Information AboutRichard Dawson |
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, seen here in 1977.]] Richard Dawson (born November 20 , 1932 ) is a United Kingdom -born Actor , Comedian and Game Show host. He was born in Gosport , England as '''Colin Emm'''. At the age of 14, he ran away from home to join the Merchant Marine , where he pursued a Boxing career. Having married British Sex Symbol Diana Dors , Richard moved to Los Angeles, California , where he gained fame in the hit show '' Hogan's Heroes '', which aired from 1965 to 1971 . Richard and Diana eventually divorced, and Richard gained custody of both their children, Gary and Mark. In 1971 , Richard became a regular performer on '' Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''. After ''Laugh-In'' ended in 1973, Mark Goodson signed Richard to appear as a regular on '' Match Game '73 ''. Dawson proved to be a solid gameplayer and was the frequent choice of contestants for the "Head-to-Head Match" portion of the show's bonus round. In 1976 , Richard got to host his own show, '' Family Feud ''. Unlike his flop in 1974 with ''Masquerade Party'', ''Family Feud'' became a hit, soon surpassing ''Match Game '77''. In 1978 , he left the ''Match Game'' (he also won a Daytime Emmy Award that year for Best Game Show Host, for '' Family Feud ''). After Dawson became a Naturalized Citizen of the United States in 1984 , he showed his passport and photo during the introduction of an episode of ''Family Feud''. He continued hosting the ''Feud'' until it was cancelled in 1985 . .]] Dawson co-starred in the movie '' The Running Man '' in 1987 , playing evil, egotistical, dark-sided game-show host Damon Killian. He hosted an unsold Pilot for a revival of the classic game show '' You Bet Your Life '' in 1988 . In 1994 , Richard returned to '' Family Feud'' for one season. Dawson was considered for the current version of ''Family Feud'', but elected not to host. There was a rumor that spread claiming that Dawson had committed suicide after his return to ''Family Feud'' had failed. In actuality, it was Ray Combs , the man who replaced him (and whom he in turn replaced in 1994), who committed suicide (in 1996). Dawson currently resides in Beverly Hills, California with his wife since 1991 , Gretchen (Johnson) Dawson, whom he met when she was a contestant on '' Family Feud ''. They have a daughter, Shannon Nicole and 3 grandchildren, Lindsay Dors Dawson, Tyler Emm Dawson and Emma Rose Dawson, all fathered by Gary. EXTERNAL LINKS
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