Richard Dawson and the Tonight Show

[TheInquisitiveOne]

Good evening all.

A YouTuber named Connor Higgins made a very nice video series involving a deep dive into the history of Family Feud, with part one chronicling the Dawson Era, part two digging into the Combs Era (and Dawson’s return), and part three following the long and complicated history of the current run (subtitled “The Road to Steve Harvey”). There were some tidbits between the three parts I wasn’t privy to, but there was a point in part one the series elaborated on - one that I never knew even happened.

The following is apparent:

At some point during 1979-80, Dawson substituted for Johnny Carson for 14 episodes of The Tonight Show. His shows were so well-received that he was in the short list of replacements for Carson when there was doubt Carson’s contract would be renewed that year. By unfortunate coincidence, one episode was delayed (due to a monologue about air travel - the crash of American Airlines Flight 191 out of O’Hare happened mere hours after taping), and another never made air (guest star Della Reese suffered an aneurysm mid-interview, with doubts she would survive; fortunately, she did).

Dawson was set to tape a 15th episode, to air April 25, 1980. This is a notable date because this was the day after Operation Eagle Claw (the failed attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran during the crisis). Richard was so distraught by the events that he backed out of taping at the very last second. Producers scrambled to find a replacement, and was able to get Bert Convy to salvage the day. This torpedoed Dawson’s candidacy to be the next Tonight Show host (a moot point since Carson and NBC agreed to a contract renewal), and would cause him to be blacklisted from hosting the show as substitute as long as Carson is host. (Richard would make an appearance to herald his return to Family Feud in 1994 when Jay Leno took over.)

These episodes have yet to be found, and they’re not available online. Have any of you in the forums caught his episodes when they aired, and if so, what did you think? Did he seem to be a viable candidate, and was his demeanor similar to that of his Feud run at the time? Just curious about this unfamiliar piece of history.

By the way, click here to go to Connor’s channel, which includes a history of Pat Sajak in and out of Wheel. Thank you all for your time.

The Inquisitive One

[Adam Nedeff]

Oddly enough, Carson’s own video licensing site doesn’t list any of Richard’s episodes in their archive.

It turns out this video has been hiding in plain sight for five years, though. I just found it right this moment.

[joshg]

Richard did return to Johnny's Tonight Show... at least one more time.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7618598/mediaviewer/rm1066127873/?ref_=tt_ov_i

[SamPrainito]

I do wish the Carson people would post that sketch on their YouTube page!

[Matt Ottinger]

Dawson was set to tape a 15th episode, to air April 24, 1980. This is a notable date because this was the same day as Operation Eagle Claw (the failed attempt to rescue the hostages in Iran during the crisis). Richard was so distraught by the events that he backed out of taping at the very last second. Producers scrambled to find a replacement, and was able to get Bert Convy to salvage the day. This torpedoed Dawson’s candidacy to be the next Tonight Show host (a moot point since Carson and NBC agreed to a contract renewal), and would cause him to be blacklisted from the show as long as Carson is host. (Richard would make an appearance to herald his return to Family Feud in 1994 when Jay Leno took over.)

Fascinating.  I'd always known Dawson was among the candidates whose names were bandied about during that period, but I didn't know those details.  Thanks.

As part of my obsessive deep dive into I've Got a Secret, I'm into the 70s version now, and it's fascinating just how much it turned out to be a proving ground for Dawson as a personality as opposed to a performer.  it is abundantly clear that he had been positioned as the star among panelists, and his easy wit and charm with the ordinary contestants was immediately evident.

[chris319]

Someone who worked on FF shared that after subbing on Tonight, Richard was convinced he was the heir apparent and his ego ballooned way out of proportion, making him impossible to work with on FF. That's why Ray Combs was hired.

[Adam Nedeff]

This torpedoed Dawson’s candidacy to be the next Tonight Show host (a moot point since Carson and NBC agreed to a contract renewal), and would cause him to be blacklisted from the show as long as Carson is host. (Richard would make an appearance to herald his return to Family Feud in 1994 when Jay Leno took over.)

This isn't COMPLETELY accurate. Dawson returned, just as a guest instead of a guest host. He appeared on November 5, 1982 to play himself in a Family Feud parody that got replayed a lot in anniversary specials and best-of compilations ("Name something you find on a farm") and stayed after the sketch for an interview.

(Also, fun fact, there's a snippet of that sketch that always got cut out when it got replayed later. Gene Wood also played himself for that sketch.)

