The Bizarre Life Of ‘Family Feud’ Host Richard Dawson
For those of us born after the '80s, it's hard to imagine Family Feud without Steve Harvey, but before Harvey started hosting the famous game show, Richard Dawson hosted Family Feud from 1976 until 1985. He also hosted one other season in the mid-'90s. Dawson wasn't always a game show host. He was an actor on the show Hogan's Heroes before becoming a Family Feud mainstay.
Dawson didn't always display the most honorable behavior while on the show, especially in regards to female contestants. While at the time nobody paid much attention to Dawson's comments, years later, his misogyny hit a nerve with the American audiences. Keep reading to find out more about Dawson's life, and what happened to him after his stint on Family Feud ended.
He Wanted To Be A Professional Boxer
Our British lad Richard Dawson was born Colin Lionel Emm on Nov. 20, 1932, in Gosport, Hampshire, England. Dawson grew up during the second world war, and he definitely felt the effects of the violence, even in his small town. His family was forced to leave Gosport to escape bombings, and Dawson never finished school because of the war.
Dawson joined the British Merchant Navy when he was just 14 years old. While in the navy, he told his compatriots that he wanted to take up boxing. When he left the Navy, he decided to take up comedy instead. He adopted the stage name"Dickie Dawson."
He Smoked Way Too Much
Dawson had a lot of vices, and smoking was definitely one of them. Although he lived in a time when information about the dangers of smoking wasn't as widely available as it is now, he still smoked a lot, even for the era. At one point, he was going through four packsof cigarettes a day.
Eventually, Dawson quit smoking in 1994 at age 64 with some help and encouragement from his daughter. Even so, Dawson died of esophageal cancer, likely a result of his years of smoking, in 2012.
Making His Mark On America
Family Feud wasn't actually Dawson's first gig in America. Way before he ever entered the game show scene, he played Royal Air Force Cpl. Peter Newkirk on the '60s sitcom Hogan's Heroes. This World War II drama was a perfect fir for Dawson.
Dawson started appearing as a contestant on game shows, and even though he never finished high school, he had a lot of practical knowledge. His cognitive abilities really shone every time he appeared on TV.
The First Host Of His Kind
One thing that Richard Dawson and his producer Howard Felsher are quite proud of with their work on Family Feud was the fact that they've pioneered diversity on national television. They never said "no" to having minority, elder, and handicapped contestants on the show, which was generally unheard of back in those days.
He treated everyone the same, as you've already read, and wasn't afraid to say what was on his mind.
Big Brains And A Big Personality
After his stint on Hogan's Heroes ended, Dawson became part of the celebrity panel game show, Match Game. Audiences loved when Dawson would appear on the show. He was good at completing the fill in the blank puzzles, but he also had a great personality that translated well on television.
Other Match Game panelists included Charles Nelson Reilly and Brett Somers, but Dawson's personality really won people over. He had people all over the country rooting for him to win.
His Reputation As The "Kissing Bandit"
When Family Feud was looking for a host, they thought that Dawson would be a natural fit. He was great at game shows, and audiences loved him. They also thought that William Shatner would be a good fit. Both actors auditioned, but in the end, Dawson got the gig. He hosted the first-ever Family Feud show which aired in 1976.
Audiences started noticing that Dawson was being a little over affectionate with female contestants. He would always try to kiss them, no matter how old they were. His behavior earned him the nickname "the kissing bandit."
Why He Said He Kissed All Those Women
A lot of female contestants appeared on Family Feud, and Dawson pretty much kissed them all (in front of their family members, no less). Clearly, the '70s were a weird time. People didn't seem to have a problem with him kissing over 20,000 women. On the lips. On television.
When asked about his kissing habit, Dawson said, "I kissed them for luck and love, that's all." Sure, Dawson, if you say so. Bill Murray played a creepy game show host inspired by Dawson on SNL.
The Kissing Bandit Didn't Discriminate
Although segregation wasn't really a topic that was being debated by the late '70s, racial tensions were still perceptible in the decade (as they are in this decade, sadly). Dawson didn't discriminate based on skin color when it came to kissing, though. He kissed women of all races, which makes him sort of progressive in a way, but also very very not.
He once recalled in an interview, "When I first came here, Petula Clark was on a show with Nat King Cole and he kissed her on the cheek, and 81 stations in the South canceled him. I kissed black women daily and nightly (on Family Feud) for 11 years and the world didn't come to an end, did it?"
Producers Tried To Rein The Kissing In
Dawson got away with being the kissing bandit for a while, but pretty soon, it started making people uncomfortable, especially when he kissed married women in front of their husbands.
At some point, producers tried to get him to stop kissing the women who came on the show. Dawson thought that they were only being hard on him because some audience members were complaining about him kissing women of color. An unofficial survey was taken, and people overwhelmingly voted to allow Dawson to keep kissing contestants.
