Family Feud

Family Feud is a popular television game show in the USA that pits two families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed of 100 people.

Broadcast/show history

The Richard Dawson/ABC era

The longest running and most popular version of Family Feud, a Mark Goodson-Bill Todman production, was hosted by Richard Dawson. The daytime version debuted on ABC on July 12, 1976. A nighttime syndicated version debuted in September 1977; it originally aired as a weekly series before expanding to two nights a week in January 1979 and to five nights a week in September 1980. Goodson originated the idea for Feud from one of his other hit game shows, CBS's Match Game. The final "Super Match" round of Match Game included a studio audience survey where audience members gave their answers to a fill-in-the-blank phrase. The top three responses to that phrase were concealed on the board, and the contestant won more money by choosing a more popular answer. Family Feud was spun off from this survey concept. Dawson, the first host of Feud, was a regular panelist on Match Game.

Related Topics:
Mark Goodson - Bill Todman - Richard Dawson - ABC - July 12 - 1976 - Syndicated - September - 1977 - January - 1979 - 1980 - CBS - Match Game

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The first pilot in 1975 was exactly the same in gameplay format as the version that came to air. The set was done in the same colors and style than the final version, but it was much smaller and closer together.

Related Topics:
Pilot - 1975

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Family Feud was the highest-rated daytime game show for two seasons (1977-78 and 1978-79) until CBS's The Price is Right surpassed it. It was also the highest-rated syndicated game show from 1978 until 1984, when Wheel of Fortune took over the top spot. In May 1978, during the height of the show's popularity, ABC aired the first in a series of All-Star Family Feud prime time specials where teams of celebrities -- often the cast members of a television show -- played the game to raise money for various charities. The show won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Game Show in 1977, while Dawson won the Daytime Emmy for Best Host or Hostess in a Game Show in 1978. Richard Dawson's hosting style was very unusual: for example, he almost always kissed the female competitors, and gave some of the women and their children lollipops from a special "lollipop tree" at the end of each family podium. This personable style made him very popular as a game show host.

Related Topics:
CBS - The Price is Right - 1978 - 1984 - Wheel of Fortune - May - Prime time - Celebrities - Charities - Daytime Emmy Award

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The last ABC daytime episode aired on June 14, 1985, with Dawson delivering an emotional farewell speech at the end of the show. The syndicated nighttime edition of Feud continued for three months afterwards, before wrapping up in September after eight years. (Viacom, the show's syndicator, offered reruns to stations for one year after that, packaged as The Best of Family Feud.) In its nine-year existence, 2,311 network daytime shows, 976 syndicated evening half-hour shows, and 17 ABC primetime hour-long specials (1978-1984) had been produced, with $1,557,150 given away to charity on 170 celebrity specials on the daytime and nighttime shows, and $14,833,000 won by contestants.

Related Topics:
June 14 - 1985 - Viacom - Rerun

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The CBS era

On July 4, 1988, CBS brought the show back with a new host, Ray Combs. A new syndicated primetime edition premiered two months later. CBS expanded the show from 30 minutes to one hour with the addition of a "Bullseye" round to the show and renamed it The New Family Feud Challenge on June 29, 1992. (The "Bullseye" round was added to the syndicated version that fall, when it was renamed The New Family Feud.) On Family Feud Challenge, two new families competed in the first half of the show, with the winner playing the returning champions in the second half. The CBS version went into reruns on March 29, 1993, and was canceled on September 10 of that year, when CBS decided to give back the hour to their local affiliates.

Related Topics:
July 4 - 1988 - Ray Combs - June 29 - 1992 - March 29 - 1993 - September 10

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At the end of the 1993-1994 season, Combs was replaced by Richard Dawson in an effort to boost the syndicated version's declining ratings. The show also expanded to one hour and used a format similar to that of the Family Feud Challenge, with families from the original ABC version playing in the second half of the show. (Some stations, however, opted to carry only the second half-hour.) The show only lasted one more season with Dawson as host, ending on September 8, 1995, after six seasons. After many unhappy experiences, Combs committed suicide in 1996 at age 40.

Related Topics:
1994 - September 8 - 1995 - 1996

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The current version

In 1999 a third version premiered in syndication with host Louie Anderson. In 2002 Anderson was replaced as host by Richard Karn. This version is still airing and is produced by FremantleMedia (formerly Pearson Television), who currently owns the rights to the Goodson-Todman library of game shows.

Related Topics:
1999 - Louie Anderson - 2002 - Richard Karn - FremantleMedia

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Host contenders

In addition to the four regular hosts, there were additional contenders for the hosting spot as well.

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• In 1988, Joe Namath was slated to host the show, but when producers discovered Combs, Namath was soon replaced.
• In 1999, Dolly Parton was Anderson's main challenger for the hosting job.
• In 2002. Marc Curry from Don't Forget Your Toothbrush auditioned for the job.

Substitute hosts include Sammy Davis, Jr., who guest hosted one round during the Richard Dawson era, and Caryn Lucas, the show's contestant coordinator, who temporarily replaced Dawson for part of one episode when he suffered broken ribs.

Related Topics:
Sammy Davis, Jr. - Caryn Lucas - Ribs

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Announcers

Gene Wood was the original announcer of Family Feud. Johnny Olson announced the pilot, Johnny Gilbert substituted once during the Dawson era, and Charlie O'Donnell, Bob Hilton, Art James, and Rod Roddy filled in on occasion during the Combs era. Burton Richardson has been the show's announcer since 1999.

Related Topics:
Gene Wood - Johnny Olson - Johnny Gilbert - Charlie O'Donnell - Bob Hilton - Art James - Rod Roddy - Burton Richardson

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Episode status

All episodes are believed to exist. Reruns of the Dawson and Combs versions currently air on GSN, while the i network (formerly PAX) reruns the previous season of the current version.

Related Topics:
GSN - I network

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