And then Charles Nelson Reilly came along and gave Brett a foil they played off of each other fantastically. The show was a flop and closed after just five performances. Advertisement: Missing Episode: Gene's tenure. Did Brett Somers marry Gene Rayburn? [2] She married actor Jack Klugman in 1953; they had two sons, David and Adam. Somers was her mother's maiden name. Her younger son, Adam, shared the cause of her death was colon and stomach cancer. Well, Jack Klugmans wife was Brett Somers and Brett fit in beautifully on that show. Also, who was Brett Somers spouse? Dick is, of course, an excellent dancer, he said while talking to the Independent Press-Telegram in 1972. It should have some good lyrics. Are you trying to find out more about Louis Osbourne? Like a lot of people back then Gene did his stint in the military when he felt the need. I was not. Who Will Replace Mark on 'Live With Kelly' If He Returns to Acting? Many viewers were introduced to Somers and Reilly on Match Game, as if theyd sprung straight from the Spiegel catalog, the Paris Hiltons of their day, famous for being famous. Match Game host and actor Gene Rayburn passed away in 1999 at the age of 81. In 2002, Brett appeared with Betty White and Charles Nelson Reilly as part of a Match Game reunion on the CBS program The Early Show. Somers, meanwhile, in a Match Game cast reunion a few years ago, was asked to describe the premise of the show. They got caught up in a bidding war, says Adam, and NBC wanted to give them a shot at the big time. Eugene Jeljenic is how I was born in Chicago several years ago. The unfortunate event happened at his daughter's Gloucester, Massachusetts home. It was catchy. Love how the celebrities interact with each other. Its kind of difficult to define a personality, Gene commented to The Times of San Mateo, California, in 1956. After the war, Gene worked on the "Rayburn and Finch Show" and, later, the "Gene Rayburn Show" in the early fifties. Gene Rayburn, the actor and veteran quiz show host best known for emceeing television's "The Match Game," has died. The show returned in 1973 with a significantly changed format on CBS (also in daytime). Brett Somers was famous among game show fans for her appearances on the 1970s hit The Match Game, where she traded comical insults with host Gene Rayburn and fellow panelists Richard Dawson and Charles Nelson Reilly. Whenever he feels romantic he yells (BLANK).'" The questions were usually a bit risqu, at least for that period, incredibly tame today. She was once 83. This was alleged to have proved that record promoters could pay DJs to play records on stations for bribes, making the songs very popular, albeit for a price. In 1983, she starred in her own sitcom, Brett, wich was cancelled after one season. Westport, Connecticut - Actress and comedian Brett Somers, who amused game show fans with her quips on the "Match Game" in the 1970s, has died, her son said. Between 2003 and 2004, Brett started her own show which she called, An Evening With Brett Somers. The ex-entertainer had lost the music for Scotch Hot, but he remembered the tune and once again he played for an audience. However, Betty White is still going strong at the age of 98. They had two sons and Brett had had a daughter before she married Jack, and there was contention between them about how to raise their children., Related: 121 Classic (and Not-So-Classic) TV Sitcoms from the 1970s, Geoffrey points out that there were other problems between them in the form of Jacks really large personality quirks. This is a query our professionals keep getting once in a while. My task in replacing him would require me to greatly improve my dancing and at the same time learn and perfect that Gower Champion choreography to make my dancing as closely as possible a mirror image of Dicks. This opportunity started his long career in the media industry. Fill in the blank: In the mid-70s, most Americans could name more members of the celebrity panels on Match Game or Hollywood Squares than they could name ______. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! During the original run of Match Game from 1973 to 1978, thre were a number of celebrities who smoked on the show. However, she was diagnosed with cancer in 2004. It was widely reported that they never divorced, but California records show the couple officially divorced in 1977. Jeremy Rytky: What you should know about Andrea Barber's ex-husband. The Blog Digger team is on a mission to open minds and ignite a love of learning in families all over the world. Reilly, meanwhile, was both strapping and doughy, in one sense the embodiment of the pre-AIDS sissy stereotype, with his ascots, hairpieces, shirts opened to the third button and tidy penmanship, and also a prophetic send-up of the post-AIDS hypermasculine gay man, especially when he lowered his voice and became Chuck, the pipe-smoking alter-ego. Second, he makes an interesting stylistic change to the set. Today a lot of people wouldn't even consider joining the military . Even despite the fact that the 2 did not get off at the right foot when they first began filming The Odd Couple in 1970, it was handiest a matter of time until they put their differences aside and turned into the most efficient of pals. Now, The Odd Couple has become part of our language and culture.. A Rayburn, long the host of the game show, passed away in 1999. She appeared on several episodes of The Odd Couple (1970), playing "Blanche", the ex-wife of real-life husband Klugman's character, "Oscar Madison". From 1982. The band was originally offstage, he continues, and hidden behind a wall. The Adorable and Eco-Friendly Pet: The Bat-Eared Fox! [citation needed], Her Broadway debut was in the play Maybe Tuesday. I watch it everyday, I DVR it so I can watch an episode later, and all these years later, it is still just as fresh and relevant as the day the episode originally aired. It was spontaneous, very loose and freewheeling, and all of that catered to Genes skillset. So are such frequent individuals as Richard Paul, Marcia Wallace, Dick Martin, Patti Deutsch and Bill Daily. And it paved the way for the literally thousands of game shows that have existed since then. Particularly because it was the dancing itself six solid months of it that finally rehabilitated my left leg. Brett made guest appearances on many television shows including: Charles Nelson Reilly (January 13, 1931 May 25, 2007)gave her the nickname of Susan on the set of Match Game. And she clicked on Match Game. Whereas Hollywood Squares had nine celebrities, Adam details, they do six celebrities on Match Game and the format is totally changed. Dawson, and Reilly (formerly Game Show Network.) Among their usual culprits: television in general and in particular game shows, perhaps the strongest a posteriori evidence that Americans brains were getting flabby on cultural junk food. It's also possible that Gene Rayburn didn't like anyone. Gene had just one wife and was once never married to Somers. Brett and Charles did many things in their careers but their appearances on "Match Game" throughout the 70s were so delicious . 