What's My Line? - Mystery Guest Richard Dawson

[fanboy2015]

So true. Match Game was a comedy series. The game show part of it was secondary.

[observer9670]

Richard is now 78 and happily retired in Los Angeles, spending his time with his wife, sons, daughter and grandchildren.

[MrCombat1965]

Why is Soupy Sales wearing a jacket made from a picnic tablecloth..........oh, wait.......it's the 1970's.

[Eroll113]

We need Richard Dawson back on tv! "Saturday Night Live" is the only show that can help him do that! It worked for Betty White, and it'll certainly work for Richard Dawson! What do you kids think?

[bluebear1985]

@Eroll113 It would be nice, but he hasn't really worked much since a failed Family Feud comeback went off the air in 1995. I tried having a look at a video biography under the "TVLEGENDS" directory here on YouTube. He still looks as big, if not bigger, than he did in the mid-90s. The bio is worth a look though. You should check it out.

[eliemuller]

I think that Richard Dawson should host "Saturday Night Live" this fall! Don't you agree? Betty White hosted that show last summer, and she's back on tv every week. All we need to do is make a Facebook page persuading NBC to make Richard Dawson host "SNL", and it could happen again!

[b2412]

Jeez, Arlene Francis should have recused herself from the panel as well, she was a semi-regular panelist in the beginning of match game.

[christinage30]

what happened to his wonderful British accent? That's what made him so amazingly hott on Hogan's Heroes!

[eljefereal]

@christinage30 he was faking so that the celebs wouldn't guess it was him.

[observer9670]

@christinage30 When Dawson came to the U.S. in the late 50's, he worked like hell to get rid of his Cockney accent. He had to fake the accent for Hogan's Heroes.

[henrygrove100]

What a stinker

[henrygrove100]

ooo yuk

[bluebear1985]

After seeing Richard Dawson in some old "Family Feud" episodes, it was interesting seeing the type of host he portrayed in "The Running Man" with Arnold Schwartzenegger. Although he did a good job in the movie, it just seemed a little, well, strange.

[pixi2nv]

God Richard is so sexy! Lol at his hamburger joke

[Kate8790]

I don't care what people say about Richard Dawson. He doesn't seem all that cocky to me. I think he acted like everyone else on the show. I love Family Feud and he was the best on Match Game.

[80stimeagain]

RD looks really good and sexy here.

[7coco3]

LOL "Hamburger..." That was sure a give away as he said it often in Match Game.

No matter what was written about Richard Dawson, I just like him alot...

Thanks for posting!

[MegaObserver1]

Dawson was part of a successful British stage comedy duo in the 1950's who came to America with his then-wife actress Diana Dors in the late 1950's when she started getting more American movie roles. Dawson wanted to make it on his own as a U.S. comedian and underwent vocal training to lose his thick Cockney accent. He just about lost it by 1965, but he had to revive it for Hogan's Heroes!

[Kinoakim]

@MegaObserver1 Richard never had a thick Cockney accent. He wasn't even from London. The accent you hear him use on Hogan Heroes is fake. He was an expert at doing voices and impersonations. In fact he originally planned to play Newkirk as someone from Liverpool but the producers did not like it. He had a British accent but it was actually not very strong at all.

[jbird11368]

@MegaObserver1 Richard Dawson's name at birth was Colin Emm.

[MegaObserver1]

Actually Gene and Richard were buddies when Match Game started in 1973. But, as the previous post indicated, once Dawson started doing Feud, he became unbearable and Rayburn wanted little to do with him.

[buffycharmedangel102]

Something about his "swagger" reminds of Simon Cowell lol

[ClassicsWEREandARE]

his voice is sooooo easy

[jeanzgirl13]

Richard introduced bob crane to a man named John carpenter, he filmed bob and his woman. All Richard did was introduce them.

[jeanzgirl13]

I don't think he became egotistical, he just wanted his own show like most people did. It was a success and the girls love him, what's so bad about that? I'd say he made his way in the world brilliantly

[cartoongameshowfan76]

Found out that Soupy Sales died sometime this week but not sure of the cause!

