Every square inch is covered with something. ![]() They are working out some bits for Treasure Hunt and there is much giggling and many noisy sound effects.īarris in 1969 Leonard McCombe / Contributorīarris' office is unbelievable. He is in the midst of a conference with two writers, both of whom, like Barris, are wearing faded blue denims, seemingly the official uniform of the office. I found Barris behind a door marked "The Prez" on the second floor. manner, and the intense morning sun gives it all the tonal subtlety of an overexposed color slide. It is an ugly structure, architecturally sexless in that peculiarly L.A. The headquarters of Chuck Barris Productions is the old Vine Street Theatre in Hollywood, a khaki-colored building ringed by rotting palm trees, their leaves layered with the dust of passing automobile exhausts. Nobody accused him of paying to have the book published, although, as you will see, they could have. Both of these charges are substantially false. Among the theories floating around was the usual he-bought-all-the-copies-himself notion and there was even some talk that Barris hadn't written the novel himself. Naturally, there was a lot of speculation within the gossipy New York publishing industry about how You and Me, Babe got to be a best seller. Another unusual thing was that Barris' editor was no longer talking to him. Not the least of these was that You and Me, Babe reached the number-seven spot on The New York Times Best Seller List, a remarkable performance for a first novel, particularly one which got, at best, lukewarm reviews. Over the next ten weeks, a number of extraordinary things happened. "We'll do it our way."Īmong the theories floating around was the usual he-bought-all-the-copies-himself notion and there was even some talk that Barris hadn't written the novel himself. "We'll do it our way, right," Barris says. We're coming out with both guns blazing." There's no way we're going to lowkey this book. "I think," Granoff says, "that he'd better fasten his seat belt. There's one thing he knows for sure: people don't buy what they don't know about.īarris asks Granoff, his closest friend and one of his business advisers, as they step into the elevator. His usual business is inventing and producing television game shows like The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The New Treasure Hunt, an occupation which has amassed him a personal fortune estimated at about eight million dollars. It is designed both as a reaffirmation of the venerable publishing myth that if a book is good it will find an audience and as a last-minute admission by an editor that now that he's published your book he hasn't the foggiest notion in hell whether it will sell or not.īarris is new at this here publishing business. He used words like "lowkey" and "word of mouth." It is a standard publisher-author speech, familiar to anyone who has ever published a book. A love story must learn to swim upstream, to find its way into the hearts of the people. A first novel, you see, is a difficult thing to sell. It's one morning last spring Barris and Budd Granoff have just come out of a meeting with Larry Freundlich, editor in chief of Harper's Magazine Press and the man who tiptoed in where fourteen other publishers had feared to tread by publishing Barris' first novel, You and Me, Babe, and they are stunned.įreundlich, a bright, energetic man who came up through the ranks of the New York publishing business, had given Barris and Granoff his vision of how the publicity for the book should be handled. ![]() ![]() Barris’ other publications include The Game Show King (1993), Bad Grass Never Dies (2004), and Della: A Memoir of My Daughter (2010).Chuck Barris can't quite believe what he has just heard. It also marked the directorial debut for actor George Clooney. His 1984 autobiography ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’ was adopted into a 2002 film starring Sam Rockwell, Julia Roberts, and Drew Barrymore. Barris’ first book ‘You and Me Babe’ was published in 1974. Other notable songs include “Summertime Guy” for Eddie Rambeau, and “Love Sickness” for Milton DeLugg. It was recorded and performed by rock and roll singer Freddy Cannon. He was best known for the 1962 single “Palisades Park”. In addition to television, Barris was a songwriter and author. ![]() The show ran from June 1976 to September 1989 for a total of 501 episodes. In 1976, Barris produced and hosted ‘The Gong Show’ on NBC. Other shows include ‘The Family Game’, ‘How’s Your Mother-in-Law?’ and ‘The Parent Game’. It featured newlywed couples facing off against each other to see how well they know their mates. Barris followed up with the game show ‘The Newlywed Game’ in 1966.
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