Family Feud

Family Feud is a popular television game show that pits two families against each other in a contest to name the most popular responses to a survey-type question posed of 100 people. The format, which originated in the United States, has been exported to many countries. See Family Fortunes for the UK version of the show.

Broadcast / show history

The Richard Dawson / ABC era

The daytime version debuted on ABC on July 12, 1976. A nighttime syndicated version debuted in September 1977; it originally aired as a weekly series before expanding to two nights a week in January 1979 and to five nights a week in September 1980. Goodson originated the idea for Feud from one of his other game shows, CBS's Match Game. The first half of the "Super Match" round of Match Game included the results of a studio audience survey where audience members gave their answers to a fill-in-the-blank phrase. The top three responses to that phrase were concealed on the board, and the contestant won more money by choosing a more popular answer. Family Feud was spun off from this very same survey concept, although fill-in-the-blanks were not used in "Feud". Rather, questions like "name a popular brand of cereal" were incorporated instead. Richard Dawson, a Match Game panelist who helped contestants win thousands of dollars, became the host on wheels.

Family Feud was the highest-rated daytime game show for two seasons (1977-78 and 1978-79) until CBS's The Price Is Right surpassed it. It was also the highest-rated syndicated game show from 1978 until 1984, when Wheel of Fortune took over the top spot. In May 1978, during the height of the show's popularity, ABC aired the first in a series of All-Star Family Feud prime time specials where teams of celebrities -— often the cast members of a television show — played the game to raise money for various charities. The show won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Game Show in 1977, while Dawson won the Daytime Emmy for Best Host or Hostess in a Game Show in 1978. Richard Dawson's hosting style was very unusual: for example, he almost always kissed the female players, and gave some of the women and their children lollipops from a special "lollipop tree" (introduced in the middle of the 1982-83 season) at the end of each family podium.

Dawson often did not let sobriety or good taste stand in the way of his hosting. A number of times contestants could not understand the question due to Dawson's slurred speech. In one show an African American contestant picked a black lollipop, the winning color, and Dawson held the lollipop up to the contestant's skin and asked the crowd if the contestant had an advantage. On another show, an Asian family was not ready to answer a question when Dawson asked, so he yelled gibberish Chinese at the family until they turned around and answered. This personable style made him very popular as a game show host, but makes old versions of the show somewhat inappropriate by contemporary standards.

The last ABC daytime episode aired on June 14, 1985, with Dawson delivering an emotional farewell speech at the end of the show. The syndicated nighttime edition of Feud continued for three months afterwards, before wrapping up in September after eight years. (Viacom, the show's syndicator, offered reruns to stations, including WOR-TV in New York, for one year after that, packaged as The Best of Family Feud. Due to WOR's status as a superstation, those markets where a local station did not pick up the reruns still got the show.) In its nine-year existence, 2,311 network daytime shows, 976 syndicated evening half-hour shows, and 17 ABC primetime hour-long specials (1978-1984) had been produced, with $1,557,150 given away to charity on 170 celebrity specials on the daytime and nighttime shows, and $14,833,000 won by contestants.

The Ray Combs / CBS era

On July 4, 1988, the new version of Family Feud premiered on CBS (replacing a brief revival of (game show)|The $25,000 Pyramid" target="_blank" >^*), with a new host, comedian Ray Combs. A new syndicated primetime edition with higher stakes premiered two months later. The show generally stayed the same from the previous format, except lowering the target score back to $300, and omitting the play/pass option (The family member with the highest answer automatically got control), in addition to a revised set and theme.

On June 29, 1992, the CBS daytime version became known as The New Family Feud Challenge, and expanded to one hour. The new format used a "challenge" format where two challengers played a round for the right to face the champion from the previous show, a preliminary "Bullseye" round was added in which contestants tried to build up the amount of money they could win in Fast Money from an initial bank. One at a time and starting with the team captain, the players were asked a series of five Family Feud-type questions; only the number one answer was accepted. During the first half of the Family Feud Challenge, families started with a $2,500 bank. The first question was worth $500, the second $1,000 and so on up to $2,500 for the fifth question; thus, the maximum jackpot for any one team was $10,000. During the second half of Challenge, question values were doubled and families built on a $5,000 bank for a possible jackpot of $20,000. The Bullseye was played prior to the first question.