A Lot Of Eyes On One Man
It didn't take long for Family Feud to become one of the most-watched shows on television. Americans couldn't get enough of watching two families trying to guess common answers to various survey questions.
When it was at the height of its popularity, over 40 million viewers were tuning into the show each time it aired five times per week. That's a lot of eyes on Dawson. He was a well-liked host and he even won an Emmy in 1978.
Meet Dawson's First Wife
This is a photo of Dawson next to his first wife, English actress Diana Dors. These two got married in the late 1950s, and many people saw her as the British equivalent of Marilyn Monroe. Dawson and Dors had two sons together before divorcing after seven years of marriage.
Dawson was Dors' second husband. Her first husband died a few months before she met Dawson. After she and Dawson divorced, Dors married her third husband a few years later. Sadly, she died of cancer in 1984, and her husband killed himself just five months after her death.
Following His Father's Footsteps
Mark Dawson was born in London and appeared in a few episodes of Family Feud with his father. Mark later became a question writer for The Price Is Right, Concentration, The Better Sex, Match Game, and Family Feud. He was an associate producer on You Bet Your Life in the 1980s.
In addition to other projects, Mark managed the all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens, the cover band Crabby Patty, and the all-female heavy metal band Phantom Blue. He is currently the CEO of Dawson, Reeves and Zutaut Entertainment Group (a.k.a. DRZ Entertainment Group) in Los Angeles.
Some R Rated Parties
One of Dors' favorite pastimes was entertaining her friends. She first started throwing parties while married to her first husband, Dennis Hamilton, and the tradition continued throughout her life until just a few months before her death at age 53. She often invited celebrities and young starlets, who indulged heavily in alcohol and drugs.
The parties involved some X-rated action that was recorded on film. Dors' house was allegedly hooked up to a variety of 8 mm movie cameras. She reportedly kept the films for her own personal enjoyment.
His Second Wife Was A Contestant That He Kissed
All that kissing must have paid off. Dawson met his second wife, Gretchen Johnson, when she appeared on an episode in May 1981 as a contestant. The couple tied the knot in 1991 after their daughter, Shannon Nicole Dawson, was born the year prior. A moment from Dawson's Family Feud hosting duties made the number-two spot on Game Show Network's top 25 Feud moments.
The episode involved Dawson announcing the birth of his daughter and showing off her picture as he greeted a contestant. The contestant had also been on the show Match Game in which years earlier Dawson was a panelist.
The Real Reason He Did All That Kissing
The Kissing Bandit had to start somewhere. Dawson recalled to The Washington Post in 1978 that it all started a few weeks into the show. "I got to the end of the line and here was the rather darling lady about 50 or so and she was so nervous, she was a basket case. She didn't want to let her family down but she had no idea at all what to saw and I said, 'I'll do what my mom used to do,' and I kissed her on the cheek, and she gave an answer and it was there on the board," he said.
"Then I went over to the other family and a woman said, 'Don't I get a kiss, too?' and after that there was no stopping it."
How Many People Did He Kiss?
For all the women that Richard Dawson has kissed on Family Feud, you would think that he ought to have eventually caught something from one of them. It is estimated that Dawson kissed up to 20,000 women as the host of the show and not once was he afraid to catch something like herpes.
"That has never crossed my mind," he told The Durant Daily Democrat in 1984. An associate added, "He makes two million a year, and two million buys a lot of salve."
No More Kissing After The '80s
Dawson was 49 and his future bride was just 24 years old when they met on Family Feud. Dawson ended up smooching his future wife four times on the lips in that single episode. He later recalled that he felt a spark between them. She gave him her number, but she didn't answer the phone when he called.
He later found out she had wisdom tooth surgery. A few weeks later he cooked her dinner, and a love connection was made. He later gave up kissing contestants when he returned to the show in the '90s out of respect for his daughter. He said, "I can't kiss any of the ladies because I promised my daughter I would only kiss Mom."
Always A Bad Boy
As you've already read, Dawson wasn't afraid to speak his mind on live television. At certain points it would get him into hot water with the network but he refused to back down. When a sponsor for Family Feud threatened to back out after Dawson's remarks about Richard Nixon, ABC execs told him to stop. Instead, Dawson went on the air the next day addressing the unnamed company, telling them that if they didn't like his Nixon jokes then they could take their business elsewhere.
When ABC threatened to edit out his remark, Dawson threatened to quit. In the end, Dawson got his way.
He Almost Took Over For Johnny Carson
In the late '70s, Dawson frequently appeared on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. At one point, Dawson was considered as a replacement for Carson when the late-night host briefly thought about retiring. Dawson did guest host a couple of times, including an episode in which guest Della Reese suffered a near-fatal aneurysm during the interview.
