Game shows are one of America’s favorite types of television programing and have been since the dawn of the television era. One of the most classic shows is “Family Feud,” which has been running almost nonstop since 1976.
It’s current host, Steve Harvey, really knows how to play a family off itself, and how to get the audience worked up. You are going to love this recent clip featuring two husbands and a question no husband wants to answer.
Recently, Harvey asked two husbands, one a Marine, to answer the question, “Which of the seven dwarves would your wife be in bed?”
These men were so embarrassed by the question that all they could muster was silence. After a few moments of nodding heads from both sides of the counter, the Marine answers “just to get on the board.” Did the modest marine guess correctly? You’ll have to watch the video to find out.
We wanted to learn more about this classic game show that has been entertaining for almost two generations, and share what we learned with you here.
According to Wikipedia Family Feud is an American television game show created by Mark Goodson where two families compete to name the most popular responses to survey questions in order to win cash and prizes.
The program premiered on ABC on July 12, 1976, and ran as part of its daytime schedule until June 14, 1985. The program was re-launched by CBS on July 4, 1988, and ran until September 10, 1993. Three separate editions for syndication were also produced. The first aired from September 19, 1977 to September 6, 1985. The second aired from September 19, 1988 to September 8, 1995. The current syndicated series premiered on September 20, 1999.
The ABC network version of the show and the first syndicated series were hosted by Richard Dawson. Ray Combs hosted the CBS series and the first six seasons of the accompanying syndicated version, then was replaced by Dawson for the final season. The 1999 syndicated series has been hosted by Louie Anderson (1999–2002), Richard Karn (2002–06), John O’Hurley (2006–10), and Steve Harvey (2010–present). Announcers for the series have included Gene Wood (1976–95), Burton Richardson (1999–2010), Joey Fatone (2010–15), and Rubin Ervin (2015–present).
The program has spawned multiple regional adaptations in over 50 international markets outside the United States. Within a year of its debut, the original version became the number one game show in daytime television; however, as viewing habits changed, the ratings declined. Harvey’s takeover in 2010 increased Nielsen ratings significantly and eventually placed the program among the top five most popular syndicated television shows in the country. In 2013, TV Guide ranked Family Feud third in its list of the 60 greatest game shows of all time.
Family Feud won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show in 1977, and the show has twice won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host, once with Dawson (1978) and again with Harvey (2014). Feud ranked number 3 on Game Show Network (GSN)’s 2006 list of the 50 Greatest Game Shows of All Time, and also on TV Guide’s 2013 list of the 60 greatest game shows ever.
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