Chuck Barris
Charles Hirsch Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017)[1] was an American game show creator, producer, and host. Barris was known for hosting The Gong Show and creating The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. He was also a songwriter who wrote "Palisades Park", recorded by Freddy Cannon and also recorded by Ramones. Barris wrote an autobiography titled Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, which was made into the film of the same title starring Sam Rockwell and directed by George Clooney.
Not to be confused with Chuck Berry.
Chuck Barris
March 21, 2017 (aged 87)
Television producer, television presenter, songwriter, author
1962–2010
1
Early life[edit]
Barris was born to a Jewish family[2] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 3, 1929, the son of Edith (née Cohen) and Nathaniel Barris, a dentist.[3][4] He was raised in Lower Merion Township and attended Lower Merion High School.[5] His uncle was singer, songwriter and actor Harry Barris. He graduated in 1953 from Drexel University[4] where he was a columnist for the student newspaper, The Triangle.
CIA career claims[edit]
In 1984, Barris wrote an autobiography, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. In the book he states that he worked for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as an assassin in the 1960s and the 1970s in Southeast Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. A 2002 feature film version, directed by George Clooney and starring Sam Rockwell, depicts Barris killing 33 people. Barris wrote a sequel to Confessions of a Dangerous Mind in 2004 called Bad Grass Never Dies.
The CIA denied Barris ever worked for them in any capacity. After the release of the movie, CIA spokesman Paul Nowack said Barris' assertions that he worked for the spy agency “[are] ridiculous. It's absolutely not true".[13]
In an interview on NBC's Today Show in 1984, Barris admitted to having made the story up. "No, I was never a CIA hit man. I never did those things. I once applied for the CIA, and while I was going through the process I got a job and went on television. But I had always wondered what would have happened if I had done both."[14][15] In an interview in 2010 with the Television Academy Foundation, he was asked if he had ever disclosed the truth to anyone, including his wife. "No, never," Barris said. "I'll never say, one way or the other".[16][17]
Barris composed music and released them on the following 45 rpm records. Songs with an asterisk (*) are songs not composed by Barris, yet featured on the recordings:
Barris also composed the following songs (with performer, who performed the music first, listed on each). The first two songs were released on "Swan" 45 rpm records, and the third released on a "Decca" LP record:
In 1973, Barris released an LP of television game show music, Chuck Barris Presents Themes From TV Game Shows (Friends Records). All tracks are instrumentals and are arranged by Tom Scott, Mike Barone, and Dale Oehler. The tracks for the LP, as listed from the back of the LP jacket, are as follows:
Side 1
Side 2