[joshg]

Dawson returned, just as a guest instead of a guest host. He appeared on November 5, 1982 to play himself in a Family Feud parody that got replayed a lot in anniversary specials and best-of compilations ("Name something you find on a farm") and stayed after the sketch for an interview.

(Also, fun fact, there's a snippet of that sketch that always got cut out when it got replayed later. Gene Wood also played himself for that sketch.)

...so what you're saying is the Carson clip site skips the 11/5/82 episode as well? 

[TheInquisitiveOne]

This isn't COMPLETELY accurate. Dawson returned, just as a guest instead of a guest host. He appeared on November 5, 1982 to play himself in a Family Feud parody that got replayed a lot in anniversary specials and best-of compilations ("Name something you find on a farm") and stayed after the sketch for an interview.

(Also, fun fact, there's a snippet of that sketch that always got cut out when it got replayed later. Gene Wood also played himself for that sketch.)

This is good to know. Thanks for the clarification.

Surprised that the producers and NBC let him back on. If he pulled what he did mere hours before the taping was set to begin - the day after a major event (not the day OF, as I erroneously stated in the OP) - and I was producing, he wouldn’t set foot in the studio again. Good to see that cooler heads prevailed to a point though.

The Inquisitive One

[BillCullen1]

Dawson returned, just as a guest instead of a guest host. He appeared on November 5, 1982 to play himself in a Family Feud parody that got replayed a lot in anniversary specials and best-of compilations ("Name something you find on a farm") and stayed after the sketch for an interview.

(Also, fun fact, there's a snippet of that sketch that always got cut out when it got replayed later. Gene Wood also played himself for that sketch.)

Richard and Gene worked well together. I'm guessing that if Richard had gotten the Tonight gig, he would have brought Gene along as his announcer. Much like Carson brought along Ed McMahon as his announcer from Who Do You Trust?

[Neumms]

McLean Stevenson was thought to be on the list of possible Carson replacements at the same time.

In the photo of the sketch, was that Kitty Carlisle playing the queen of England?

[Matt Ottinger]

In the photo of the sketch, was that Kitty Carlisle playing the queen of England?

No

[whewfan]

Dawson returned, just as a guest instead of a guest host. He appeared on November 5, 1982 to play himself in a Family Feud parody that got replayed a lot in anniversary specials and best-of compilations ("Name something you find on a farm") and stayed after the sketch for an interview.

(Also, fun fact, there's a snippet of that sketch that always got cut out when it got replayed later. Gene Wood also played himself for that sketch.)

Richard and Gene worked well together. I'm guessing that if Richard had gotten the Tonight gig, he would have brought Gene along as his announcer. Much like Carson brought along Ed McMahon as his announcer from Who Do You Trust?

I'll have to find the resource, but I thought I read that Letterman was also a possibility if a contract renewal couldn't be negotiated. It was good timing because Dave's daytime show failed but by the same token he was still regarded as a great guest host for Johnny. Leno was at that point still trying to prove himself, considering Johnny only had Jay on a couple times before deciding not to book him for a while. It would be interesting to wonder if Richard would have enough pull to hire on Gene Wood as an announcer and sidekick, and if that might affect his work on other GT shows. Ed, after all, had to have Johnny's "okay" to do work outside of The Tonight Show.

It was also around 1980 that Richard had demands for a higher salary for Feud, and at that time he was in Hawaii and threatened to stay there. I would think that with his Tonight Show prospects shot, a larger sum to continue Feud would be good compensation. Goodson wanted to find a new Feud host, ABC said no, and ABC granted him the raise.

[Steve_Bier]

"...Goodson wanted to find a new Feud host, ABC said no, and ABC granted him the raise..."

Interesting. Did Goodson, in earnest, either start looking for a new host - or have one in mind?

[whewfan]

"...Goodson wanted to find a new Feud host, ABC said no, and ABC granted him the raise..."

Interesting. Did Goodson, in earnest, either start looking for a new host - or have one in mind?

I wouldn't know for sure. Even if Goodson pushed to get someone else to host, ABC was firm on keeping Dawson. Yes he was difficult, but the ratings were still very good and having someone else become the new host would just kill the show at that point. Around 1983 was when ratings started to slip due to someone named Vanna and another named Pat. Wheel was hot in syndication at that time, and while I think Pat certainly is one reason, let's face it, some of us guys tuned in for Vanna.