Dawson wasn't shy about expressing his opinions and used his celebrity power to let people know how he felt. At one point, he slammed Henry Kissinger about the Vietnam War. He was also known to take shots at President Richard Nixon.
A Brief Comeback
By the mid-'90s, Ray Combs was hosting Family Feud, but the show's ratings were increasingly getting lower and lower. Dawson rejoined the program in 1994 in order to give it a ratings boost. He was only there for one season before it was canceled in 1995 (and before it was resurrected again several years later).
That was when Dawson officially retired from Family Feud for good. He turned down an offer to make a special appearance on the series in 1999 when it once again went back on the air.
Connecting With The Families
Dawson was known for wearing a flower on his lapel and for his clever remarks when engaging with the contestants. During a 2010 Archive of American Television interview he noted that he always wanted to encourage the players. When they gave an answer, he would yell, "Survey says ..." as the contestants and viewers waited to see if the answer appeared on the board.
"The thing that I loved about Feud, we froze a moment in time for these families that had never occurred before," he explained, adding the game show would then give the families videotapes of the program. "That's magic," he said.
He LIked The Old Game Shows Best
During a 2010 interview, Dawson (pictured here in Running Man) said of today's crop of game shows: "I don't find any soul in those shows. I'm not being noble." He also mocked himself, saying, "What a grouch. He's turned into a grouch."
When asked how he would like to be remembered, he said, "That I did care. Probably not as much as I should. It's easy to duck out of things, but lots of things touch me and I try to help some people ... that I was kind, and I was a nice person. You wouldn't want to move if you sat next to me on the bus. Or maybe you would."
Leaving The Show Behind
When Richard Dawson filmed his final episode of Family Feud the live studio audience gave him a standing ovation, and he was overwhelmed by the attention. He said, "Please sit down. I have to do at least 30 minutes of fun and laughter and you make me want to cry."
He jokingly added, "I've had the most incredible luck in my career. I never dreamed I would have a job in which so many people could touch me and I could touch them." The show is still on the air today with Steve Harvey as the host.
He Co-Starred With Arnold Schwarzenegger
Just a couple years after Dawson's initial iteration of Family Feud went off the air, he once again put on his game show hat in a big-screen movie alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger. In the 1987 film The Running Man, Dawson played the host of a TV show set in the future in which convicts are the contestants and try to escape from being killed.
The movie was loosely based on the 1982 novel of the same title written by Stephen King. Critics enjoyed Dawson's acting, and Roger Ebert praised his performance, stating that Dawson "has at last found the role he was born to play."
Contestants Under Pressure
Part of Dawson's joy as the host of Family Feud was hearing all the insane answers that families would give under pressure. Sometimes he just couldn't contain themselves when an answer was so unequivocally absurd. In one game, he asked contestants to name an animal with three letters in its name.
One man said "frog" which sent Dawson bursting into laughter. When the brother was asked, he responded with "alligator." "They sent me silver tie clips later. One sent me a frog and one sent me an alligator," Dawson recalled.
He Had Fun With His Job
Dawson was known for the banter he kept up with contestants, which many considered snarky at times. But this was something that Dawson would never change, despite suggestions to be charming like Bob Barker and other hosts.
"I'll do sarcastic lines just to make the contestants angry enough so they'll forget they're on television and say, 'I'll show this (so-and-so),' and come up with an answer," Dawson once recalled. Dawson never felt the need to baby his contestants and it almost always worked.
He Wasn't A Very Sentimental Guy
Richard Dawson was obviously one of the cheekiest game show hosts around, kissing his contestants, giving them snark, but still managing to get everyone to love him anyway. Of course, the attitude was all for the show since Dawson ostensibly appreciated all his contestants that were fans of his. But that didn't mean he was very sentimental.
When asked by The Washington Post how he kept from feeling sorry for the losers of the show, he had the perfect response: "I don't."
He Boosted People's Confidence
Dawson was known for his sarcasm towards his contestants but as it would turn out, there was a method to his madness. Speaking to EmmyTVLEgends, he said, "Everything about the show fit perfectly for me or how I think... Usually, I saw 'good answer,' in a sarcastic way. 'Name a vegetable you have to peel to eat.' They'd say grape, and I'd say 'good answer.'"
"Or if I say, 'the dictator we found against in World War II'—they'd say Otto Preminger and I'd say 'the Otto Preminger?' I'd talk to them like they had made sense."
His Role In The Running Man
If you've ever seen 1987's The Running Man, then you've seen Richard Dawson in it. Dawson plays game show host Damon Killian and the role obviously wasn't far off from what he did in real life. But what was supposed to be a supporting role that moved the plot along started growing into something more.
According to screenwriter Steven de Souza, Dawson began entertaining bored extras on set by calling them up to the stage and asking them questions, just like he did on Family Feud. Dawson would ad-lib so much that they eventually had to tell lead actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to knock out a guard and take a machine gun to get the script back on track.
