Richard Dawson was born in Gosport, England on the November 20, 1932. When he was 14, he joined the Merchant Marines and served for three years. During that time he made money boxing. He had to lie about his age and remain tough so the older guys wouldn't hassle him. In the late 1950's, Richard met a British actress named Diana Dors. On April 12, 1959, while in New York for an appearance on The Steve Allen Plymouth Show, the two were married. Richard and Diana's first child, a son Mark was born in 1960 and a second son, Gary, was born in 1962. Richard and Diana separated in 1964 and eventually divorced in 1967.

When Richard moved to the United States, he began acting on the well-known series Hogan's Heroes in 1965. Richard played the lovable British Corporal Peter Newkirk. The show ended in 1971. Not long after that, in 1973, he became a panelist on Match Game 73 and remained there until 1978.

While still on "Match Game," he hosted his own show, which he is most remembered by, called "Family Feud" (1976)_ . His trademark, kissing all the female contestants, was one of the things that made the show a warm and friendly program, along with his quick wit, subtle jokes, and ability to make people feel at ease with being on camera. In 1987, Richard co-starred with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the movie The Running Man. Richard played an egotistical game show host, Damon Killian, whom many say was a mirror image of himself at one time or another, during his real-life career.

When Richard was 62, he hosted the third incarnation of "Family Feud" in 1994, but had only a short run. On April 6, 1981, the Johnson family appeared on Family Feud and Richard was introduced to 27 year old Gretchen. They had a daughter, Shannon Nicole, in 1990, and were married in 1991. They are still married and reside in Beverly Hills, California.

Richard is semi-retired. He narrated "TV's Funniest Gameshow Moments" on FOX in early 2000. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23rd, 2000 he hosted a Family Feud marathon which was filmed in 1995.

Some people hear the name "Richard Dawson" and may not know who you're talking about. But say his name followed by his famous quote "Survey said...!" or mention 'Newkirk on "Hogan's Heroes,"' and they're sure to know who you mean.


Joined the Merchant Marines at 14 and stayed for 3 years. Appeared on the TV Special "Bizarre" (1980) by Einstein and Bye with guest Steve Martin. Hosted Thanksgiving Day "Family Feud Marathon" in 1995, aired November 23rd, 2000. Richard became a U.S. citizen in 1984 and showed his passport and photo to America during the intro to a "Family Feud" (1976) episode. Hosted "Family Feud" (1976) for a total of ten years: nine consecutive years (1976-1985) and one non-consecutive year (the 1994-95 season). Hosted a 1988 pilot episode of "You Bet Your Life" (1980) which was never sold. During an interview early in the "Family Feud" (1976) run, he revealed that he enjoyed wearing and collecting T-shirts (a huge fad in the 1970s). Shortly after, the custom began of families on Feud presenting him a shirt early in the game, usually during the "introduce the family members" portion. As a result, he has one of the largest collections of unique and rare T-shirts in the world. Picked up the nickname "The Kissing Bandit" during the initial run of "Family Feud" (1976) because he greeted every attractive female contestant with a kiss. Was portrayed by Michael E. Rodgers in the film Auto Focus (2002) about Hogan's Heroes co-star Bob Crane's life. Before "Family Feud" (1988) was revived in 1988, producer Mark Goodson, wouldn't allow him to come back as host, because of conflict with the producers, so the job went to Ray Combs, who hosted until his firing in 1994, at the time of Combs' firing, and a couple years after Mark's death, Jonathan M. Goodson made the decision of bringing him back to the show. Before he was an actor, comedian and a game show host, he worked as a waiter. After his divorce from Diana Dors, he continued to send flowers to his ex-wife on her birthday, every year, and always defended her. Was not the first choice to host the original "Family Feud" (1976) for ABC, when Mark Goodson found out that Geoff Edwards was under contract with both Chuck Barris and Bob Stewart, hence, he was unavailable to host the show's pilot. According to fellow game show host Jim Perry, he said Dawson had occasionally thrown zingers, between the first-run of "Card Sharks" (1978), which was also produced by Mark Goodson, but was hosted by Perry himself. But when asked the question as to how many people knew it was actually him, only 31/100 people agreed. Long before Kathy Najimy would become an actress, she would be one of his winning contestants on a family. Sons, Mark Dawson and Gary Dawson, and daughter-in-law, Cathy Hughart Dawson, all worked for Mark Goodson Productions, including "Family Feud" (1976). While talking with a contestant on Family Feud who happened to be a member of the merchant marine, he mentioned that not only had he run away from home at 14 and joined the merchant marine; his first ship was the Atlantis.