The Bullseye was added to the half-hour syndicated version in the fall of that year, when it became known as The New Family Feud. The dollar values were the same as were in the second half of the CBS Challenge format.

At the end of the 1993-1994 season, Jonathan Goodson (who became chairman of Mark Goodson Productions following his father’s death in 1992) replaced Combs with original Feud host Richard Dawson, in an effort to boost the syndicated version's declining ratings. (Combs' replacement would be one of the many factors that resulted in his 1996 suicide.) On Combs’ last show (aired on May 27, 1994), the winning family got 77 points in Fast Money (with the second player not getting any points), and Combs himself walked out of the set during the credits of his last episode. The show also expanded to one hour and used a format similar to that of the Family Feud Challenge with families from the original ABC version playing in the second half of the show. (Some stations however opted to carry only the second half-hour.) The ratings improved with Dawson back as host, but in large part due to the O. J. Simpson trial pre-empting the daily broadcast, the show only lasted one more season with Dawson as host, ending on September 8, 1995, after seven seasons.

The Anderson / Karn / O'Hurley syndicated era

In 1999 a third version premiered in syndication with host Louie Anderson. In 2002 Anderson was replaced as host by Richard Karn. This version is still airing and is produced by FremantleMedia (formerly Pearson Television), who currently owns the rights to the Goodson-Todman library of game shows. Tribune Entertainment distributes the series.

On the E! True Hollywood Story: Family Feud, Anderson was quoted in 2002 saying that the show wouldn't last one season without him. His prediction proved to be wrong, as the show has continued for four additional seasons, and is slated to be on at least through the 2006-2007 season.

On March 28, 2006, a press release from Fremantle stated that John O'Hurley will be the show's new host starting in Fall 2006, and the show will be revamped with a new look to celebrate the show's 30th anniversary.

Gameshow Marathon

In 2006, Family Feud was the last of the seven game shows used in the CBS series Gameshow Marathon. Ricki Lake served as host and Rich Fields was the announcer for the entire seven-episode program. The Family Feud episode--which was the "Championship Game" for the series' tournament--used a set modeled after the original Dawson-era set. However, the giant trilon was replaced by a huge plasma screen, similar to the current version.

Host contenders

In addition to the four regular hosts, there were additional contenders for the hosting spot as well.

In 1976, Geoff Edwards was approached by Mark Goodson and offered him the job to host. Edwards though was still under contract with both Bob Stewart Productions and NBC, and was unable to accept the job.
In 1988, Joe Namath was slated to host the show, but when producers discovered Combs, Namath was soon replaced.
In 1999, Dolly Parton was Anderson's main challenger for the hosting job. Richard Dawson was also offered the hosting job for the current series, but elected not to host.
In 2002, Mark Curry from Hangin' with Mr. Cooper auditioned for the job.

Substitute hosts include Sammy Davis, Jr., who guest hosted one round during the Richard Dawson era, and Caryn Lucas, the show's contestant coordinator, who temporarily replaced Dawson for part of one episode when he suffered broken ribs. Producer Howard Felsher also hosted one round due to a judging disagreement between him and Dawson.

Announcers

Gene Wood was the original announcer of Family Feud. Johnny Olson announced the pilot, Johnny Gilbert substituted once during the Dawson era in the spring of 1981 (including one episode when Richard met his second and current wife as a contestant). Rod Roddy filled in during the Combs era during the summer of 1991, and Art James also served as a fill-in announcer during the Combs era during November 1989. Burton Richardson has been the show's regular announcer since 1999.

