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