Richard Dawson

This article is about the actor, comedian, and game show host. For others with the same name, seeRichard Dawson (disambiguation).

Not to be confused withRichard Dawkins.

Richard Dawson
Dawson onHogan's Heroes,1968
Born	Colin Lionel Emm (1932-11-20)20 November 1932 Gosport,Hampshire, England
Died	2 June 2012(2012-06-02)(aged 79) Los Angeles, California,U.S.
Resting place	Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupations	Actor comedian game show host panelist
Years active	1954–1995, 2000
Spouses	Diana Dors ​ ​ (m.1959;div.1967)​ Gretchen Johnson ​ (m.1991)​
Children	3, includingMark

Richard Dawson(bornColin Lionel Emm;20 November 1932 – 2 June 2012) was an English-American actor, comedian, game-show host, andpanelistin the United States. Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk inHogan's Heroes,as a regular panelist onMatch Game(1973–1978), and as the original host ofFamily Feud(1976–1985, 1994–95).

Early life

Colin Lionel Emm was born inGosport,Hampshire,England, on 20 November 1932to Arthur Emm (born 1897) and Josephine Lucy Emm (néeLindsay; born 1903).His father drove a removal van and his mother worked in a munitions factory.Dawson and his older brother John Leslie Emm were evacuated as children duringWorld War IIto escape the bombing of England's major port cities in the south. In a radio interview withHogan's Heroesco-starBob Crane,Dawson recounted how this experience severely limited his school attendance, stating that he attended school regularly for only two years.

At age 14, Dawson ran away from home to join theBritish Merchant Navy,where he pursued a career in bo xing, earning almost $5,000 in shipboard matches.During 1950 and 1951, Dawson made several passages on theRMSMauretaniafrom Southampton to ports of call, includingNassau,the Bahamas,Havana,and New York City.Following his discharge from the merchant service, Dawson began pursuing a comedy career using the stage name Dickie Dawson; he later changed his alias to Richard Dawson, which he eventually adopted as his legal name.

Career

Comedy and variety artist in the UK

Emm began his career in England as a stand-up comedian known as Dickie Dawson.Possibly his first television appearance occurred on 21 June 1954, when he was 21, and was featured on theBenny Hill Showcase,an earlyBBC Televisionprogramme focused on "introducing artists and acts new to television".

Emm also had at least four BBC Radio programme appearances during 1954, including two bookings on theMidday Music HallonBBC Home Serviceand two spots onHow Do You Do,a BBC Light Entertainment broadcast billed as "a friendly get-together of Commonwealth artists."

In 1958, Emm appeared alongside his future wife,Diana Dors,onBBC TV'sA to Z: D,a programme featuring entertainers with names beginning with the letter D. In 1959, Emm made four appearances on BBC TV'sJuke Box Jury,three of them alongside Dors, to whom he was by then married.

Actor and comedian in the US

After his move to the USA, in September 1961, Dawson began hosting a late-night talk show, theMike StokeyShow,on Los Angeles television stationKCOP-TV.On 8 January 1963, Dawson appeared onThe Jack Benny Program,season 13, episode 15, as an audience member seated next to Jack, barely recognisable in glasses and false moustache.That same year, Dawson made a guest appearance onThe Dick Van Dyke Show(season two, episode 27) playing "Racy" Tracy Rattigan,a lecherous flirt who was the summer replacement host on the Alan Brady Show. He was credited as Dick Dawson.

In 1965, Dawson had a small role at the end of the filmKing Rat,starringGeorge Segal,playing 1st ReconparatrooperCaptain Weaver, sent to liberate alliedPOWsin aJapaneseprison. Dawson had by then moved to Los Angeles. He gained fame in the television showHogan's Heroesas Cpl. Peter Newkirk from 1965 to 1971.Dawson had a minor role inUniversal'sMunster, Go Home!.A year later, he released a psychedelic45-rpm singleincluding the songs "His Children's Parade" and "Apples & Oranges" on Carnation Records. In 1968, Dawson was in the filmThe Devil's Brigadeas Private Hugh McDonald.

Following the cancellation ofHogan's Heroes,Dawson was a regular joke-telling panellist on the short-lived syndicated revival of the game showCan You Top This?in 1970 and joined the cast ofRowan & Martin's Laugh-Inthat same year.

