Richard Dawson was born Colin Lionel Emm on November 20, 1932 in England. It was in England where his career began. He was a comedian known as Dickie Dawson. His first appearance was on Benny Hill when he was 21 years old. Richard was also on BBC radio along with his future wife. In 1963 he appeared on the Jack Benny Show and the Dick Van Dyke Show. His most famous role was Corporal Newkirk on Hogan’s Heroes. After the cancellation of Hogan’s Heroes he joined the cast of Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In. He also appeared as a joke telling panelist on the short live syndicated revival of the game show Can You Top This. His appearance on the game show caught the attention of producer Mark Goodson and his career in game shows was born.
Richard became a regular panelist on the game show Match Game in 1973. His jokes made him very popular. He usually occupied the lower center spot. The other regulars were Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly. Match Game was hosted by Gene Rayburn. The panel of 6 would be ask a question such as “Jim said my dentist is so nearsighted, he just tried to ____ my nose”. The contestants would try and guess what the panel would answer. The winner would go on to the super match to try and guess the best match to things like _____ house. If they match then the winner would pick one celebrity to match. Richard was the one most chosen. He left Match Game due to burnout and the introduction of the star wheel during the Super Match.
In 1975 Mark Goodson tapped Richard to host a new game show called Family Feud. Richard became famous for kissing the female contestants. He earned the nickname “The Kissing Bandit”. The executives at the network wanted him to stop the kissing but the viewers demanded he keep on kissing. He hosted the show from 1976 to 1985 then again from 1994 to 1991. During his second run as host he only kissed the mothers in the family. It was on Family Feud that Richard met his second wife Gretchen. She and her family were contestants on an episode. Richard and Gretchen married in 1991.
Richard was a smoker and was often seen smoking on Match Game and Hogan’s Heroes. He smoked up to four packs of cigarettes a day. His daughter, Shannon, finally got him to stop smoking in 1994. Richard died in 2012 from complications of esophageal cancer. He was survived by his wife, 3 children, and 4 grandchildren. His son Mark runs a production company in Hollywood.