Episode status

The recordings of all episodes are believed to still exist. The Game Show Network currently airs the '70s Dawson and the pre-Bullseye Combs versions. The Family Feud Challenge was aired for a short time on GSN, as was the 1994 Dawson version (GSN is currently not allowed to air this version on account of a special Goodson-Todman contract). The i network (formerly PAX) rerun the 1999 Anderson version until 2004, when it began showing episodes of the current Karn version.

Theme song

The original theme song for the Family Feud, simply named "The Feud", was a more elaborate version of a hillbilly-type prize cue heard on The Price Is Right. Composed by Robert Israel for Score Productions, the theme was at a higher pitch for the first two years and finally slowed down in 1978. It was re-recorded (with synthesized drums) in 1988 for the Ray Combs version, and for Dawson's 1994 return (the opening to which can frequently be heard as a Showcase giveaway on The Price Is Right) the theme was revamped with jazz instruments. In 1999, John Lewis Parker orchestrated the current "party" theme, complete with a portion of the original Robert Israel theme in the opening. In 2002, the 1988-1994 Feud theme from the Combs version was brought back for Richard Karn's first season. It was remixed by Score Productions in 2003 to have a techno beat similar to the current theme, but this version was never used on the air.

Recording locations

In the Dawson version from 1976-85, Family Feud was taped originally at the Vine Street Theater, and later at the ABC Television Center in Los Angeles. From 1988-95 in the Combs version (CBS/Syndicated) and Dawson version (1994-1995), it was taped at CBS Television City. The current version initially taped at CBS Television City, then at NBC Studios in Burbank, California, and finally at Tribune Studios, in the fall of 2003.

Rules of the game

Representatives of the family (a total of five members on each team; in 1994 there were only four members) are posed questions that have already been answered by 100 people. An answer is considered correct if it is one of the concealed answers on the game board. The game board originally had 12 spaces, but usually three to ten answers were used per question. Since 1994, only up to eight answers (six in double or triple value rounds starting in 1999) were used since the game was played on the electronic display board; in 1994, audience members simply saw the game played on the board used during Fast Money, but since 1999, a monitor was integrated into the studio, and the game board appears on the monitor. (From 1999-2003, the entire game board was raised to allow the host to appear through the board for his entrance. The 2003-06 seat features large video monitors for the family names and the game board.) More points are given for answers that had been given by more people in the survey (one point per person); answers must have been given by at least two of the 100 people in order to be included on the board. Until the Bullseye round was introduced in 1992 on the Combs version, matches were played for money instead of points.

Examples of questions might be "Name a famous George", "Tell me a popular family vacation spot", or "Name something you do at school."

The participants aren't asked questions about what is true or how things really are. They are asked questions about what other people think are true. As thus, a perfectly logical answer may be considered incorrect because it failed to make the survey (e.g.: for the question about Georges, George Jones was a popular country singer, but if his name was given by less than two people, it would be considered "wrong").

However, the questions often result in funny distortions by contestants, who give off-the-wall answers. A classic example is: "Name the month a pregnant woman begins to look pregnant," to which one contestant replied "September" (which resulted in Dawson completely losing his composure for a good two minutes). During an edition of the 1988-94 version, the host asked the question, "Name a word you'd use to describe your wife," to which a contestant answered, "Wet;" the humor didn't even sink in for the host until he repeated it for the audience and the entire crowd broke into loud laughter. In the British version of the show, a question was "Something you wouldn't try, not even once," to which a contestant replied "Sex on a train!" In a 2003 episode, a question asked contestants to name characters on The Andy Griffith Show; it was clear that one family — through their answers — had never seen the show.

Main game

Two family members face off to see which family will gain control of that particular question. Traditionally, they greet each other with a handshake before the question is read. Whoever guesses the more popular answer in the survey has the option to play the question or pass it to the other family (except during the 1988-1995 version, when they were automatically given control of the board). If neither player gives a valid answer, the next member of each family gets a chance to answer with control again going to the family giving the most popular answer. If both answers are worth the same amount of points, control goes to the player that buzzed in first.