[sportsislife028]

everyone says stuff about how richard left match game n became all into himself after his emmy,but it wasnt like he was going to stay there forever...who wouldnt take the opportunity to host their own show?give him a break

[bdavis4life]

one of the reasons he left Match Game was because of the star wheel they added. contestants could no longer pick him to win the big money and he didn't like that.

[SultansReturn]

I always heard Richard Dawson was a prick. Anyone else heard the same thing?

[whitemountainowl]

He liked to flirt; and some people didn't like that.

[southplnk]

why are you being like this?

[bigjim10011]

yes all the producers of family feud hated him too

[SHRINA17]

He definitely loved himself...(but shouldn't we ALL love ourselves? LOL. and I read that he had become friendly with Bob Crane from Hogan's Heroes and liked to film his sexapades with women. This was in a book about Bob Crane.

[DENo1MatchGameFan]

@SultansReturn I'd say if anyone was a prick, it'd be Bob Barker bar none!

[zabuzaslittlesis]

does richard leave four years latter?

[TheRealHappyEmo]

I'm gonna start calling people hamburgers now. xD

[hotsickle]

then can I call you a "cheese-booger"?

[cartoongameshowfan76]

Soupy Sales outfit was the style at that time!

I still love Richard Dawson even after seeing the THS on E! I never knew how he was off camera just on camera.

[Muffy2314]

Richard became obnoxious after a while and when he got his own show--too bad.

[SueBeaWho]

I just LOVE Soupy's suit. LOL

[davesharon5747]

I loved Match Game and I feel it jumped the shark when Richard Dawson got big headed with his own series Family Feud. Richard is sort of a nice person; but he was an egotical person like Jerry Lewis. I don't blame Gene Rayburn for being bitter. McLean Stevenson was a perfect replacement for Richard Dawson. The main reason Match Game lost it's popularity though was when CBS changed the time slot from the afternoon to morning when kids were still in school and couldn't get home to watch it.

[gymnastix]

The Jerry Lewis analogy may be an apt one, certainly a good one if true about Dawson that he is "egotistical."

As for McLean Stevenson, another actor full of himself, which is why he left "M*A*S*H" prematurely to "star" in his own series, the Diffrent Strokes spin-off "Hello, Larry" (all to the betterment of "M*A*S*H," I might add, as his replacement, Harry Morgan as "Colonel Sherman T. Potter," was superb and uplifted that show).

[gymnastix]

After "Hello, Larry" bombed and a few other misfires, Stevenson's career virtually ended as well.

As for CBS shifting the "Match Game time slot, THAT never happened.

"Match Game'' aired afternoons on CBS from 1973-79, incorporating the last two digits of the then-current year in its title, so "Match Game '73, Match Game '74,' etc. That was partly to distinguish it from the original version, "The Match Game," which ran on NBC from 1962-69.

[DENo1MatchGameFan]

@gymnastix Yes it did - in late 1977, "Match Game" was moved to mornings to give an audience to "The Price Is Right" which also moved to mornings. Because us kids weren't there to watch it, the audience for the show went WAY down, and by the time CBS moved it back to the 4pm slot, a lot of affiliates were no longer carrying the show, and it died in April of 1979.

[MrWilliamtom]

@DENo1MatchGameFan

VERY TRUE---

I remember rushing home off of the school bus in the afternoon because this show was beginning.

Some really brilliant bulb at CBS decided to put Match Game on in the morning. The kids were in school. When they put it back on at 4:00 PM, it was pre-empted by my local affiliate that played it at 4 in the morning after the test pattern. Gee...I wonder why the show died??? I'll bet the CBS exec even got promoted for his mastermind actions, too.

[DENo1MatchGameFan]

@MrWilliamtom It was probably the same CBS executive who thought that Bob Barker was a better host of "The Price Is Right" than Dennis James was, as Mark Goodson originally wanted Dennis to host the show, but CBS wanted Barker, and 'the ego' was born!

