Today-I-Learned: "The Dating Game"

[Adam Nedeff]

I was listening to "Gilbert Gottfried's Amazing Colossal Podcast" and his guest was Robert Wuhl. Robert was a contestant on "The Dating Game" four times and they briefly touched on how many actors were contestants before they hit it big, and if you ever watched a "Before They Were Stars" special, you've probably noticed that a bunch of the game show clips were "Dating Game."

So here's why. Chuck Barris figured out very early that "The Dating Game" is only interesting if the three bachelors were lightning quick on their feet, so as an enticement to get trained actors on the show, he agreed to pay AFTRA scale for any union members who appeared as contestants. Not-yet-famous actors were contestants because, win or lose, they got their rent paid. If they were REALLY good, Chuck would even encourage them to return to the show under assumed names.

[calliaume]

Makes sense.  Not the most ethical thing in the world to do, but it didn't break any network rules.  The Dating Game had a really weak format, so I guess this kept it going.

I wonder if any of the subsequent versions of the show after Barris stopped participating (Elaine Joyce/Jeff McGregor/Brad Sherwood/Chuck Woolery) did the same.  Since I don't remember seeing any "before they were stars" clips from those eras, I would guess not.

[BrandonFG]

Only celebrity I can think of from later eras was Cuba Gooding, Jr. He appeared during the first or second season of the 80s version, but I think he was already making small appearances in other shows.