The family in control then attempts to give all the remaining answers on the board. Starting with the next family member in line, each gets a chance to give one answer. The family gets a "strike" if they give an answer that is not on the board or fail to respond (following of which the host says "Three seconds"). Three strikes cause the family to relinquish control of the board and the other family then gets the chance to steal the cash in the bank if they correctly guess one of the remaining answers. Except in the 1988-1994 version, the entire family may confer before the answer is given. (In that version, each of the four members of the family were asked their opinion, and the head of household was then told, similar to a Super Match on Match Game, to either select one of those four or their own.) Any remaining answers are then revealed; per tradition, the audience yells each unrevealed answer in a choral response.

From 1992 until 1995, and from 1999 until 2003, if the family steals the cash in the bank by guessing one of the remaining answers, the value of an answer that "stole" would also be added to the bank.

Questions are played for double and triple points toward the end of the game. The number of double and triple-point questions in the game has varied over the years:

Originally, when the first family to reach $200 won the game, the format was 1-1-2-2.
On March 5, 1979, when $300 became the goal, there was 1-1-1-2-3-3 (this format was also used in the CBS daytime version, 1988-1991, syndicated version 1988, later from 1990-1992 and also used in Dawson's nighttime show and Gameshow Marathon), but two weeks later, it changed to 1-1-2-2-3-3, and also for the 1988 primetime version, and a modified version was also used in 2003 (see below), it also changed to 1-1-2-3. (Same structure to the Combs version from 1989-1990 and special versions of the Family Feud. I.E. CBS vs. NBC, The Price Is Right vs. The Young and the Restless, Louie Anderson version when the family reaches 500 points on the Family Circle Tournament of Champions and the current Richard Karn version if the family reaches 300 points individually.)
Briefly on Dawson's era, around 1980, the format was briefly changed to 1-3-3-3. It was quickly removed.
When the target score was increased to $400 during Dawson's last season (1984-1985), the format was 1-1-1-1-2-3-3. During this time when celebrities would play, the game was played to $300.
From 1999-2003, four rounds were played, as 1-1-1-3. In the fourth round (triple), the team in control of the question would only give it up after one "strike". Thus, a family who won the first three rounds could still lose the game in the fourth round after giving only one incorrect answer. Also, in this version, a family didn't necessarily have to win 300 points to win the game. After four rounds were played, the family who had the most points won the game. In the rare case of a tie after four rounds, a fifth round, similar to the 1992 Bullseye round, would be played. The player who buzzes correctly with the top answer in the final round wins the game. This format was heavily criticized for making the first three rounds essentially worthless, as quite frequently the total value of the fourth-round bank would be higher than the combined total banks of the first three rounds, meaning in effect that a family could have won all three preceding rounds, give up the fourth, and lose the overall game.
Since 2003, a modified version of the 1988 primetime format has been played, with one major change: the fifth round and subsequent rounds (if neither family has 300 points) are played as tiebreakers similar to the 1999-2003 format; only the top answer is worth any points, which, with the value being tripled, is almost always (if not always) enough to pass 300 points and win. Thus, it follows the 1-1-2-3-SD / 3 format.

Fast Money round

The winner of the game goes on to play the Fast Money round, where the host asks two different family members the same five survey questions. One family member leaves the stage and is placed in an isolation booth and the other is given 20 seconds (15 seconds before 1994) to answer those questions. If he or she can't think up an answer to a question, he or she may pass and come back to the question at the end, time permitting. The number of people giving each answer is revealed once all five answers are given or time has expired (whichever comes first). The player earns one point for each person that the "survey says" gave that answer and at least two people must have given that answer to be valid.

Once all the points for the first player are tallied, the second family member comes back on stage and is given 25 seconds (20 seconds before 1994) to answer the same five questions. Duplicate answers are not allowed; the host asks for another answer if the contestant gives one.

