Profile
Richard Dawson
Actor + Television Personality + Game Show Host
Male
Born
Nov 20, 1932
Hometown
Gosport
Died
Jun 2, 2012
Death Place
Los Angeles
Other Names
Richard Dawson
Richard Dawson is an English-American actor, comedian, game show panelist and host. He is best known for his role as Corporal Peter Newkirk on Hogan's Heroes, being the original host of the Family Feud game show from 1976–1985, and from 1994 to 1995,… Read More
Photos
View newly released photos of Richard Dawson.
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Jun 25, 20073 Photos -
COMING SOON -
COMING SOON -
COMING SOON
Romance
Check out the latest love interests for Richard Dawson.
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Gretchen JohnsonMarried 1991
Family
Discover the family history of Richard Dawson.
Richard Dawson
d.2012
children
News + Updates
Browse recent news and stories about Richard Dawson.
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In Memoriam Harlow CagwinChicago Times - Dec 31, 2012
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Flintoff Survives Knock Down To Win Debut FightYahoo News - Dec 01, 2012
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Fulton Jail Bribes Inmates With Food In Dystopian ExperimentCreative Loafing - Jun 22, 2012
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Richard Dawson, Kissing Host Of ‘family Feud,’ Dies At 79NYTimes - Jun 06, 2012
Timeline
Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Richard Dawson.
CHILDHOOD
1932
Birth
Dawson was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, on 20 November 1932 to Arthur and Josephine Emm.
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TWENTIES
1962
29 Years Old
He played a soldier in the 1962 film The Longest Day.
THIRTIES
1965
32 Years Old
In 1965, Dawson had a small role at the end of the film King Rat, starring George Segal, playing 1st Recon paratrooper Captain Weaver, sent to liberate allied POWs in a Japanese prison.
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1968
35 Years Old
In 1968, Dawson was in the film The Devil's Brigade, as Private Hugh McDonald.
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1971
38 Years Old
Following the cancellation of Hogan's Heroes, he was a regular on Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In from 1971 to 1973, and became a regular on The New Dick Van Dyke Show (1973-74).
1972
39 Years Old
He portrayed a theater director in the first season of McCloud and was a panelist on the 1972–73 syndicated revival of I've Got a Secret.
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FORTIES
1973
40 Years Old
After Laugh-In left the airwaves in 1973, game show pioneer Mark Goodson signed Dawson to appear as a regular on Match Game '73, alongside Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, and host Gene Rayburn.
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1974
41 Years Old
He later hosted a one-season syndicated revival of Masquerade Party in 1974; the program featured regular panelists Bill Bixby, Lee Meriwether and Nipsey Russell; the program was not renewed for a second season.
1975
42 Years Old
In 1975, during his tenure as one of Match Game regular panelists, Dawson was hired by Goodson to host an upcoming project titled Family Feud, which debuted on July 12, 1976 on ABC's daytime schedule.
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1978
45 Years Old
In 1978, he left Match Game and won a Daytime Emmy Award for Best Game Show Host for his work on Family Feud.
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FIFTIES
1985
52 Years Old
He continued hosting the Feud until both editions were canceled; the ABC Daytime edition on June 14, 1985, and the syndicated edition three months later on September 13, 1985.
1987
54 Years Old
Dawson parodied his TV persona in 1987 by co-starring alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger in the action film The Running Man, in which he portrayed the evil, egotistical game-show host Damon Killian.
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1988
55 Years Old
Dawson hosted an unsold pilot for a revival of the classic game show You Bet Your Life that was to air on NBC in 1988, but the network declined to pick up the show, which would go on to attempt two more failed revivals with hosts Buddy Hackett and Bill Cosby.
LATE ADULTHOOD
1994
61 Years Old
On September 12, 1994, Dawson returned to the syndicated edition of Family Feud, replacing Ray Combs for what became the final season of the show's official second run (1988–1995).
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1995
62 Years Old
The final episode aired on May 26, 1995, after which Dawson officially retired.
1999
66 Years Old
In 1999, he was asked to make a special appearance on the first episode of the current version of Family Feud, but decided to turn the offer down and have no further involvement with the show.
2000
67 Years Old
In 2000, Dawson narrated TV's Funniest Game Show Moments on the Fox network.
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Dawson died at age 79 from complications of esophageal cancer on 2 June 2012 (16 years to the day that his 1st Family Feud successor, Ray Combs took his own life at age 40) at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center.
Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Dawson.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.