A week in the life of "The Gong Show" host and creator Chuck Barris.
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Mabel Elizabeth King (née Washington; December 25, 1932 - November 9, 1999) was an American actress and singer. She is known for her role as Mabel "Mama" Thomas on the ABC sitcom What's Happening!! from its premiere in 1976 until the end of its second season in 1978. King is also known for portraying Evillene the Witch, a role she originated in the stage musical The Wiz and reprised in Sidney Lumet's 1978 film adaptation. She recorded on the Rama Records and Amy Records labels. Description above from the Wikipedia article Mabel King, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Jamie Farr (born July 1, 1934) is an American television, film, and theater actor. He is best known for having played the role of cross-dressing Corporal (later Sergeant) Maxwell Q. Klinger in the television sitcom M*A*S*H. Description above from the Wikipedia article Jamie Farr, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Charles Elmer "Rip" Taylor Jr. (January 13, 1931 – October 6, 2019) was an American actor and comedian, known for his exuberance and flamboyant personality, including his wild moustache, toupee, and his habit of showering himself (and others) with confetti. Throughout the 1970s, Taylor was a frequent celebrity guest panelist on TV game shows such as Hollywood Squares, To Tell the Truth, and The Gong Show, and substituted for Charles Nelson Reilly on The Match Game. He became a regular on Sid and Marty Krofft's Sigmund and the Sea Monsters, playing Sheldon, a sea-genie who lived in a conch shell. In addition, Taylor was also a regular on The Brady Bunch Hour, playing a role of neighbor/performer Jack Merrill. He also hosted a short-lived send-up of beauty pageants titled The $1.98 Beauty Show, created by Gong Show producer/host Chuck Barris, in 1978.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Roosevelt "Rosey" Grier (born July 14, 1932 in Cuthbert, Georgia) is an American actor, singer, Christian minister, and former professional American football player. He was a notable college football player for Pennsylvania State University who earned a retrospective place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association 100th anniversary list of 100 most influential student athletes. As a professional player, Grier was a member of the New York Giants, and the original Fearsome Foursome of the Los Angeles Rams and played in the Pro Bowl twice. After Grier's professional sports career he worked as a bodyguard for Robert Kennedy during the 1968 presidential campaign and was guarding the senator's wife, Ethel Kennedy, during the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. Although unable to prevent that killing, Grier took control of the gun and subdued the shooter, Sirhan Sirhan. Grier's other activities have been colorful and varied. He hosted his own Los Angeles television show and made approximately 70 guest appearances on various shows during the 1960s and 1970s. As a singer, Grier first released singles on the A label in 1960, and over the following twenty-five years he continued to record on various labels including Liberty, Ric, MGM and A&M. His recording of a tribute to Robert Kennedy, "People Make The World" (written by Bobby Womack) was his only chart single, peaking at #128 in 1968. Grier is known for his serious pursuit of hobbies not traditionally associated with men such as macrame and needlepoint. He has authored several books, including Rosey Grier's Needlepoint for Men in 1973. Grier became an ordained Christian minister in 1983 and travels as an inspirational speaker. He founded American Neighborhood Enterprises, a nonprofit organization that serves inner city youth. Description above from the Wikipedia article Rosey Grier, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Anthony Leonard Randall (born Aryeh Leonard Rosenberg; February 26, 1920 – May 17, 2004) was an American actor, comedian, producer, and director. He is best known for portraying the role of Felix Unger in a television adaptation of the 1965 play, The Odd Couple by Neil Simon, as well as it's updated series and movie. He starred in the sitcom Love, Sidney in which he portrayed the first ever gay lead of a show. He has also been in numerous movies over his long career including many voice roles. In a career spanning six decades, he received six Golden Globe Award nominations and six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning one Emmy.
Murray Langston was born in 1945 in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. He is an actor and writer, known for Night Patrol (1984), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) and Wishful Thinking (1990).
Vincent Andrew Schiavelli (November 11, 1948 – December 26, 2005) was an American character actor and food writer noted for his work on stage, screen, and television, often described as "the man with the sad eyes." He was notable for his numerous supporting roles. Schiavelli was also well known for his height, standing 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m). He often attributed his unique facial appearance and great height to Marfan syndrome.
Pat McCormick (June 30, 1927 – July 29, 2005) was an American actor and comedy writer known for playing Big Enos Burdette in Smokey and the Bandit and its two sequels.
