spatch

I was all set to write a bit about The Prestige (completely awesome, you must see it or risk avoiding spoiler discussions the rest of your life) but then all of a sudden out of complete nowhere came

GENE GENE THE DANCING MACHINE

also of interest: The Unknown Comic takes on Chuckie Baby, with a quick shot of Steve Martin as a judge. I didn't know Steve Martin was ever a judge on the Gong Show. Blows my mind, it does.

And everyone's favorite, slightly work-risque, the infamous Popsicle Twins act, which for some reason on the show was called "Have You Got a Nickel?" This was the act that got the show yanked for a while.

Man, oh, man. The Gong Show was Western Civilization at its apex.

and if you haven't seen the brilliant "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", starring a brilliant Sam Rockwell, or at least read the book, you should.

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From:

spatch

THEY STOP THE SHOW
THEY LITERALLY STOP THE SHOW
CAUSE HERE COMES GENE GENE THE DANCING MACHINE

I love it. I absolutely love it. A taping of the Gong Show must've been one of the wildest travesties ever to masquerade as a professional television production, maybe even beating out those infamous "Friday" episodes of the Match Game.

(Due to Gene Rayburn's bi-coastal work schedule, he'd fly from New York to Hollywood every week, and they'd tape an entire week's worth of Match Game episodes in a single day. Between episodes, of course, the cast would change costumes and take much advantage of the catered spread and open bar. So by the time the "Friday" episode began taping, everyone was pretty much plastered.)