We lost two Chucks this past week, and although one can never overemphasize the contribution(s) of the one and only Chuck Berry, it was "the lesser of the Chucks" that stole my heart...
For a time back in the Seventies it seemed I'd almost quit TV cold turkey; not that I meant to mind ya, it's just the way it worked out- least that's how I remember it. I was just too busy: going to college, partying, working P/T, partying and failing abysmally at street photography. So I was more than a little amazed when quite by accident, I turned on this wondrous gem of a program that was literally a portal into someone's hysterically manic and manically hysterical mind.
It was called... The Gong Show- here at last was the epitome of everything TV had ever aspired to- home entertainment at the peak of creativity! How could one possibly explain its appeal? Bad jokes, and sorry "talent," in a god awful format that repeatedly held me transfixed with a big shit eating grin, one solid half hour at a time. The cast, the "talent," The Unknown Comic and... Gene, Gene The Dancing Machine!!! Thank you, Chuck Barris for ART writ large in any decade!
"We'll be back with more... stuff!"
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| Murray Langston (still alive)- The Unknown Comic |
Chuckie was one wacky character. He and Trump would have gotten along great, neither can tell their lies from the truth. Beyond that my dad and I use to watch the Gong Show every week. It was certainly entertaining.
ReplyDeleteI have to sternly disagree- Barris at least knew he was outta his head, which requires some degree of introspection... and he had a sense of humor.
ReplyDeleteTwo things most lacking in Herr Trump.