Real People

[librarybobl]

Hadn't thought of this in 25+ years until I saw Sarah Purcell on an old Match Game. That tune all came back.

[Sigdriffa]

From time to time I find myself humming the theme music from this show.

[Beachbumdreaming73]

Whenever I'm stressed and someone asks me where they should put something, I ask them if they know the story about the angel and the Christmas Tree. One of my favorite episodes, it was xmas time and they told this story at the closing!!! So funny!

[jillzi7]

seems like it was probably a precursor to the funniest home videos..i remember this show...i was about 16..ahh the 80s were great

[hankaaron1961]

Anyone here ever see the movie "Network" (1975)? The intro to "The Howard Beale Show" is very similar to this.

[WVMMRH]

@xyling,i don't know if you noticed ,but tv is still white white white and white..thank goodness..check out the fall season every year..white always dominates..that's just how it is and always will be..this is why artists like pink and lady gaga and others like them are selling better than the artists that do that rap crap..white will always dominate..oh well..back to my tv programs.

[Lupton2000]

This is from the 1982-83 season. John Barbour had left before this one and Fred Willard left after this.

Does anyone remember the name of the song and what year it was done? I remember that song appeared in a 1975 episode of SNL in an Albert Brooks film.

[akamissrubytuesday]

I remember this show... & being one of the people Skip did a segment about... "Mud Wrestlers Are Women Who Get Down & Dirty!" - RIP Skip Stevenson .

[SecurityKevStyle]

keep the videos coming mate. check out me and let me know what you think. thankssss its all realllllllll

[ReeseMac]

The best part of Real People was the banter between Skip Stevenson and Sarah Purcell. Particularly when he'd flirt with her and she'd shoot him down. It was easy to imagine them as a couple.

[xyling]

White, white, white, and white...the 1980's looked like the 1950's, in retrospect. I know they added Byron Russell later, right?

[ReeseMac]

@xyling ...Byron Allen , Mr. Equal Rights

[pcmcguire18504]

@xyling Yawn (fart).

[jewelsthomas]

Look for the episode where the man had multiple wives and around 72 kids.

[GhostHostAnth]

This was a great show, but I preferred _That's Incredible!_ to this one.

[lucky44124]

larry the cable guy is ripping off this show concept right now on the history channel.

[Wild1995]

As a kid in the 80s we would all gather our friends to watch this show. We had no internet, or video games. Today, this show would never work. It makes me laugh now because non of this is eventful or anything anyone would care about.

FUNNY

[007jamesbond303]

weird



[TheSaturdayNightShow]

Very cool to see this again! Love the nostalgia! Thanks for posting!

[RescueTip]

I just searched and found more of this Real People episode with King Kong and Fred Willard. Missed that show but great to find it again.

[writerpatrick]

This was YouTube's predecessor.

[TheSpatzik]

Just saw myself with Fred Willard on the King Kong segment. OMG.

[yappertrap]

i thought skip stephenson was the coolest

[dennyreno]

If you have complete series email me at matrixreno@yahoo.com. Dennis

[pullbackbaby]

the first reality show? The beginning of some funny shows! I was 8 when this came out! Thanks! I remember an episode where people in a mountain biker bar stabbed themselves in the leg for "fun". Please upload that segment if possible.

[Smithfilmproductions]

I used to watch this all the time

[dmenace4life]

Do u have the footage with a chimp named Cedo?

[jessi1971]

OMG I use to love to watch this show!

[charles71a]

good guess

[Jannghi]

I remember this. I believe it was the lead-in to "The Facts of Life."

[shmuli9]

Oh Gawd, I used to watch this show. Wasn't this REALLY REALLY popular?

[mralmeister1]

@shmuli9 yes about 79 or 80....

[gtrgdss]

My dad was on there a few times - I still remember the day we got our Real People T shirts. :)

[jewelsthomas]

I always remember the family from Australia with one husband and 7 wifes (not married ) and over 70 kids. They were hippies promoting an alternative lifestyle. I think it's funny that people are shocked this lifestyle exist now a days with shows like Sister wives and Big love when I knew at a young age because of this show (Real people) that it exist. I feel educated by this show.

[charles71a]

Wednesday nights at 7. I remember it well.

[Jannghi]

@charles71a 7PM? You must live in the Central or the Mountain time zone?

[charles71a]

Wednesday nights at 7. I remember it well

[younghoss]

Anybody have closing credits? I used to know a guy that worked on the show.

I remember he helped on "The girl who strips for God"

Anyway, I'd like to see if his name is there..........

