26,000 Speaker 1: in twenty ten, comedian Steve Harvey stepped into the role 117 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,720 Speaker 1: and continues to host the show to this day. The 118 00:07:29,800 --> 00:07:33,040 Speaker 1: game of family Feud has remained much the same through 119 00:07:33,080 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: all those different incarnations, but in a wise show of restraint, 120 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:41,280 Speaker 1: every host since Dawson has kept their lips to themselves. 121 00:07:44,880 --> 00:07:47,920 Speaker 1: I'm Gabe Blues Gay and hopefully you now know a 122 00:07:48,040 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: little more about history today than you did yesterday. If 123 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,080 Speaker 1: you'd like to keep up with the show, you can 124 00:07:54,080 --> 00:07:59,320 Speaker 1: follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at TDI HC Show. 125 00:08:00,120 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 1: Have any comments or suggestions, feel free to send them 126 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:07,960 Speaker 1: my way by writing to this Day at iHeartMedia dot com. 127 00:08:08,000 --> 00:08:11,080 Speaker 1: Thanks to Casby Bias for producing the show, and thanks 128 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: to you for listening. I'll see you back here again 129 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,560 Speaker 1: tomorrow for another day in History class.