If one or both family members accumulate a total more than 200 points, the family wins the top prize; if they score less than 200, they earn $5 for every point (Example: 198 x $5 = $990). From the show's beginning until 1992, the top prize a family could win in Fast Money was $5,000 on both the ABC and CBS daytime versions or $10,000 on the syndicated versions. The top prize has been $20,000 since 2001. It was increased to $50,000 for a lucky home viewer for Gameshow Marathon.

Returning champions

From 1976 until 1985, on the ABC daytime show, champions could stay until defeated or reach the limit of $25,000 possibly set by Mark Goodson since the 1976 show wasn't taped at CBS (this was raised to $30,000 in 1984). On the syndicated nighttime version of the era and the Louie Anderson version from 1999-2002, there were no returning champions; two new families appeared on the show nightly and daily,

From 1988 until 1995, and again since 2002, all versions featured returning champions (for a limit of 5 times; limit was lifted in 1992 on the syndicated run), which resulted in returning for a tournament of champions, see below.

Tournament of Champions

The 1988-94 version carried special tournament for the four highest winning families from certain periods of time returning for a Winner-Take-All Tournament of Champions. These were held rarely at first for both the CBS and the syndicated versions.

No more of these were done on the syndicated version after the second season. The CBS version, however, continued doing them, but in mid-1990 started doing them every month, with the top four money-winning families of the previous month returning.

The current syndicated version began doing tournaments in 2002. The first occurred in May 2002 with the Family Circle Tournament of Champions, with eight winning families returning in a single-elimination tournament. The jackpot started at $50,000, and went up $20,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $170,000. For this particular tournament only, if Fast Money wasn't won, $5 a point was added to the jackpot. Each game was played to 300 points except for the finals, which required 500 points to win the game and the jackpot. The winning team for this tournament won a trip to Charleston, South Carolina, and tickets to the Family Circle Cup women's tennis tournament in nearby Daniel Island, in addition to the money. The runners-up for this tournament won a trip to Jamaica.

This version, however, did not do tournaments on an occasional basis again until three years later, May 2005. Again, eight families were brought back, but this time consisted of either families who previously lost their first game (for the tournament that was held in May 2005 and May 2006), or previously winning families but not necessarily focusing on the higher winning families of the past (for the Tournament held in February 2006). The differences at this point for the tournaments were that the jackpot started with nothing (except for the February 2006 Tournament of Champions, which started at $10,000), losses in Fast Money don't add anything to the jackpot (like the 1988-1995 version), and the championship game was played to 400 points. Trips were sometimes also awarded to the jackpot-winning family, like Hawaii during the February 2006 tournament and Mexico during the May 2006 tournament.

Special Weeks

Special-themed weeks have been prominent during "sweeps" weeks during the show's long history, through all eras. Among them were soap opera stars playing against each other; pro wrestlers also played for a week (with a special "Beauties Vs. Beasts" opening in which Gene Wood would imitate a referee going out onstage); stars from Baywatch; and even a week of game show hosts competing against each other in 1983, featuring on one team, Jim Perry, Bob Eubanks, Nipsey Russell, Betty White and Bill Cullen; and on the other team, Bert Parks, Jim Lange, Tom Kennedy, Leslie Uggams and Peter Marshall. In 1980, members of the Kansas City Royals and the Philadelphia Phillies squared off against each other in a 6-show series, to reflect the teams' 6-game World Series that was held shortly before taping (ABC held Major League Baseball rights, and aired Feud.). There was a week of The Price is Right vs. The Young and the Restless, (both aired back to back in CBS daytime, some stations only) played for charity in November 1991. In September 1993, a special week of shows was also filmed in Nashville, Tennessee, using certain set/game elements that would later be seen on the syndicated 1994-95 version.

RTL, which produces Feud, has featured in recent years as sweeps weeks cast members of Survivor, even though they weren't allowed to use the name in the US (RTL holds international rights to the show, but not US rights, which is also the case with many Mark Burnett shows), figure skaters from the Stars on Ice Tour, and NASCAR, with Feud's "NASCAR week," taped during Pop Secret 500 weekend in late August 2004, airing in the week leading to NASCAR Championship Weekend in Homestead, Florida, featuring teams from all three national series.