[alnilam66]

skip almost looks like kevin bacon

[atworkstation]

Skip Stephenson would've been 71 this year. Skip died in 1992 of a heart attack at the age of 52.

[waterfordjim]

@atworkstation Good. he was such a douche-bag. Where is he buried? I want to masturbate on his grave. :-)

[atworkstation]

@waterfordjim I wish I knew. lol.

[yourdickis2limp]

@waterfordjim did you know that Sarah Purcell said that Skip Stevenson could actualy perform felatio on himself?

[hanbone76]

This was the reality tv before "reality tv".

[1NX9]

I wish they put the series on DVD.

[atworkstation]

@1NX9 I agree. That was reality back in the day.

[alaskalograft]

That was me on the dogsled. Cool to run across this after all these years. A footnote that the real people didn't know about when I went on the show...I was on weekend leave from jail in Alaska. Busted for selling polar bear hides to the usfws! I was way ahead of the curve on the global warming thing and knew they'd all be going extinct anyway. Actually there are more polar bears now that ever but... the show was fun. And Sarah...hot.

[alaskalograft]

That was me on the dogsled. Cool to run across this after all these years. A footnote that the real people didn't know about when I went on the show...I was on weekend leave from jail in Alaska. Busted for selling polar bear hides to the usfws! I was way ahead of the curve on the global warming thing and knew they'd all be going extinct anyway. Actually there are more polar bears now that ever but... the show was fun.

[Arnabas315]

Iremember them once doing a story on tanning (maybe tanning beds...) Sarah commented on how nice those golden brown tans were. Skip replied "The tans are nice, but I prefer the white parts". I look back in amazement that he was able to get away with that at the time.

[ghrankenstein]

I remember how much I used to love this show, and my mom trying to get me not to watch it, not because of the content, but because she thought it was stupid! I remember the man that lived in the tree house, the man who ate dirt, Wrong Way Wooten, the man that built his own space ship, and the Belly Buckers.

[DGibble]

Wasn't Byron Allen on this show?!

[TheMagnificentMelvin]

Skip was always drooling over Sarah! I used to think he was gonna chloroform her on set and carry her off over his shoulder!!

[annegiep]

I so loved this show when I was a child!

[WizardGlik]

No Byron Allen = NO Real People!

[Nickthestorekeeper]

I always thought Skip looked like Luke Skywalker.

[TheXtro101]

I remember watching this show when I was a kid back 30 years ago.Now,there's shows similar like this in the last 10 years..."America's got talent,American Idol,Amazing Race,Survivor,Flavor Flav looking for Love,the Bachelor" and many more reality shows having a cameraman follow you around(I know,I was just kidding).

[Snufferson]

I read Skip Stevenson couldn't have an orgasm unless his partner punched him in the face.

[kb8doa]

Wow! - this was REAL TV.

Too bad nothing like this could be done today.

Goes to show, how much the country has changed.

If you really think about it, this was out but of 80's kinda You Tube...

[BI30]

I remember a frequent "celebrity" profiled on the show: an overweight "superhero" that called himself "Capt. Sticky", with a bazooka that launched Twinkies.

Chances of something like that on TV today? Zero. :(

[GTBurns48215]

Boy does this take me back.

[Marckymarc71]

1979-80--I was in the 4th grade. Real people and the Dukes of Hazzard were by far the two most popular shows of the day for us. And of course we all had a crush on Sarah.

[marcusedell]

I remember that very well, I was in 2nd grade at that time..

[123456789mischief]

@Marckymarc71 you got the part about a crush on sarah right.

[cliffyknight]

@Marckymarc71 hell yes. tje purple lady lives by me

[tine214]

@Marckymarc71 Man who never had a crush on Sarah??? LOL. Two segments stand out from my memory of this show: Men w/ Beer Bellies who wrestled each other WITH THEIR BELLIES. And a middle aged guy in Toronto I think who seemed to argue/ swear at people with no cause...LOL

[tine214]

@Marckymarc71 Man who never had a crush on Sarah??? LOL. Two segments stand out from my memory of this show: Men w/ Beer Bellies who wrestled each other WITH THEIR BELLIES. And a middle aged guy in Toronto I think who seemed to argue/ swear at people with no cause...LOL. And another guy who put on a Richard Nixon mask impersonating him on a busy street.

[marty3888]

great show. Sarah was my favorite. I remember when they showed dr. Demento.

[marioTmaggot]

I used to love watching Real People. What 80's kid didn't?

[atworkstation]

@marioTmaggot They should need to release the series on DVD.

