Chuck used to tell a tale about the time he spent as an ABC executive. Admission to studio lots is closely controlled, and parking space is always in short supply and carefully regulated. Chuck was in constant conflict with studio guards over a difference in perception regarding what he believed he was entitled to.
So, when he left the executive corps, and made a deal with ABC for his first show, he obtained private office space on the lot and took great joy in breezing by the guards in his Rolls, acknowledging their presence with a one finger salute.
If you take the kind of mentality that story illuminates, and look closely at the Gong Show, you can see that it was the perfect Chuck Barris product.
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