[quote name=\'SRIV94\' date=\'Jun 2 2005, 10:58 PM\'][quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jun 2 2005, 09:06 PM\']John Dorsey directed the Gong Show pilot in San Francisco. Perhaps Terry Kyne directed it until Dorsey was available?
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Could be the case. Dorsey was directing RHYME & REASON (so for roughly four weeks there could conceivably have been taping conflicts). But Kyne and Bearde had worked together on a few projects in Canada previous to GONG, so it is my humble opinion that Kyne directing GONG was more Bearde's choice than Barris'. Of course, I could be wrong. . .
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The TV Guide article I recall said that initially, "Gong" was solely Bearde's concept--Barris was in one of his "I've had it with television" funks and was willing to be the financial partner, as he had been with Bearde on "The Bobby Vinton Show." The story is that he changed his mind the day of the pilot, when he arrived from LA late and entered the studio just as something outrageous happened which changed his mind forever.
Supposedly, the agreement was made that Bearde would supervise the syndicated version, while Barris would supervise the network version. Of course, they shared production staff (a lot of which had more Barris connections--Milton DeLugg, for one, had worked on Barris' revival of "Your Hit Parade"). After the first season, Barris decided (with justification) that the network version had the bigger buzz and maneuvered to get Bearde out of the way completely. Despite the barriers, he eventually succeeded--creatively, if not financially.
