TV Land/Nick at Night did a tribute to The Match Game years ago. It was a fun documentary, but took a sad turn near the end. Richard Dawson left the show very bitter and angry. He literally walked out the door one day without saying goodbye to anyone. Supposedly, he felt his show contract was holding him back from exploring other opportunities as his popularity grew.
He took it as a personal insult when the show producers introduced the "wheel" and contestants could no longer choose their celebrity. He was very pleased when the first time it was spun his name came up. He was so angry at the end he took to wearing sunglasses on the show and did not interact with the other celebrities. When the producers said they didn't want him to be unhappy and told him they'd let him out of his contract, he turned around without saying a word and walked out the door and left the set.
When he hosted Family Feud, he was reportedly pleased that his show knocked The Match Game out of the #1 spot and ultimately contributed to The Match Game being canceled. According to Gene Rayburn's daugher, her father took the show's cancellation very hard and never recovered from it.
Hi I am new here and probably won't post much again. I only joined because I accidentally came across this post and wanted to clear up some misinformation.
First of all I assume the documentary you are speaking of is "Behind the Blank" which aired on GSN not TV Land or Nick at Nite. The documentary definitely made it out that Richard Dawson was the bad guy on Match Game and maybe in many ways he was:
Once he got Feud his ego definitely grew and he wanted out of Match Game but was at first was not let out of his contract. Unfortunately he showed his displeasure by becoming very distant. He was eventually let go of his contract but not before things turned very sour with everyone else on Match Game. The Star Wheel was probably the final straw and yes he left on very bad terms. Sadly things were never patched up with Gene Rayburn and the rest of the Match Game crew.
Other things in your post are inaccurate.
1) The Dark Glasses: Yes Richard wore them during his last days of Match Game but he also wore them during the same time on Feud. He was actually suffering an eye injury at this time.
2) Richard definitely did not like the Star Wheel and definitely felt slighted by it but when it landed on his name he and everyone else walked off the set in frustration. I think the frustration was partially true and partially a joke.
3) Was Richard happy his show was number 1 I am sure. Who wouldn't be? But I don't think he wanted or cared that Match Game got canceled no matter what anyone might say (and I believe hurt feelings might cause people to say things that aren't true). Family Feud being number one did not cause Match Game to get canceled. Family Feud's ranking did not effect Match Game's overall ratings.
Even after Richard left Match Game went into syndication for almost 4 years so while Richard leaving might not have helped Match Game it certainly did not cause its demise, neither did Family Feud being the top rated game show for a time (it's ratings would also fall dramatically over time). And as there are always two sides to a story I am sure there was also some jealousy from the Match Game crew that Richard's show was doing so well.
It is true that Gene Rayburn never recovered after Match Game left the air because he loved the show so much but this is not Richard's fault at all. Gene Rayburn still hosted Match Game until 1982 (Richard left in 1978). Then he hosted the MG/HS hour from 83-84. What really hurt Gene was he was set to host the revived Match Game in the 90's but an article revealed his real age and he was taken off hosting duties (age discrimination). This broke Gene's heart.
Anyways as to the original post yes Richard is definitely still alive. He turned 78 on 11/20. He actually did a very recent 45 minute interview in about 2009 on the new Hogan's Heroes box set. He has really mellowed out a lot over the years and is much humbler than he was now that he has been out of the spotlight for many years. He talked about how Hogan's Heroes, Family Feud
and Match Game were all very important to him.
I am sorry to bump up this older topic but I just wanted to clear these things up as I see a lot of misinformation about all this on the Internet. I hope no one minds and nice to meet you all.
She was also surprised to know he was still kicking.