During the NASCAR themed week, a Nextel Cup show car appeared on the stage, and NASCAR's own theme music played instead of the usual music as the teams lined up for the face-off.

Home versions of the show

Milton Bradley made eight editions of the ABC version after 1976. Pressman Games created two editions (similar to the MB editions) based on the CBS version: one from 1990 and one from 1993 with the Bullseye round called "The New Family Feud." Endless Games created three editions since 1998 (two from the current version of the show and one with the Bullseye round) with dry-erase boards to put answers on unlike the MB and Pressman versions in which players can slide out the answers to view.

The first computer version of Feud was released in 1983 for the Coleco Adam. Sharedata released versions for MS-DOS, Commodore 64 and Apple II computers in 1987 that were similar to the Adam version and based on the Richard Dawson era. A 1989 sequel, "The All New Family Feud," was based on the syndicated version of the Ray Combs era. GameTek released versions in 1990 for NES (similar to Dawson even though the package shows the Combs set), 1993 for SNES and Sega Genesis, 1994 for Panasonic 3DO and 1995 on CD-ROM (based on the 1992-1994 version, although the host resembles Dawson). Hasbro Interactive released a version from 2000 (featuring Louie Anderson) for the PC and Sony PlayStation. In 2003, Imagination Entertainment released a DVD game of Feud with Richard Karn.

Uproar.com has an online version of the show from 1999 (which includes the double round even though the show did not have it from 1999 to 2003). The most current version (released in 2005) was created by IWin.com and can be bought online or downloaded for a free trial from IWin.com and similar gaming sites like Yahoo Games; it is based on the current Karn version and can be played by single or team players. IWin.com also released a Holiday Edition of the game that was made available on a limited basis.

Versions outside the USA

Since 2001, Canal 13 in Argentina has had its own version. The show is called "100 Argentinos Dijeron", and like most versions of Feud in Latin America, its set is a dead ringer to the Mexican version of the show.

The Belgian version is called Familieraad. It's hosted by Koen Wauters, and it airs on the Flemish-language VTM network.

A Brazilian version of Family Feud, hosted by Silvio Santos, began in June 2005 on SBT. Their version's set is sort of a cross between the Richard Karn-era US Feud set and the 100 Mexicanos Dijeron set.

The Bulgarian version is called Семейни войни. It was cancelled in 2005 because of low ratings.

The British version of the show, which ran from 1980 to 2002, returning in 2006 on ITV, was called Family Fortunes; see this entry.

The French-Canadian version is called La Guerre des clans ("War of the clans").

Reg Grundy, who produces the Australian version of the show, also has produced Chile's version of the show, called Desafio Familiar ("Family Challenge").

A version in Colombia is called 100 Colombianos Dicen, which means "100 Colombians Say". It is hosted by Carlos Calero and airs on Caracol TV.

Estonia also has its own version of the show. It's called Rooside Sõda, and is hosted by Kristjan Jõekalda. It airs on TV3 Viasat.

The title of the French version, Une famille en or, means (literally) "a golden family" and (figuratively) "a family to treasure". TF1 first aired the show in the late 1980s.

The first German version was called Familien Duell ("Family Duel") and shown on RTL hosted by Werner Schulze-Erdel. The show was cancelled in 2003 after eleven years because of lower ratings in the relevant target group for advertisers. A new version started in February 2006 on RTL II with the new title 5 gegen 5 ("5 against 5"), which also serves as the title for the Swiss version.

In Greece the show has had two incarnations; the first, broadcast in the beginning of the '90s decade was known as Kondres (Clashings) and was presented by Vlassis Bonatsos. The second, which aired at the end of the same decade, went by the name of Kondra Plake (a pun on "Kondres" and a cheap type of wood) and its host was Spyros Papadopoulos.