[gymnastix]

So, either your local affiliate ran the show on a delayed basis mornings, or you are talking about post-1979 when the show was no longer on CBS but syndicated, meaning local affiliates could run the show at whatsoever time they chose.

There was also "Match Game P.M.," another, syndicated version that aired concurrently with & beyond the CBS version, from 1975-82, and "The Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour," which aired on NBC from 1983-84. Gene Rayburn also hosted both of these.

[gymnastix]

Stevenson was not the only one of the M*A*S*H cast to appear on Match Game, with Gary Burghoff (Capt. Walter Radar OReilly) on the panel semi-regularly from the game shows inception, thus pre-dating Stevenson.

Also, Loretta Swit (Maj. Margaret Hot Lips Houlihan) appeared occasionally, while the show aired on CBS. This was common practice of networks to have their prime time stars appear on daytime game shows in a cross-promotional effort.

[hugggyion]

So did Colonol Flagg

[gymnastix]

Burghoff was supposedly not beloved by his M*A*S*H cast mates. I once read an account of this, which stated that while Larry Linville was liked by his cast mates, his character of Maj. Frank Burns was not, the exact opposite situation of Burghoff's, whose character of Radar was beloved, even while Burghoff himself . . .

You may fill in the blanks yourself.

[tommy76tx]

On one episode sometime after Richard quit was when McLean made a reference about Richard and Gene said Richard who. I wasn't thinking about right after he quit.

[XMLarry]

Get a load of Soupy Sales' outfit

[tommy76tx]

I like Richard on Match Game til 1978 and after that he was a totally different person. When he won his emmy he got a swelled head and thought he was better and could do whatever he want. I remember when Gene on Match Game said Richard who when McClean made reference about Richard the next show after he left.

[ryanschroer]

That was actually Bob Barker who made that comment, not McLean. He sat in the 5th chair the week after RD quit.

[ryanschroer]

McLean sat in Richard's chair two weeks after Barker. I wish he'd been named the replacement for Richard in '78 instead of '82-'83. I liked Bill Daily, but McLean's humor was more like Dawson's.

[Muffy2314]

no one beat Dawson's humor. he was the best, but why he got so obnoxious is a mystery. . there was no need for it; he should have gone out graciously and stayed the way he was.

[DENo1MatchGameFan]

@ryanschroer The show was canceled in 1982, not 1983.

[Muffy2314]

So true-too bad, but eventually his show ran it's course and he was never heard from again!

[storrs19]

I have to agree with some comments here. If you have ever watched the syndicated IGAS (1972-1973) hosted by Steve Allen, RD is on many of the shows and clearly feels he is the star. Often telling jokes and literally not even playing the game at times. I used to love when they would pan to Henry Morgan during this and he would just have that look on his face that could kill.

[davemock]

That's interesting, considering many folks felt Henry Morgan was a bit of a popinjay, though clearly his iconoclasm was tolerated on "Secret" and other G-T shows.

[gymnastix]

It certainly wasn't always tolerated, as may be seen on an episode of the original, CBS version of "What's My Line?," in which host John Daly admonished Morgan his bad manners following Morgan's rudeness to panel member Bennett Cerf during the introduction formalities of one episode.

[gymnastix]

Morgan also apparently had a fondness for liquor, which may have cost him employment.

I read an account where Morgan once appeared on Boston radio talk show legend Jerry Williams' show, foolishly thinking he was auditioning for Williams' hosting spot, showed up drunk.

[gymnastix]

By the way, the real name of the actor known as "Harry Morgan" ("December Bride," "Pete & Gladys," "M*A*S*H," etc.) was actually "Henry Morgan."

But since the Morgan of predominantly game show fame preceded him in AFTRA & SAG (the actor's unions), the other "Harry" became "Henry."

Game show Morgan acted too, appeared as an associate of William Windom's character on the one-season sitcom "My World & Welcome To It," based on the writings of James Thurber and his "Walter Mitty" character.

[gymnastix]

Too bad about Henry Morgan, though, as he was genuinely intelligent & witty, could be funny when he wasn't angry or half in the bag.