[highheadjester]

@marioTmaggot LOLOL thats why Im here! :)  I was gonna look up Candid Camera after this :)

[kc6cfb]

Skip Stephenson did not die from auto erotic asphyxiation, he died of a heart attack.

[Thx1138d]

Skip Stephenson died?, That is too bad. I enjoyed watching him on "Real People."

[TheCMoneyPlaya]

does anyone remember the halloween ghost show they did? I think it was really eerie, but I was a kid at the time.

[CRAZE1247]

i remember this show!!! did the anouncer say that the dog was a homo???

[BI30]

Dog's name" "Hobo".

[abombinreverse]

this is one of the few television shows that me and my dad used to enjoy!

I remember seeing Tiger Woods on real people!

[beckyboolou]

Awesome!! Wow, what a blast from the past. So much fun. Thanks for posting!

[mkl62]

10-8-2009. She's havin' fun at 61. Happy Birthday, Sarah.

[morgan8757]

I was shocked to find out that skip stephenson died back in 1992

[ImeldaDavies]

Shit thats sad he was my favourite on the show.

[metcalfphotography]

Man did I love Sarah Purcell. Just googled her and she is still hot!

[craftruth2009]

NBC's "Fake people" and ABC's "that's incredible shit!" BAD 80s TV at it's worst. Let's forget all this shit and move the fuck on. Youtube is not the place for this.

[dscottkerr]

your grounded from the computer! back in the corner young man!

[ShermansAlley]

Anyone know the name of this theme song, and where I can find it?

It was not written for 'Real People.' It was used in an Albert Brooks short film ("The Impossible Truth") that aired on SNL in 1975, and probably existed before that. It's probably some documentary music from a production music library. But I've always liked it. Any help is appreciated.

[cupofsoda]

sara was hot

[Diskoboy1974]

This show took a nosedive in quality after Skip Stephenson was canned for his drug use.

The chemistry between Purcell and Stephenson was flawless. Byron Allen was the worst idea for a replacement, ever.

[mlrobins2]

Fred Willard looks the same then as he does now! DAMN

[skweemkween]

Holy F*ck I miss this show! WHY is it not available on DVD yet?

[saiberunato]

Brings back some fond memories. This was one of my favorite childhood shows. I haven't seen that opening sequence in decades.

[popeboyy]

you know, if they brought this back today... it would be the top show 'cause it was the first reality show basically.

[manofmanyinterests]

Not really, popeboyy....the first "reality show" came years earlier....Candid Camera

[freakshowmonkey]

The first "reality show" in the modern sense was AN AMERICAN FAMILY, shown on PBS in 1973. While CANDID CAMERA came to TV in 1948, I would classify it in the subgenre of "Hidden Camera" show, with shows like PUNK'D, BLOOPERS AND PRACTICAL JOKES, and so on. We always referred to shows like REAL PEOPLE, THAT'S INCREDIBLE, RIPLEY'S, et all, as "Magazine Shows". You get a bit story about a person with a talent and you move on to the next. It's all semantics, really. Depends on how you look at it

[buttheadsexy]

I used to love this show! Had the biggest crush on Sarah Purcell

[darkpoet25]

I know what you mean. I grew up with this, That's Incredible, Solid Gold, and Puttin' On the Hits. Lol, damn that shows my age!

[zoetropez]

Skip Stephenson was a stud.

[eksortso]

That theme song is awesome. Not quite "Monday Night Football" but still good enough to recall 30 years later.

[mooky9669]

this is classic!! I watched this as a kid.

[agenttorpor]

They blew the show's production budget on that cutting-edge, swooping animation technique for the hosts' credits - as a result, Sarah Purcell had to style herself courtesy of Dress Barn.

[ou812rh]

Fran retired, skip died about 6 yrs ago, Cathy did a few commercials ,Fred went to do the Rosanne show,The other 2? dont know.

[MichaelDHam]

Sarah Purcell is very much alive as my brother saw her personally at her brothers home next door to me.

[BootPatrol]

From what I remember, Skip Stephenson passed away in 1992.

Fred and Sarah did some Yellow Pages a few years back.

I still love this show, and I hope it returns someday.

[MrMojoRisinII]

Rumor has it Skip Stephenson was murdered by two midget hookers in Mexico..

[grandplans]

OMG!! I watched this as a kid. I think I was maybe 10 years old.

[opossumland5]

skip stevenson ate a turd on one show.

[chax1971]

Skip died from the glare of those tacky v-neck sweaters he wore.

