Chuck Barris

Creator

Chuck Barris

Born — Died

1929-06-03 — 2017-03-21

Place of birth

Palisades, New York, USA

Known for

Creator

Credits

12 titles

Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host. He was best known for hosting The Gong Show and creating The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. He was also a songwriter who wrote "Palisades Park", recorded by Freddy Cannon and also recorded by Ramones. He also wrote or co-wrote some of the music that appeared on his game shows. He wrote an autobiography titled Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which was made into the film of the same title starring Sam Rockwell and directed by George Clooney. He formed his production company, Chuck Barris Productions, on June 14, 1965. His first success came in 1965 with The Dating Game, which aire…

Known for

Late Show with David Letterman poster
6.5

David Letterman uses mature humor to appeal to his audience in this weeknight series, which gets its music from a house band led by Paul Shaffer. Among the show's most-famous segments are the Top Ten List and Stupid Pet Tricks, the latter of which subsequently led to an additional recurring segment called Stupid Human Tricks.

Late Show with David Letterman

1993

Late Night with Conan O'Brien poster
7.3

Stepping into the late-late slot vacated by David Letterman, Conan O'Brien stars in a show that far outdoes its competition in sheer strangeness. Along with the celebrity interviews and musical numbers typical of late-night talk shows, this program make frequent use of odd walk-on characters and frequent "visits" from celebrity guests.

Late Night with Conan O'Brien

1993

Sanford and Son poster
7.5

The misadventures of a cantankerous junk dealer and his frustrated son.

Sanford and Son

1972

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind poster
6.7

Television made him famous, but his biggest hits happened off screen. Television producer by day, CIA assassin by night, Chuck Barris was recruited by the CIA at the height of his TV career and trained to become a covert operative. Or so Barris said.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

2002

The Gong Show poster
6.7

The Gong Show is an amateur talent contest franchised by Sony Pictures Television to many countries. It was broadcast on NBC's daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978, and in first-run syndication from 1976 to 1980 and 1988 to 1989. The show was produced by Chuck Barris, who also served as host for the NBC run and from 1977 to 1980 in syndication. The show is best remembered for its absurdist humor and style, often awarding participants ridiculous and worthless prizes.

The Gong Show

1976

Hugo Pool poster
5.3

Hugo Pool is a quirky tale of a Los Angeles pool cleaner who falls in love with a young man dying of Lou Gerhig's Disease.

Hugo Pool

1997

Film credits

Series credits

Behind the camera