And the reason Jerry Williams had Morgan on his radio program was because Williams admired Morgan's New York radio shows.

[gymnastix]

I'd love to see more of these episodes, because I find Morgan fascinating, and at times a genuine ass himself.

But of he & Dawson on the same show, the phrase "birds of a feather" comes to mind, and apparently do not always "flock well together."

(See my extended comments after post below yours.)

[gymnastix]

This comment immediately above was a reply to yours, storrs19.

[Kashaslove]

"That tune would change dramatically four years later."

What happened?

[AdamNedeff]

I'll try to keep it short...The success of "Family Feud" turned Richard into an unbearable blowhard. He finally left "Match Game" in 1978 and Gene, in later years, did not hold back when talking about how little he cared for Richard.

[spagandtuna]

@AdamNedeff Dawson apparently acted out on Match Game in a manner that was not unlike a saboteur, unthinkable and unforgivable.

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna The most Richard did on Match Game was stop telling jokes and not smile (and he still played the game well for the contestants). Not the nicest thing perhaps but hardly "unthinkable & unforgivable."

[spagandtuna]

@Kinoakim Oh contraire: I read somewhere that Rayburn himself felt that Dawson's apparent grudge against the producers became manifested in ways that undermined the show. If my livelihood was tied up in the need for the talent to show up and do it's best, I would definitely think Dawson's antics were unthinkable and unforgivable.

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna I read what Rayburn said. I am sure Rayburn (and the other regular Match Game panelists) had their personal reasons for disliking Dawson but that doesn't mean I should take everything they say as fact when emotions were clearly involved. I can see myself how Dawson acted on the show. It was wrong yes but I also think it is taken way out of proportion.

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna Dawson also said he believed they brought the wheel in to spite him. Now I personally don't think that is true just as I don't think Dawson acted like he did to sabotage the show despite what Gene said. That is what I mean when I say feelings do not always equal fact.

[spagandtuna]

@Kinoakim Look, I hear that you like Dawson, and so did I. But I was informally connected to What's My Line during its last two years, and if indeed anyone was acting in any way that might have undermined the show's suceess, I can't imagine that would have been allowed to continue. I can only surmise that Goodson was himself unaware of the Dawson shennanigans at the time they were occurring.

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna I don't see what your connection with What's My Line had anything to do with this. Goodson worked with Dawson on two shows and yes he was known to be difficult behind the stage at the time. As far as Match Game goes he wanted out of his contract but they wouldn't let him so he showed his unhappiness. That's it (he still played the game to the best of his ability) other than that I don't notice how he sabotaged the show.

[spagandtuna]

@Kinoakim The reason I mentioned it was that the WML production appeared to be consistently professional and business-like with everyone seeming to particpate with full enthusiasm. We seem to be talking around the specific details involved in Rayburn's complaint. Unless we can learn what they were, there's really not much we can comment on. I can only say that other than Dawson's omnipresent odd puss, I couldn't detect anything negative.

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna Of course we don't know everything that happened back stage. But I still feel based on other things that were said that the "sabotage" comment was one based on emotion not fact. Truthfully I feel what happened is pretty sad because at least in the early years Dawson and Rayburn seemed to get along really well but after what happened they never spoke again.

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna Look I am not disagreeing with you that what he did was wrong and unprofessional. I am disagreeing with how bad it was. I just think what he did is taken way out of proportion. He had a huge ego, so do a lot of celebrities. It's not like he committed some heinous crime. And he HAS mellowed out a lot over the years.

[spagandtuna]

@Kinoakim Is he still active? And BTW, thanks for the clarification. I don't have a problem with the guy. I always enjoyed seeing him and actually thought his antics with the ladies on FF were cool. Was the sense I got that he boozed it up on the set real or like a Dean Martin thing?

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna He's retired but he did a recent 40 min interview for the new Hogan's Heroes box set. He only said kind things about everyone and actually mentioned Match Game as an important part of his life (along with Feud and HH). For years he only seemed to really acknowledge Feud. Just the fact that he did this interview for HH shows he has changed.

