The Gong Show is back: This time with Dave Attell!

The Gong Show was a television variety show spoof broadcast on NBC’s daytime schedule from June 14, 1976 through July 21, 1978. Well now it is back again and this time it is “The Gong Show With Dave Attell” and will premiere on the cable network on Thursday, July 17th!

The NBC incarnation and the later years of the syndicated version were emceed by Chuck Barris, who also produced them. Gary Owens hosted the first syndicated season.

Each show presented a contest between amateur performers of often dubious talent, with a panel of three celebrity judges. The program’s frequent judges included Jaye P. Morgan, Arte Johnson, Rip Taylor, Jamie Farr, and Anson Williams. Rex Reed was notorious for being the harshest critic, often giving acts a 9 when they received perfect 10s from the other judges. If any one of the judges considered an act to be particularly bad, he or she could strike a large gong, thus forcing the performer to stop. Most of the performers took the gong with sheepish good grace, but there were exceptions.

Originally, panelists had to wait 20 seconds before they could gong an act; this was later extended to 30, and finally 45. Knowing this, some contestants deliberately stopped performing just before the 45-second rule kicked in, but Barris would overrule this gambit and disqualify them. On other occasions, an act would be gonged before its minimum time was up; Barris would overrule the gong, and the hapless act would be obliged to continue with the full knowledge that their fate was already sealed.

With Dave Attell, who hosts Insomniac with Dave Attell in a unique style, the Gong Show is expected to get better and more hilarious. Attell’s material is considered “blue”. His point-of-view is that of the everyman, yet slightly imbalanced. He has an affinity for the bizarre, such as midgets and odd sexual encounters.

Attell often begins a joke in a relatively tame way, but then gets progressively stranger and ends in an obscene non sequitur. For example: “Sex is not important. What’s important is that afterward part. When you’re both naked and it’s warm and you’re watching the sun come up in the windshield. You look in her eyes, you look in her one good eye and help her strap on her leg and you know: you just fucked a pirate.”

Attell is also notorious for comedically striking down hecklers to the point of embarrassment. Attell dated comedienne Sarah Silverman for a time prior to both of their respective professional primes and major fame. When asked about the relationship on The Howard Stern Show, she remarked that he was her first real boyfriend, saying among other things that he hadn’t even smoked cigarettes before they started their relationship. Several weeks later Attell confirmed that she introduced him to “his two favorite things, alcohol and smoking”, adding his belief that “Sarah was out of his league and ended up leaving him.”

Coincidentally, Sarah Silverman is also in news. Just couple of days back, it has been reported that Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel have split, ending their relationship of five years.From 2002 until 2008, Silverman was in a relationship with Jimmy Kimmel, host of Jimmy Kimmel Live!

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