[ajbalfour]

First time I've seen this program since it originally aired on NBC. Does anybody know what cable channel this was dubbed from?

Also, for many years I've wondered what the title of the theme song is. Saturday Night Live used the same recording in a parody they did early in SNL's run. I think it's possibly a Sousa march, but I'm not sure. Anybody here know?

[cbsfm101]

From what I remember, it had to be taped off a network called Eye-On-People, later Discovery People. I don't know if that network's still around anymore.

[tacomadavid68]

Was there a guy on this show who turned an aiplane into a car??

[EarlSnohomish]

I think you're thinking about Professor Pat Pending from the "Wacky Races." ;-)

[LeanaJo76]

I'd love to find this show on DVD someday. And also That's Incredible! is another show I'd love to see on DVD someday...I hope...I'm praying for it to happen. I miss these shows and the people they talked about. So interesting how other people live and make their life happy for anything they do...

[jk8a]

fuck I'm old! I think this show was the last program i culd watch b4 my bedtime on...hmmmm....was it...monday evenings??????

[saskabush2006]

This must have been from a later season, since both John Barbour and Byron Allen are missing, as well as John Billingsley. If I had to guess I think this was near the end of the run.

[Quartzquiz]

You mean PETER Billingsley.

[ajdfour]

I was on this show when I was in 7th grade...they brought in a woman who could speak backwards to supposedly be our substitute teacher (the whole thing was a put on, but she could speak backwards). later when I was in my 20's I met the woman at a party...she was the naughty nurse...she could still speak backwards

[NewsLynne]

hey, Fred Willar - Whaa happened?

[kb8doa]

This was entertainment, the best ever from NBC.

I'd buy it, if it was DVD today!

[Marckymarc71]

No Byron Allen?

[WeakApplause]

Good Lord this show was huge.

And then suddenly we just seemed to lose interest.

[pezez]

i remember the guy who could drink a pitcher of beer in 5 seconds. fred willard is a funny mofo

[manhizzy]

I think that was "The Fox" from the original "Man Show" with Jimmy Kimmel and Adam Carolla. He passed away sometime after the Man Show started, but long before Jimmy and Adam left.

[BadGurl404]

With da KISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!

[zymaymyn]

Mark Russell was on this show?????? The same guy who played the piano and sang those awful political songs?????

[garyj0901]

Sarah Purcell. What legs!!

[rhendersWLU]

I remember them saying the names of the hosts most vividly in my memory. I really liked Skip Stevenson... time to google him!

[mhirtes12]

Not to pop your bubble, but Skip passed away over ten years ago. He's buried in Omaha, NE.

[rhendersWLU]

Thanks. I realized that after Googling him. But Byron Allen is still around though.

[shmouts]

years later, i still remember slapping the ham to sarah purcell, and wanting to slap the shit outta skip steveenson

[mikeysaur65]

Believe it or not, a show that resurfaced from my mind was "You Asked For It." But since I was, like, only between three to five years old I never really got most of Rich Little's jokes or anecdotes.

[bitchyb73]

@mikeysaur65 dude NODBODY gets Rich Little or his 'jokes'.

[lambertman]

Where did this air recently enough that it would have a ratings bug?

[cbsfm101]

Discovery People (formerly Eye-On People). Ever hear of that network? The last time I saw Real People on that network was sometime in 1999. So, it had to be taped sometime in the late 1990's.

[CLU7]

OMG! I remember watching this show in the early 80s!!! Thanks for the memories!

[pollo1970]

Sarah Purcell was a real cutie, wasn't she?

[miledbill]

Yes she was!

Great show, would be neat to see it on DVD.

[BootPatrol]

I do miss this show.

Skip, you are still remembered.

[snowrocket]

Real People became the number one show in the nation about a month after it was introduced. It was upbeat, touching, humorous, and informative...sometimes all at the same time. Our modern day equivalent is YouTube.

[nitwitbit]

This show is alluded to in a Cheech and Chong movie. Cheech sez "You oughta be in that show 'Real incredible heavy duty dudes'". 'That's incredible!' was a show that was Real people's younger brother. Also similar was 'Speak up America' which I thought about for the first time, in what, 20, 25 years? as I was looking for info on Marjoe Gortner(Was in Food of the Gods movie). Marjoe is an interesting story!

[heine71]

Will Real People ever resurface on DVD someday?

[jermainemack]

I remember Real People because I remember that show with Sarah Purcell, Skip Stephenson and I remember them all in my brain when in ran on NBC from 1979-1984 after it's 5 year run!