“Survey says!”
Those famous words were uttered many times by Richard Dawson, the beloved host of “Family Feud” who died June 3.
Though producers replaced Dawson with a younger Ray Combs, who later committed suicide; comedian Louie Anderson; Richard Karn of “Home Improvement” fame; and comedian Steve Harvey, none of them compare(d) to Dawson.
Dawson was the original host who made “Family Feud” the game show the hit it was during his nine-year tenure. Even after his own “feud” with producers resulted in his exit and the hiring of Combs, producers knew the show just wasn't the same and brought Dawson back for the 1994-95 season.
During Dawson's second go-round, though, I imagine the relationship between Dawson and producers continued to be rather tenuous. He never returned to the show again, not even when Anderson asked Dawson to appear on his debut episode.
Dawson was no stranger to TV game shows, for he also had appeared on the bottom tier, middle seat on “Match Game” during the 1970s. His quick wit and snappy answers guaranteed his spot as a weekly panelist, and contestants sure were quick to pick him for the big-money round. The contestant had to be in left field not to match Dawson's answer; he always had the best match.
Dawson just knew how to play the game.