The Indonesian version is called Famili 100. Shown beginning from mid-1990s on TransTV, it has went on to become one of the most popular game shows in Indonesia.

Japan had a show called the Asked 100 People Quiz ("クイズ１００人に聞きました”) in the mid to late 70's.

Malaysia also has a version of the Feud, called Famili Ceria.

A Mexican version of this show was called 100 Mexicanos Dijeron, which means "100 Mexicans Said" and was shown on Telefutura in the USA from 2002-2006. It was produced by Televisa, the dominant network in Mexico, and was hosted by the square-jawed and ever-smiling Marco Antonio Regil. Now, the show has moved to the United States, still airing on Telefutura with the same host, but it has a new title, called "Que Dice la Gente?", also serving as the title for Venezuela's version of the show. Julio Cesar Palomera is the announcer for both shows.

In the mid-1990s, the Netherlands had a version of Family Feud on RTL4, titled Vijf Tegen Vijf. The show has since returned to the air, now on Talpa TV and hosted by pop singer Gordon.

In the early 1990s, a version of the Feud began airing on stations in Pakistan. The original emcee for the series was also a contestant on the Ray Combs version in 1991.

The Philippines has its own short-run version of the show, shown in ABC 5 from 2001-2002. It's hosted by Ogie Alcasid, a Filipino actor and singer.

The Polish version is called Familiada (a merging of the words familia and olimpiada, i.e. "Family Olympics"). The host is Karol Strasburger, a popular actor.

Portugal is casting contestants for a version on RTP in 2006. It's called "Em Familia com Fernando Mendes", and is hosted by (as the title says) Fernando Mendes, formerly with O Preco Certo Em Euros (The Price is Right in Portugal)

Spain also has had a version of Family Feud, titled La Guerra de Familias ("The Family War").

A version of Family Feud has aired in Switzerland as of 2005. It is called 5 Gegen 5, meaning "5 Against 5" and is hosted by Sven Epiney.

Thailand has had its own version. It is called 4 Against 4 Family Games ("4 Against 4 Sundae" in special episode). hosted by Kanit Sarasin since 2002.

In Turkey, it is called Aileler Yarisiyor, meaning "Families Are Competing" and is hosted by singer/actor Erol Evgin. The show first aired on Kanal D around the same time Louie Anderson's Feud was just beginning.

A version in Venezuela is called Que Dice la Gente?, which asks "What Say the People?" This version is hosted by a female named Maite Delgado, and it airs on Venevision.

As of 2005, a version of Family Feud has aired in Vietnam.

Fremantle's website also lists Denmark, Finland, India, Israel, Italy, Lebanon (which ran on MTV, not to be confused with the music channel of the same initials), Norway, Russia, South Africa, and Sweden as other countries with versions of the show.

Before They Were Stars

Kathy Najimy, before becoming an actress and voice artist (as Peggy Hill on King Of The Hill), played with her family on a 1981 episode of Richard Dawson's Feud. Her family returned on June 29, 2006 to play the Feud finale on Game Show Marathon, playing against Brande Roderick's family (she appeared on the Feud in 2000 along with her Baywatch Hawaii co-stars). Najimy won the tournament and won $100,000 for her charity.

The 1981 clip featuring the Najimy family revealed that they needed three of the second player's five answers to win the Fast Money round. It also points out that Najimys recorded 230 points; in the Gameshow Marathon episode, the same result occurred as before, but their total was 202 points, 28 points fewer than they scored with in 1981.