AfterLaugh-Inwas cancelled in 1973, game-show pioneerMark Goodsonsigned Dawson to appear as a regular onMatch Game '73,alongsideBrett Somers,Charles Nelson Reilly,and hostGene Rayburn.Dawson, who had already served a year as panellist for Goodson's revival ofI've Got a Secret,proved to be a solid and funny player, and was the frequent choice of contestants to participate in the Head-To-Head Match portion of the "Super-Match" bonus round, in which the contestant and a panellist of the contestant's choice had to match exactly. During Dawson's time onMatch Game,he most often occupied the bottom centre seat, only sitting elsewhere (in the top centre seat) during one week early in the show's run.

Family Feudhost and TV stardom

Dawson (left) and contestants on the 1975/1976 pilot episode ofFamily Feud

Due to his popularity onMatch Game,Dawson expressed to Goodson his desire to host a show of his own. In 1975, during Dawson's tenure as one ofMatch Game'sregular panelists, Goodson began developing aspin-offgame show,Family Feud,based on the "Super Match" portion ofMatch Game.Goodson specifically saw the show as a vehicle for Dawson, due to his popularity amongMatch Gamecontestants.Feuddebuted on 12 July 1976, on ABC's daytime schedule.Family Feudwas a break-out hit, eventually surpassing the ratings ofMatch Gamein late 1977. In 1978, Dawson leftMatch Gamedue to a combination of the recent introduction of the "Star Wheel" —which affected his being selected for the Head-To-Head Match portion of the show's "Super Match" bonus round—and burnout from his regular appearances on bothMatch GameandFamily Feud.That same year, Dawson won aDaytime Emmy Awardfor Best Game Show Host for his work onFamily Feud.After Dawson leftMatch Game,his spot on the panel was filled with many other stars—most notably his best friendBob Barker,who was then the host ofThe Price is Right.

One of Dawson's trademarks onFamily Feud,kissing the female contestants, earned him the nickname "The Kissing Bandit". Television executives repeatedly tried to get him to stop the kissing.After receiving criticism for the practice (which also included a great deal of physical contact such as holding hands and touching), Dawson asked viewers to write in and vote on the matter. The wide majority of the roughly 200,000 responses favoured the kissing.On the 1985 finale, Dawson explained that he kissed female contestants for love and luck, something his mother did with Dawson himself as a child.

Dawson was a frequent guest host forTonight ShowhostJohnny Carson,hosting 14 times during 1979and 1980.Dawson was a contender for the role ofTonight Showhost in the event that Carson left the show, a move that Carson was seriously considering during 1979–80.(Carson ended up remaining as host until 1992.) Two of the few Carson-eraTonight Showepisodes that did not air on the night they were intended were guest hosted by Dawson. During one, actressDella Reesesuffered a near-fatalaneurysmmidinterview during taping; the remainder of the episode was cancelled. (Reese later recovered.) The other featured an untimely monologue regarding the danger of flying on airplanes; it was replaced with a rerun because it would have aired the same night as the crash ofAmerican Airlines Flight 191in Chicago, which killed all 271 people aboard, as well as two on the ground. The episode was aired several weeks later.

Later years

Dawson parodied his TV persona in 1987'sThe Running ManoppositeArnold Schwarzenegger,portraying the evil, egotistical game-show host Damon Killian. He received rave reviews for his performance. Film criticRoger Ebert(who gave the film a thumbs down) wrote, "Playing a character who always seems three-quarters drunk, he chain-smokes his way through backstage planning sessions and then pops up in front of the cameras as a cauldron of false jollity. Working the audience, milking the laughs and the tears, he is not really much different [from] most genuine game-show hosts—and that's the film's private joke".

Before Dawson was cast as Damon Killian,Chuck Woolerywas originally considered for the role, but was unavailable and Schwarzenegger suggested Dawson because he and Dawson were close friends.

Dawson hosted an unsold pilot for a revival of the classic game showYou Bet Your Lifethat was to air on NBC in 1988, but the network declined to pick up the show. In 1990, he auditioned to host the syndicated game showTrump Card;the role went toJimmy Cefalo.

On 12 September 1994, Dawson returned toFamily Feud,hosting what became the last season of the show's second run (1988–1995) after previous hostRay Combswas fired due to spiralling ratings. During his second tenure as host, Dawson did not kiss female contestants because of a promise he had made to his young daughter to kiss only her mother. The show's ratings never recovered under Dawson and the final episode aired on 26 May 1995, after which Dawson officially retired.Family Feudremained out of production until being revived for a third run in 1999 with new hostLouie Anderson,who asked Dawson to make a special appearance on the first episode to give Anderson his blessings. Dawson turned down the offer, wanting no further involvement with the show.

