Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Great YouTube find: Richard Dawson's "Family Feud" farewell

For whatever reason, I got to thinking about the game show Family Feud. Not the new version that is on now; not even the older Ray Combs' incarnation; but the true Family Feud - the Richard Dawson years (1976-1985). Man, I always wanted to be on that show back then. Dawson was cool as hell (the effortlessness in which he hit on virtually every chick on that show - it was, and is, quite impressive to a dork such as I); and who among us at that time didn't covet the opportunity to pick out a lucky Tootsie Pop with the black tape-covered stem (worth a cool $100 in cold hard cash!)?

So, I got on YouTube to see if, perchance, anyone might have posted some funny moments from those old, "King Richard"-era, episodes. Well, of course there were some - it's YouTube!

There were a few hilarious clips, the best being the one where a lady answers the following question - "During what month does a woman start to look pregnant?" with "September". Richard Dawson totally loses it. However, I unexpectedly found a clip so much better than any funny clip, that I just had to post it here in my blog...and precede it with a few paragraphs of my own ramblings.

The clip in question features Mr. Dawson's farewell speech at the end of Family Feud's initial run of shows in 1985. For about the first minute and a half, it's pretty much your standard semi-tearful "thank-you"-filled farewell. But then he goes into a story about something his mother told him when he was younger; and then in some even rarer footage, tells the story of a young cancer patient. Both stories are very moving, very inspirational, very impressive. I've watched this clip a couple of times now, and it is quite something. Enjoy.


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