Chuck Barris

Once lambasted by critics, who dubbed him the King of Schlock, the Baron of Bad Taste and the Ayatollah of Trasherola, television producer and game show personality Chuck Barris hammed it up as host of one of the 1970's most ridiculed programs, "The Gong Show" (ABC, 1976-1980). Operating on the basic idea that anyone will do anything to get on television -- even humiliate themselves before millions -- Barris developed a series of infamous shows where people from all walks of life did just that. Prior to his stint as emcee on "The Gong Show," Barris created "The Dating Game" (ABC, 1965-1986) and "The Newlywed Game" (ABC, 1966-1974), both of which changed the game show format, while acknowledging for perhaps the first time on television that couples actually had sex. Despite routine savaging at the hands of critics, Barris' creations netted him millions and at least a dubious celebrity. In 1984, after he had left the airwaves, Barris published an autobiography claiming he moonlighted as a CIA hit man, leading to questions about his sanity. But the book also spawned a film adaptation, "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" (2002), which took semi-seriously his claim that he used his "Dating Game" chaperoning duties as cover to assassinate communist spies. Regardless of what one thought of Barris -- many felt he catered to the lowest common denominator -- there was no denying the indelible mark he left on television, even if it did sometimes land below the belt. His death on March 21, 2017 at the age of 87 was met with fond remembrances of his gleeful TV excess as well as more sober reflections on his role in popular culture.