In 2000, Dawson narratedTV's Funniest Game Showson the Fox network.

On 7 June 2012,GSNaired a four-hour marathon of Dawson's greatest moments onMatch GameandFamily Feud,including the first episode of his 1994–95Feudtenure.

Personal life and family

With his first wife, actress Diana Dors, Dawson had two sons,Mark(born in London, 4 February 1960)and Gary (born in Los Angeles, 27 June 1962).The marriage ended with a divorce granted in Los Angeles in April 1967,and Dawson gained custody of both sons. He has four grandchildren.Dawson became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1984.

On retiring, Dawson remained in Beverly Hills, California, where he had lived since 1964. He met his second wife, Gretchen Johnson (born 22 September 1955), when she was a contestant onFamily Feudin May 1981; they married in 1991. A daughter, Shannon Nicole Dawson, was born in 1990. Dawson announced the birth and showed a picture of his daughter during the inaugural episode of his second stint as host ofFeudin 1994 as he was greeting a contestant who had been a contestant onMatch Gamewhen he was a panelist. The episode was featured on the 25th anniversary ofFamily Feudas number two on theGame Show Network's top 25Feudmoments.He appeared with his daughter on at least two episodes of the show in 1995, including one taped on his birthday.

During the 1960s and 1970s, Dawson participated in various movements, including theSelma to Montgomery marchesandGeorge McGovern's 1972 presidential campaign.

Death

Dawson died of complications fromesophageal cancerat theRonald Reagan UCLA Medical Centerin Los Angeles on 2 June 2012, aged 79.He is interred in Westwood Memorial Park, Los Angeles.

Dawson used to smoke almost four packs of cigarettes per day, and he was seen smoking on some episodes ofMatch Game,Family Feud,andHogan's Heroes.His daughter Shannon convinced him to stop smoking by 1994, when he was 61.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1962	The Longest Day	British Soldier	Uncredited
1963	Promises! Promises!		Uncredited
1965	King Rat	Weaver
1966	Out of Sight	Agent	Uncredited
	Munster, Go Home!	Joey
1968	The Devil's Brigade	Pvt. Hugh MacDonald
1973	Treasure Island	Long John Silver	Voice
1978	How to Pick Up Girls!	Chandler Corey
1987	The Running Man	Damon Killian	(final film role)

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	The Jack Benny Program	Man in audience	Episode: "Jack Meets Max Bygraves"
1963	The Dick Van Dyke Show	Tracy Rattigan (credit: Dick Dawson)	Episode: "Racy Tracy Rattigan"
1964	The Outer Limits	Oliver Fair (credit: Dick Dawson)	Episode: "The Invisibles"
1964	The Alfred Hitchcock Hour	Robert Johnson (credit: Dick Dawson)	Episode: "Anyone for Murder?"
1965–1971	Hogan's Heroes	Corporal Peter Newkirk	168 episodes
1983	Mama's Family	Richard Dawson	Episode: "Family Feud"
1967	Mr. Terrific	Max	Episode: "The Formula Is Stolen"
1970	McCloud	Ted Callender	Episode: "The Stage Is All the Word"
1970–1973	Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In	Regular performer	58 episodes (15 uncredited)
1971	Love, American Style	Rick Jagmund	Episode: "Love and the Groupie"
1971	Love, American Style	Danny	Episode: "Love and the Hiccups"
1972	Love, American Style	Melvin Danger	Episode: "Love and the Private Eye"
1972	Wait Till Your Father Gets Home	Claude (voice)	Episode: "The Hippie"
1973–1978	Match Game	Panelist	1,279 episodes
1973–74	The New Dick Van Dyke Show	Richard Richardson	7 episodes
1974–75	Masquerade Party	Host
1975	The Odd Couple	Himself	Episode: "Laugh, Clown, Laugh"
1975	McMillan & Wife	Roger Stambler	Episode: "Aftershock"
1976–1985, 1994–95	Family Feud	Host	2,334 episodes
1978	Fantasy Island	Harry Beamus	Episode: "Call Me Lucky/Torch Singer"
1978	The Love Boat	Bert Buchanan	Episode: "The Song Is Ended"
1979	Bizarre	Host	Pilot episode
2000	TV's Funniest Game Shows	Narrator

External links

• Richard DawsonatIMDb
• Richard Dawsonat theTCM Movie Database
• Richard Dawsondiscography atDiscogs
• Richard DawsonatFind a Grave
• Richard DawsonatThe Interviews: An Oral History of Television