Philip Edward Hartman (né Hartmann; September 24, 1948 – May 28, 1998) was a Canadian-born American comedian, actor, screenwriter, and graphic designer. Hartman was born in Brantford, Ontario, Canada, and his family moved to the United States when he was ten years old. After graduating from California State University, Northridge with a degree in graphic arts, he designed album covers for bands including Poco and America. In 1975, Hartman joined the comedy group the Groundlings, where he helped Paul Reubens develop his character Pee-wee Herman. Hartman co-wrote the film Pee-wee's Big Adventure and made recurring appearances as Captain Carl on Reubens' show Pee-wee's Playhouse. In 1986, Hartman joined the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live (SNL) as a cast member, and stayed for eight seasons until 1994. Nicknamed "Glue" for his ability to hold the show together and help other cast members, he won a Primetime Emmy Award for his SNL work in 1989. He also starred as Bill McNeal in the sitcom NewsRadio, voiced Lionel Hutz and Troy McClure on The Simpsons, and appeared in supporting roles in the films Houseguest, Sgt. Bilko, Jingle All the Way, and Small Soldiers. After two divorces, Hartman married Brynn Omdahl in 1987, with whom he had two children. However, their marriage was troubled due to Phil's busy work schedule and Brynn's drug and alcohol abuse. In 1998, while Phil was sleeping in his bed, Brynn shot and killed him, and later killed herself. In the weeks following his murder, Hartman was celebrated in a wave of tributes. Dan Snierson of Entertainment Weekly wrote that Hartman was "the last person you'd expect to read about in lurid headlines in your morning paper... a decidedly regular guy, beloved by everyone he worked with". He was posthumously inducted into the Canada and Hollywood Walks of Fame in 2012 and 2014. Description above from the Wikipedia article Phil Hartman, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
Natividad was born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, the eldest of nine children, and did not speak English until she was 10. At that time, her mother married a U.S. citizen and they moved to Texas. Natividad attended high school in El Paso, where she was her senior class president. After moving to California, she worked as a maid and cook for Stella Stevens and as a key-punch operator for IBM before turning to go-go dancing to make ends meet. Her stage name Kitten came from her shyness. At age 21, she had her first breast implant surgery in Tijuana (where it was legal) on the advice of her agent. Kitten Natividad was introduced to Russ Meyer by fellow dancer Shari Eubank, a performer in Meyer's 1975 film Supervixens. Meyer hired her to narrate his movie Up!, where she was shown sitting nude in a tree, quoting the poetry of Hilda Doolittle and acting as a Greek chorus to the nonsensical action. Meyer was so impressed he wanted her to star in his next feature, Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens, one of several collaborations between Meyer and film critic Roger Ebert. He paid for a second breast enhancement and voice lessons to eliminate her accent. She left her husband for Meyer during the filming, and they lived together as a couple for most of the next 15 years. After this, Natividad moved into pornographic modeling, mainly doing glamour or girl-girl shoots with the likes of Candy Samples, Uschi Digard, and Patty Plenty. The appearances increased her dancing income many times over. She incorporated a giant champagne glass into her act (similar to Lili St. Cyr), accompanied by the Bobby Darin hit "Splish Splash." She appeared as a guest on The Dating Game, one of a number of game shows that Chuck Barris produced. During the 1980s, Natividad began appearing in pornographic productions, initially limiting her performances to appearing topless. Eventually, however, she graduated to engaging in hardcore performances, usually with younger men and women. She also founded the private photo and video studio Kitten Klub. She famously appeared as a stripper at the bachelor party held by Sean Penn to celebrate his 1985 marriage to Madonna. In 2001, Natividad starred in the cult film comedy The Double-D Avenger, directed by William Winckler, and in it, she was reunited with fellow Russ Meyer stars, actress Haji from Russ Meyer's Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill! and Raven De La Croix from Russ Meyer's film Up! In The Double-D Avenger, Kitten Natividad plays Chastity Knott, a woman who becomes a busty costumed crime fighter
Brad Stephen "Taylor" Negron (August 1, 1957 – January 10, 2015) was an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as Milo in the 1991 buddy cop action comedy film The Last Boy Scout. Description above from the Wikipedia article Taylor Negron licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Cathleen Cordell (May 21, 1915 – August 19, 1997) was an American film and television actress. Cordell was born in Brooklyn, New York. Cordell moved to England and then France, in order to begin her childhood education. She died on August 19, 1997, in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California, she was 82. Apparently, according to the Internet Movie Database, Cordell's cause of death was emphysema. Her burial is unknown. Description above from the Wikipedia article Cathleen Cordell, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Nora Denney (September 3, 1927 – November 20, 2005), also known and credited as Dodo Denney, was an American stage, television, and film actress. Her show business career began in Kansas City when she was hired by the local television station Channel 5 (KCMO TV) to play Marilyn the Witch, an onscreen host for horror movies. She performed in many television series, including Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, Hart to Hart, Get Smart, Room 222 and That Girl, and her film credits included Who's Minding the Mint? (1967), I Walk the Line (1970), Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate (1971), I Wonder Who's Killing Her Now? (1975), American Hot Wax (1978) and Truman (1995). She made her final film appearance in 1999, in Ang Lee's Ride with the Devil. Perhaps her most notable film role was as Mrs. Teevee in Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971), starring Gene Wilder and Jack Albertson.
