Richard Dawson Biography

Richard Dawson (born Colin Lionel Emm; November 20, 1932 " June 2, 2012) was an English-born American actor and comedian, and a game show host and panelist in the United States.

Dawson was well known for playing Corporal Peter Newkirk on Hogan's Heroes, being the original host of the Family Feud game show from 1976"1985 and 1994"1995, and a regular panelist on the 1970s version of Match Game on CBS from 1973 to 1978. After a successful career in British television and cinema, Dawson moved to Los Angeles. In 1984, he became an American citizen while remaining a British citizen.

In 2012, Dawson died of complications from esophageal cancer. He is buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

Early life

Dawson was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, on November 20, 1932 to Arthur and Josephine Emm. At the age of 14 he ran away from home to join the Merchant Marine, where he pursued a boxing career. After his discharge, he pursued a comedy career using the stage name Dickie Dawson; when he reached adulthood, he revised this to become Richard Dawson. This name he would later officially legalize.

Acting career

In 1963, Dawson appeared in an episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show in the role of dapper entertainer "Racy Tracy" Rattigan. He played a soldier in the 1962 film The Longest Day. In 1965, Dawson had a small role at the end of the film King Rat, starring George Segal, playing 1st Recon paratrooper Captain Weaver, sent to liberate allied POWs in a Japanese prison.

Having married sex symbol Diana Dors, Dawson moved to Los Angeles, California, where he gained fame in the television show Hogan's Heroes as Cpl. Peter Newkirk from 1965 to 1971.

He had a minor role in Universal's Munster, Go Home!. A year later, Dawson released a psychedelic 45rpm single including the songs "His Children's Parade" and "Apples & Oranges" on Carnation Records. In 1968, Dawson was in the film The Devil's Brigade, as Private Hugh McDonald. Dawson and Dors eventually divorced, and he gained custody of both their children, Gary and Mark. Following the cancellation of Hogan's Heroes, he was a regular on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In from 1971 to 1973, and became a regular on The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1973"74). He portrayed a theater director in the first season of McCloud and was a panelist on the 1972"73 syndicated revival of I've Got a Secret. He played himself in a guest appearance on The Odd Couple as a former Army pal of Felix.

Game show hosting

After Laugh-In left the airwaves in 1973, game show pioneer Mark Goodson signed Dawson to appear as a regular on Match Game '73, alongside Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, and host Gene Rayburn. Dawson, who had already served a year as panelist for Goodson's revival of I've Got a Secret, proved to be a solid and funny gameplayer and was the frequent choice of contestants for the "Head-To-Head Match" portion of the show's "Super-Match" bonus round, in which, after winning prize money in the "Audience Match" portion, the contestant and Dawson (or any celebrity the contestant chose) had to obtain an exact match to the requested fill-in-the-blank. During his time on Match Game he would occupy the bottom center seat.

He later hosted a one-season syndicated revival of Masquerade Party in 1974; the program featured regular panelists Bill Bixby, Lee Meriwether and Nipsey Russell; the program was not renewed for a second season.

In 1975, during his tenure as one of Match Game regular panelists, Dawson was hired by Goodson to host an upcoming project titled Family Feud, which debuted on July 12, 1976 on ABC's daytime schedule. Family Feud was a breakout hit, eventually surpassing the ratings of Match Game in late 1977. In 1978, he left Match Game and won a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Game Show Host for his work on Family Feud.

One of his trademarks, kissing all the female contestants, was one of the things that made the show appear to be a warm and friendly program, and he soon garnered the nickname The Kissing Bandit. On the 1985 finale Dawson explained that he kissed contestants for love and luck, something his mother did with Dawson himself as a child.

In 1983, Dawson made an appearance on Mama's Family as himself, hosting an episode of Family Feud where the Harpers play as contestants (reuniting him with former Match Game co-panelists Betty White and Vicki Lawrence). After Dawson became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1984 he proudly showed his passport and photo during the introduction of an episode of Family Feud. He continued hosting the Feud until both editions were canceled; the syndicated version ended on May 17, 1985, and the ABC Daytime edition on June 14, 1985.

Later career

Dawson parodied his TV persona in 1987 by co-starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the action film The Running Man, in which he portrayed the evil, egotistical game-show host Damon Killian. Of Dawson's performance film critic Roger Ebert (who gave the film itself thumbs down) wrote, "Playing a character who always seems three-quarters drunk, Dawson 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 than most genuine game show hosts "? and that's the film's private joke."

Dawson hosted an unsold pilot for a revival of the classic game show You Bet Your Life that was to air on NBC in 1988, but the network declined to pick up the show, which would go on to attempt two more failed revivals with hosts Buddy Hackett and Bill Cosby. On September 12, 1994, Dawson returned to the syndicated edition of Family Feud, replacing and succeeding Ray Combs for what became the final season of the show's official second run (1988"1995). Upon Dawson's return he received a 25-second standing ovation when he walked on set. Afterwards he said, "If you do too much of that, I won't be able to do a show for you because I'll cry." During the revival, he did not kiss the female contestants, because of a commitment he made to his young daughter only to kiss her mother. The final episode aired on May 26, 1995, after which Dawson officially retired. In 1999, he was asked to make a special appearance on the first episode of the current version of Family Feud, but decided to turn the offer down and have no further involvement with the show. In 2000, Dawson narrated TV's Funniest Game Show Moments on the Fox network.

Personal life and family

Upon retiring, Dawson took up residence in Beverly Hills, California, with his wife since 1991, the former Gretchen Johnson, whom he met when she was a member of one of the contestant families on Family Feud in the spring of 1981. They had a daughter named Shannon Nicole Dawson. Dawson announced this and showed a picture of his daughter on an episode in the 1994 version of the Feud "? as he was greeting one of the contestants who happened to be a former contestant of his while he was a panelist on The Match Game. The episode was featured on the 25th Anniversary of Family Feud as No. 14 on the Game Show Network's Top 25 Feud Moments.

He had two sons, Mark Dawson (born 1960) and Gary Dawson (born 1962), from his first marriage, to Diana Dors, which ended in divorce. He also had four grandchildren.

Death

Dawson died at age 79 from complications of esophageal cancer on the night of June 2, 2012 at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. On June 7, 2012, the Game Show Network aired a 4-hour special showing some of Dawson's greatest moments on Family Feud and on Match Game, including the first episode of Dawson's return season. Dawson is buried at Westwood Memorial Park in Los Angeles.