References in popular culture

Saturday Night Live has featured several sketches parodying Family Feud. The earliest known sketch, from 1978, featured the Coneheads as one of the families and Bill Murray in the role of Richard Dawson. Later sketches featured Dana Carvey and Phil Hartman as Ray Combs.
National Lampoon's European Vacation featured the Griswold family competing on a game show called "Pig in a Poke", which was an obvious parody of Family Feud (only, the competing families had to wear pig costumes) and it featured John Astin as the Richard Dawson-like host who kissed female contestants.
In Living Color featured a Family Feud parody in which the Jackson Family played against the English Royal Family. The parody also included Ray Combs who portrayed himself.
Episodes of Mama's Family (with Dawson) and 227 (with Combs) have featured characters appearing as contestants on Feud.
Sesame Street once featured Dawson as host of a Feud parody, "Family Food."
A television commercial for Old Navy clothing stores in 2002 featured another Feud parody, "Family Fleece". This starred actress Morgan Fairchild.
An episode of The Jetsons had the Jetsons face the Spacelys on "Family Fallout."
On the British satirical gameshow Have I Got News For You, team captain Paul Merton made a mocking reference to the perceived stupidity of many contestants on the UK version Family Fortunes. Also, the "uh-oh" sound heard on the British show when contestants gave an answer which was not among the answers given by the "hundred people surveyed" has become a common reference point in British popular culture.
A November 1979 episode of ABC-TV's Angie starring Donna Pescow featured Richard Dawson playing himself on the popular game show. The set featured on the episode was not the original Family Feud set at ABC studios but a mock-up created for the sitcom.
A May 2003 episode of NBC-TV's Watching Ellie featured Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Ellie trying to win a vacation by booking a faux family with her to appear on the show. Richard Karn played himself.
The Family Guy DVD of The Untold Story shows a cutaway of Peter portraying a perverted version of Richard Dawson. The cutaway shows him greeting with a contestant named Betsie, after he kisses on her cheek, he puts his hand under Betsie's shirt and touches her right breast, then the left one.
In the "Da Boom" episode of Family Guy, a group of highway people, upon finding the family doesn't have any food, and in fact, is looking for some themselves, refuses to let them pass until answering a Feud-style question ("Something one takes on a picnic"). The family's answer: potato salad. As the highway people look at a cloud (presumably waiting for a bell or buzzer), the family backs away and leaves.
In the beginning of the film The Sequel, every time a passenger goes through the security checkpoint, either the trademark bell, buzzer or ring-in sound from Family Feud can be heard.
An episode of the sketch comedy MADtv featured cast member Will Sasso spoofing the Louie Anderson-era Feud, yelling out at the top of his lungs, "Lord, if you have any mercy on me, please just kill me right now. Come on, do it! ...ah, I guess he's busy. Play the Feud..." Another sketch was spoofing the Karn era of feud with Lord of the Rings vs. Cold Mountain. Nobody knew who Richard Karn was!
The Showtime sketch comedy Bizarre made numerous references to Feud and Richard Dawson's constant kissing of contestants. In one sketch, host John Byner played Dawson as he was about to be married; the "I dos" were posted on a survey answer board. The sketch ended with Byner walking out of the Bizarre studio -- still in character as Dawson -- kissing practically everyone on his way out, including the camera and a stray dog sitting outside the studio door. In another sketch, Byner played a medical expert who showed the audience the "number one cause of herpes" -- a picture of Dawson.
One of the Homestar Runner cartoons (specifically, one of Strong Bad's E-Mails), Strong Bad is watching Family Feud. He comments, "Survey says...you're an idiot."
The familiar "Strike" buzzer is used on other various TV and radio programs, particularly talk shows and the NFL pregame shows. The buzzer can also be heard on the new talent search program America's Got Talent, whenever all three judges have decided not to let a contestant go further in the competition.
In the first movie of the Lethal Weapon series starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, while Gibson is watching TV, you can hear Gene Wood reading the ticket plug from the Dawson version on the TV.

External links

The show's official website
UK Gameshows Page: Family Fortunes (UK title of the show)
Funny Family Feud answers
Bert Newton's Family Feud
Family Feud at Game Show Favorites.com
A single-player version at Uproar.com (Requires Registration)
Family Feud Online multiplayer version
Take a Family Feud survey and download the version from IWin.com
A downloadable (same) version at Yahoo.com
BigJon PC Games (A website with a fan-made version of "Family Feud" based on the 1994-95 edition)

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