Does This Look Like The Face Of A "Far-Out LIberal?"
Because of his unabashed political opinions, Richard Dawson was labeled a "far-out liberal" early on in his career. He allegedly marched for civil rights in Selma and was anti-Communism.
"You tell the midwestern housewife that for the good of the state she'll have to give up her washing machine... and her electric conveniences and take to scrubbing clothes against a rock in a stream and she will have none of it. No one is going to take away her washing machine, least of all for the good of the state," he once said in a 1973 interview.
Making It Work
Dawson's first taste of the lime light came after his brother bet him a month's wages that he would never make it on a stage. While working as a waiter in his youth, Dawson decided to try out for the juvenile lead in a play at a local theater.
He almost gave up when he found that you needed prepared material to audition but instead he still decided to give it a shot. He used phony Shakespearean quotes that he made up on the spot for his audition and ended up landing the part!
A Little Fib Got Him A Long Way
After acting on the Isle of Wight for two seasons, he decided to up the ante with his newfound show business career. He forayed into comedy by writing a letter to a talent booking agency in London. The letter lied, saying that he was a Canadian comic on vacation who was looking for a few weeks of work.
Fortunately, the agency fell for Dawson's letter and hired him. The following year, he was already doing shows at the Palladium.
He Stayed Up Late And Loved To Read
According to an interview with the Daytona Beach Morning Journal from 1979, Richard Dawson was an avid reader and a night owl. He said that he is at his happiest when the sun is setting and likes to stay up late. He didn't fall asleep easily at any time of the day.
What did he do when he was up into the wee hours of the night? He often stayed up writing or reading and is said to have read five books a week.
Rising His Way Up From The Bottom
Coming from a poor background, Richard Dawson knew how it was to work his way up through ranks from the very bottom. When he joined the Merchant Marines at 14, he started out as a laundry boy. He kept working harder and harder until he became a waiter. On the side, he'd box his shipmates for cash, which is how he got into boxing.
When he transferred to a posher ship, he paid the host to make sure he'd get to wait on the high tipping tables. "I'm a street fighter and a hustler," Dawson said.
A Good Sense Of Humor
Richard Dawson didn't become a U.S. citizen until the mid-'80s. But even before he applied to emigrate to the United States from England, he still had to fill out a questionnaire so that he could be approved to travel to America according to a 1973 article in The Phoenix.
One of the questions was, "Do you intend to overthrow the U.S. Government?" Dawson wrote in response, "Sole purpose of visit." He was then called before emigration officials who asked, "Was this meant as a joke?" Dawson responded, "Was the original question meant as a joke?"
He Became A U.S. Citizen
Even though he eventually became a U.S. citizen, he had some trouble getting the ball rolling on his citizenship at first. Even though he was involved in U.S. politics and society throughout much of his career, Dawson felt that he couldn't handle all the responsibilities that came with the privilege of voting.
For one, becoming a citizen meant swearing his willingness to defend the nation's security and causes. The Vietnam War was going on at the time and Dawson was against the U.S.'s involvement. "I figure it's better for the country to have an honest alien than a dishonest citizen. We have enough trouble already," he told The Phoenix.
He Encouraged Americans To Treasure Their Rights
Even though Richard Dawson had his own doubts about officially becoming a U.S. citizen, he still considered it a very great privilege. That's why whenever he saw someone who didn't exercise their American rights to their full abilities, he was often disappointed.
"You don't fully realize what opportunity you have here in America. You can follow any religious teaching – any political philosophy you like," he told The Phoenix in 1973.
He Loved Democracy
Another thing that Richard Dawson found so great about America was the fiber of Western democracy. He believed that the United States stood for something great and supported its people, which is why he wanted Americans to appreciate what they have.
Dawson said of democracy: "It is strong enough to stand up against communism any day. The population would not put up with communism." His strong political beliefs are ostensibly why he eventually decided to finally become a citizen later on.
He Was His Kids' Primary Guardian
After Richard Dawson and Diana Dors divorced, their sons Mark and Gary stayed back in Beverly Hills with their father when Dors moved back to England to remarry.
"The boys knew how desperately I needed them around to keep me in line... And having kids around is the greatest! No matter how unhappy or depressed you are, they'll make it better. Suddenly, for no apparent reason, they'll throw their arms around you and give you a hug and anything that's bothering you disappears," he once said.
A Real Pool Shark
One of Richard Dawson's hobbies back in the day was shooting pool. In 1966, he told Eugene Register Guard that he converted one of the five bedrooms at his estate into a pool room. He acquired an antique pool table from actor Tommy Noonan and had since spent many of his days shooting pool.
Of course, he quipped that he would spend hours shooting pool but not hustling his friends. We're sure that was a bit of a white lie on his part.
