Gene? Gene! The dancing machine stopped!

[P-man]

@Spoke

The unknown comic?

I just got an apartment over a bank, an now my assets over a million dollars! (pronounced “ass sets”)

This is my impression of the first man to land on the sun. [High-stepping painfully…] “OOH! OW! OOH! OW!”

I still do the first man to land on the sun impression occasionally.

[Maserschmidt]

I have no idea why my parents let me watch The Gong Show, but god bless 'em for doing so.

RIP Gene.

[Skywatcher]

@AtomicDog

I lived through the 70’s, and it still amazes me with what they got away with on TV.

I feel so nostalgic.

What’s really funny is that Chuckie-baby intended for the censors to not allow them on TV. The censors picked a different contestant to keep off the air, much to everyone’s surprise.

[Hail_Ants]

@terentii

Ah, but the late Garry Owen was the original host! I’ve always heard that the decision to replace him was taken by Chuck himself, since he really, really wanted to do it.

@That_Don_Guy

Gary Owens (best known as the announcer on Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In) was the host of the weekly syndicated version (with the $712.05 prize instead of $516.32) for the first season before Barris took over (and the prize raised to $716.32). Barris was the only host of the NBC version, as far as I know.

Along with Owens as the nighttime host, the original host for the unaired pilot for the daytime version was TV personality John Barbour, most famous for later being a host of the (godawful) 70s show Real People. Barris correctly pointed out that he was all wrong because he simply didn’t ‘get it’. Barbour treated it as though it was a genuine, county fair-like, amateur talent contest, not a proto-hipster ‘laughing-at-them-not-with-them’ comedy show. Barris’ people finally told him the only way the show would work was if he hosted it himself.

[MsJinx]

@Dendarii_Dame

I used to get up and dance along with Gene, Gene, too. IIRC, on at least one episode, various family members of his came out and danced with him.

Anybody remember The Unknown Comic?

He was a great inspiration for Halloween costumes in the day. One of my friends added a second small sandwich bag out of his pants’ fly.

[Hail_Ants]

@Robot_Arm

That’s the saddest thing I’ve ever seen; Chuck Barris getting rich off producing the show, and poor Gene can’t even afford a change of clothes.

I’m not sure if you’re being serious or not. Given the nature of his schticky ‘act’ he would of course always had to have worn the exact same outfit whenever he performed it on camera. And I’m sure he got paid union scale for each performance.

[PlainJain]

@Johnny_L.A

I thought I’d heard he’d died several years ago. Must’ve been someone else.

Same here. I do remember that he had to have his feet amputated at some point (diabetes related). I always thought that ironic given his fame as a dancer. Loved him!

Unknown Comic? Do you like sex? Do you like to travel? Then take a fucking hike!

[Snowboarder_Bo]

@Hail_Ants

I’m not sure if you’re being serious or not. Given the nature of his schticky ‘act’ he would of course always had to have worn the exact same outfit whenever he performed it on camera. And I’m sure he got paid union scale for each performance.

Aye, Gene was most likely double dipping on those occasions. Gene Patton was a fellow IATSE member; he retired in 1997. Mr. Barris saw him dancing his little dance during rehearsals and loved it and stuck him in front of the cameras one night to eat up some time. Mr. Patton got his AFTRA membership from that and enjoyed many subsequent appearances, AFAIK getting paid twice each time.

[Robot_Arm]

@Hail_Ants

I’m not sure if you’re being serious or not. Given the nature of his schticky ‘act’ he would of course always had to have worn the exact same outfit whenever he performed it on camera. And I’m sure he got paid union scale for each performance.

It’s not like it was some identifiable costume or anything, just a green sweat jacket over a yellow shirt. It looks like they just put him out there in whatever he happened to be wearing that day, but there’s no reason for it to be the same whatever each time.

And my mistake, the pants were different in the first clip.

[Gatopescado]

RE: The Gong Show

“Cocaine is a Hellava Drug!”

-Rick James, Bitch!

[terentii]

@PlainJain

Unknown Comic? Do you like sex? Do you like to travel? Then take a fucking hike!

Lissen, people! We all oughtta get together! White people, black people, yellow people, red people! We all oughtta get together and gang up on the Greeks!

[Annie-Xmas]

I once had a poster of the Unknown Comic nude. With two bags. Everyone who saw it fell down laughing.

[BMalion]

He will be missed.

[cmkeller]

For all you Gong Show fans, if you live in the New York area or are planning a visit, there’s an off-Broadway show of The Gong Show Live, which is absolutely hilarious.

RIP Gene.

[outlierrn]

@Spoke

The unknown comic?

I just got an apartment over a bank, an now my assets over a million dollars! (pronounced “ass sets”)

This is my impression of the first man to land on the sun. [High-stepping painfully…] “OOH! OW! OOH! OW!”

Huh, I would have sworn I saw Richard Prior do that.

[MikeF]

Chuck, Milton Da Lug, Gene Gene, the Unknown Comic, Stella Bella, Jaye P. Morgan…ahhh, the smoke clouded memories of EVERY day after class my sophomore year of college.

[astro]

So sad I did love Gene so.