Game shows are classic entertainment that the whole family can enjoy. At primetime hours of the day, contestants answer trivia questions, run through obstacle courses, and prepare delicious or stomach-churning meals. The game show rewards its players with cash prizes, exotic getaways, and other goods and services, like a cozy recliner or a brand-new car. Multiple game shows have been introduced since the inception of television, each with their own set of rules and outcomes. One game show that everyone knows and plays is Family Feud.
On Family Feud, two families face off and give the most popular answers to survey questions. Answers range from educated guesses to suggestive innuendos, celebrating the devil’s advocate and teasing the seasoned family members. It’s a gateway game show into the minds of America’s lives; everyone knows that the hour you (should) wake up on Sundays is after you’ve slept in long enough for it to be Sunday again. Family Feud became a daytime television favorite with its family dynamics being played out and joked about by its hosts since 1976, and the family fun has only gotten funnier with each feud.
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6 Richard Dawson
Viacom Enterprises
Richard Dawson was the original host of Family Feud from 1976 to 1985 and returned as the third host briefly from 1994 to 1995. The game show was Dawson’s idea. He wanted to have his own game show after being a regular panelist on Match Game. Game show pioneer and producer Mark Goodson gave Dawson the spin-off show we know today. In 1978, he won a Daytime Emmy for Best Game Show Host. Dawson is a class act, despite the criticism he received for his kisses with female contestants. He later explained that growing up, his mother gave him a kiss for love and good luck, so the Kissing Bandit returned the innocent favor. It even led to Dawson marrying a contestant!
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5 Ray Combs
Viacom Enterprises
A classic example of a rising star, Ray Combs went from being a furniture salesman in Indianapolis to a stand-up comedian in Los Angeles. Combs would do warm-up routines for audiences at NBC sitcoms like The Golden Girls and The Facts of Life, both of which he made appearances on. His act gained the attention of Johnny Carson in 1986, and one performance later on The Tonight Show became the highlight of his comedic career. Combs became the second host of Family Feud from 1988 to 1994 and had a large viewership five days a week with an hour and a half time slot.
4 John O’Hurley
John O’Hurley is perhaps best known for his portrayal of catalog entrepreneur John Peterman on the famous show about nothing, Seinfield. He was also the voice of King Neptune XIV from Spongebob Squarepants. O’Hurley went on to become the sixth host of Family Feud from 2006 until 2010 after hosting To Tell the Truth and The Great American Celebrity Spelling Bee. He has a conservative brand of comedy, and when he noticed that the game show became less family-friendly, he no longer wanted to be its host. Interesting note, O’Hurley was both a contestant and host on Family Feud.
3 Richard Karn
America’s second favorite handyman Al Borland from Home Improvement, Richard Karn got his start on the Tool Time program due to a fated meeting with an agent in traffic school. Karn has starred in family dramas and comedies since then. This catered to his fatherly presence from 2002 to 2006 as the fifth host of Family Feud. He brought an energized warmth you expected and left audiences fixated.
2 Louie Anderson
Louie Anderson came from humble beginnings, the second youngest of 11 children to a doting mother and abusive, alcoholic father. Anderson made his television premiere in January 1984 on fellow comedian Rodney Dangerfield’s Young Comedians Special on HBO. In November of that same year, Anderson performed on The Tonight Show. He later created his hit animated show about his childhood, Life with Louie, which won two Daytime Emmy Awards. As the fourth host of Family Feud between 1999 and 2002, Anderson was a humanitarian host. Having been a watcher, contestant, and host, he convinced producers to double the prize money for families and organized a tournament that raised $75,000 in recovery efforts for the September 11, 2001, attacks.
1 Steve Harvey
Name a better comedian than one of the Original Kings of Comedy to host Family Feud. Steve Harvey has been the game show host since 2010, brandishing his sarcastic, dumbfounded sense of humor and wisdom with families and audiences every time. He has suffered the slings and arrows of not dumb questions, but dumb answers. A contestant was so bold as to “name a word or phrase that began with pork” and chose “pork-cupine.” Was it plain wrong? Yes. Was it funny? Yes. Harvey knows how to play hard and laugh harder.