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna

As for the drinking thing no I don't think he drank on the set. I read comments from people who were on the show that they never smelled alcohol on him and in the E True Hollywood story where not always the nicest things were said about him not one thing was said about him drinking on the set. Also he actually said several times on Match Game and Family Feud that he dislikes alcohol. Of course since I don't know him personally I can't say 100%.

[spagandtuna]

@Kinoakim Thanks for the exchange. If I get any additional details on the R-D issue, I'll send them to you.

[spagandtuna]

@Kinoakim When I get some time, I'll research the source for this. Off the top of my head, I wonder if it came from a Rayburn interview that I saw on YT, like one of those sit downs for some tv museum?

[Kinoakim]

@spagandtuna I remember the comment too actually. I think Rayburn said that Dawson was a loner with a monumental ego who tried to sabotage the show. I am just saying that while it's very clear that Rayburn did not like what Dawson did, what he says about Dawson wanting to sabotage the show is not necessarily fact.

[adamdicy]

@AdamNedeff He was dropped from Match Game cause of his grumpiness and such, at least that's what I read online.

[nanlisa]

Unfortunately, I never got to see these shows. At that time, I was in school when it came on.

[joebradio]

That's right.. Dawson did host Masquerade Party for a very short time in syndication before going on to The Feud !!

[artytoons]

"Hamburger"...a dead giveaway.

[quincyhughes]

This was the worst voice-disguising in WML history...LOL...

[brithgob]

It must have been the studios where they were made... but even though they were made concurrently, this looks MUCH older than a typical Match Game rerun.

[AdamNedeff]

New York studios typically did. In Los Angeles, you could have big, elaborate sets because the studio facilities could handle them, but New York game show sets had to be kept very simple for the practical reason that when they were dismantled, you had to be able to take them through elevators. (This was taped at Rockefeller Center.)

[brithgob]

Not just the sets, but I mean the video quality. Older cameras?

[catholicpriest1]

Match Game was taped in Studio 33 at CBS in Hollywood and What's My Line? was taped at Studio 6A at NBC in New York. Studio 6A is the same studio where Conan O'Brien does his show today. CBS used Norelco PC-70 cameras and NBC used RCA TK-44 cameras. Both cameras did a good job but the Norelco cameras seemed to provide a bit better image (at least to me). At any rate, the quality might have more to do with the poster's video tape than it does with the original quality.

[spagandtuna]

@catholicpriest1 What's My Line was only taped in studio 6A during those few instances in which its home studio (8H) was unavailable. During the final two taping years, I believe possibly only one block of shows (if that) were done in 6a. To Tell the Truth might have been based in that studio.

[davemock]

Because of the city's layout, none of the big three networks concentrated all its operations in one complex at a time...even NBC, which sometimes produced shows at the Center Theater and the Colonial in NYC. The "ABC Television Center" in New York is an umbrella name for various studios in different buildings on the upper West Side and was even used for the Elysee Theatre, TV-15, on West 58th (home of "Pyramid" and "Cavett"), which is actually south and east of the usual ABC neighborhood.

[Lava1964]

Love those What's My Line clips. Keep 'em coming!

[jdohe]

Richard barely disguised his voice at all.

[rlrshepherdstown]

It is kind of funny that Gene Rayburn & Everyone on the Panel knew Richard Dawson by his voice even though they were blind folded ,and even he when tried to disguise his voice , it still leaked out .

[Agentsub]

Around :36, there's a remark that Larry Blyden makes about the rules, where he says "One question at a time", I just need the phrase that follows "one question at a time"

[AdamNedeff]

"Fates' law prevails." Soupy Sales had a tendency to guess the first celebrity that came to mind if he thought he recognized the voice, which was awkward when he was wrong and made the game boring when he was right. So producer Gil Fates instituted a rule that if you guessed the wrong name in the Mystery Guest round, you were disqualified for the remainder of the game. Larry called the rule "Fates' law."

[Agentsub]

Thank you. That thing has been bugging me for a long time.

[nextbarker]

A year later he did a more popular one, I think you all know.