As stated on my "About Me" section, the temporary name for these newsletters is The Unknown. If you haven't already done so, you can read why that name was selected.
As for how that name was selected, allow me to explain.
Our creative team has developed a host of great ideas for this Substack adventure, but the one sticking point was what on the surface seems like the easiest. A name.
Several weeks ago, for a reason I'm not sure of, someone shared a random clip of an appearance by The Unknown Comic on the Gong Show on Facebook. A couple of days later that clip popped into my head while walking through the house and that was it.
The Unknown.
We're not sure where we're headed on this venture, so we'll simply call it The Unknown. At least for now. We'll get to a rebrand at some point in the future.
If you're of a certain age you're likely familiar with The Unknown Comic and the original Gong Show. If you're not, you're probably not.
The original version of the Gong Show ran from June 14, 1976 until Sept. 15, 1978 on NBC.
Canadian actor and stand-up comedian Murray Langston made more than 150 appearances on the show using the stage name "The Unknown Comic."
Here's a clip of one of those appearances.
Langston was born in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia and left home at the age of 15 because his parents, who were disabled and financially strapped, couldn't afford to raise him and his younger siblings.
He began his show business career in 1970 on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In doing impressions of a fork, a tube of toothpaste and a grandfather clock.
Langston later teamed with comedian Freeman King and became regular performers on The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, making more than 100 appearances.
He appeared on other prime time television shows, including The Hudson Brothers Razzle Dazzle Show, The Wolfman Jack Show, and The Bobby Vinton Show. Langston also worked with Redd Foxx, Joan Rivers, Jim Carrey, Ruth Buzzi, as well as creating comedic situations including several segments for Candid Camera.
Early in his career, Langston had invested in a nightclub restaurant called "SHOW-BIZ."
Several now-famous people worked there as servers, including Debra Winger, Michael Keaton (then known as Michael Douglas), David Letterman, Gallagher, Tim Reid and Freddie Prinze. However, the club closed within two years, exhausting Langston's savings.
Needing money, he accepted an offer to appear on The Gong Show.
He was reportedly embarrassed about appearing on the show, so (with the director's permission) he put a paper bag over his head with holes for his eyes and mouth, memorized a few old jokes and burst onto the show as "The Unknown Comic." The character, a frenetic speed-jokester in smarmy attire, was a hit, and developed a cult following.
“It was really the first reality show,” Langston told the Los Angeles Times. “Anybody could get on and do anything crazy. It didn’t matter if you read poetry backward or just sucked on a popsicle. It was like a party. Chuck was the host with the most and I was the guy with the lampshade on his head.”
Langston also wrote for The Gong Show for a short time as well as appearing regularly in Las Vegas and making the rounds of many popular talk and variety shows.
In the early 1980s, he revealed himself as "The Unknown Comic" on an episode of Real People in which the show's hosts pulled off the bag on his head. He also revealed his true identity at the conclusion of a match on the celebrity edition of the game show Bullseye.
Langston reappeared as "The Unknown Comic" in the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002).
He has occasionally appeared as a stand-up comic in Las Vegas and wrote a memoir, Journey Thru The Unknown.
Back to the Gong Show.
It seemed wildly out of place in its time slot, which was 11:30 a.m. Central weekdays for most of its run. For the first six months, it actually shared that time slot with a five-minute newscast anchored by Edwin Newman. That lead-in made it all the more strange.
The show would move to 3 p.m.
On each show, amateur performers would compete and receive scores from a panel of three celebrity judges.
The daily winner would receive the "Golden Gong" trophy and a check for $516.32.
There was also a "Worst Act of the Week" named each week. That performer received a dirty tube sock and a check for $516.32.
The show produced a number of outrageous moments.
Among them was an episode where every contestant sang the 1974 song "Feelings" by Morris Albert and the time when judge Jaye P. Morgan flashed the audience during an appearance by Gene Gene the Dancing Machine. That got her banned from the show.
In addition to the craziness, there were a couple of success stories.
Andrea McArdle, who was 12 years old at the time, appeared on the show just before winning the lead role in the Broadway musical "Annie." Also, Cheryl Lynn was signed after her appearance on the show and recorded :Got To Be Real," which would be a Top 40 disco hit.
He would later become better known in another line of work, but former Minnesota Vikings assistant coach Brian Billick appeared on the show.
Billick, who would later be the head coach of the Baltimore Ravens when they beat the New York Giants in Super Bowl XXXV, performed a routine called the "spider monkey." Couldn't find a clip.
There have been several revivals of The Gong Show, including a movie in 1980. The most recent incarnation was for a 10-week run on ABC in the summer of 2017.