1. Somers gave the impression on several episodes of The Odd Couple, playing the ex-wife of Klugman's personality. She performed foil to Charles Nelson Reilly, Betty White, Scoey Mitchell, Fannie Flagg and many others. Gene lost his father while he was an infant, resulting in the family moving to Chicago where his mother met and married Milan Rubessa. Her appearances on Match Game led radio personality Robin Quivers to impersonate her in parodies of such game shows on The Howard Stern Show. Cullen was once a pre-med pupil at the University of Pittsburgh, however had to withdraw as a result of financial issues. I picked up a phone book and saw a lot of names that I didnt want and one that I did, that name was, of course, Rayburn and I became Gene Rayburn., Says Adam, As kind of a side note, he was hired as part of the same group of NBC pages that included Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. and Dave Garroway, who would go on to host Today. I went to rehearsal expecting the worst, but it turned out to be a breeze. Brett used to be as soon as married to actor Jack Klugman, but they separated in 1974. The couple had purchased their own house in Roxbury, Conn. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. In 1953, she married Klugman, the actor who rose to fame as the star of the television shows The Odd Couple and Quincy. "The Match Game" ran from 1973-1979. A part of that cold, cruel world was radio., Adam shares that Gene really wanted to pursue a career in theater and, specifically, he was actually interested in opera, of all things. Gene wasn't buried but cremated and his ashes spread over his daughter's garden. Actress and author ("Fried Green Tomatoes") Fannie Flagg wrote a wonderful tribute to Brett Somers and Charles Nelson Reilly that appears in the current issue of Entertainment Weekly. On the show hosted by Gene Rayburn, contestants were required to match answers to questions presented by a panel of celebrities which Brett Somers was among and due to her witty remarks, she became a popular celebrity panellist on the show. For her debut episodes she sat in the lower-left panel position, but for the remainder of her tenure she occupied the center seat of the upper tier, most often next to Charles Nelson Reilly, who joined as a regular around the same time as Brett and settled into the top-right seat. In 1973, Brett became a popular panelist on the television game show, "The Match Game." She also became a U.S. citizen. Youre not you for a few hours every day. Somers and Klugman were long reported to have separated in 1974, but remained legally married until her death, a belief furthered by Klugman's waiting until after Somers died to marry his second wife. And that about sums up the show., In describing the game, Adam says, If two people on the team write the same answer, you score more points and it goes on from there. Brett was diagnosed with cancer in 2004 and after several years of battling with the illness, Somers died at her home in Westport, Connecticut, on September 15, 2007. On paper, that looks like such a great idea, to take these two star-driven games that people loved with two wonderful emcees in the form of Gene and Jon Bauman, who was Bowzer in Sha Na Na, and put them together and they just bumbled it. He died at the age of 79 of esophageal. ode to the vampire mother results; national asset mortgage lawsuit; green tuna paper; mary davis sos band net worth In 1953, Mr. Klugman married actress and comedian Brett Somers, best known as a game-show panelist on the "Match Game" in the 1970s. Whatever happened to Gene Rayburn? Today's Panel: George Gobel, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Stephanie Edwards, McLean Stevenson, and Elaine Joye He smoked cigars, he gambled there was a lot of Oscar Madison in him. In 1962 along comes Password, and Goodson and Todman had a business model where as soon as they had a hit show on their hands, they would introduce rip-offs of it, which was kind of a brilliant strategy. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the first game show ever was Spelling Bee, which aired all the way back in 1938.On the show, host Freddie Grisewood tasked people with, wait for it, spelling words. Brett Somers died of stomach and colon cancer on September 15, 2007, at her home in Westport, Connecticut. In 1958 Gene pointed out to the New York Daily News, For the first time in my life, Ive got normal hours. Canadian-born actress and comedian Brett Somers, who amused game show fans with her quips on Match Game in the 1970s, has died, her son said. But like so many actors, fun and challenge are synonymous. In 2005, Somers reunited with Jack Klugman onstage in Danger, People at Large, three short comedies presented at Fairfield University. Oddly enough, though, Match Game was just the thing that worked for him. Was Gene Rayburn and Brett Somers married? Rayburn was married to Helen Ticknor from 1940 until her death in October 1996. He showed tremendous leadership skills at the learning institution, where he was a senior class president. Pregnant Amber Ray Jokingly Blames Her Village 'Witches' after She Gets Hospital Oburu Oginga Hints at Raila Odinga Vying for Presidency in 2027: "He's Not Retired", Baba Mona: Late TikToker's Dad Appeals for Help to Bury 3 Kids, Granddaughter Who Perished in Accident, Rigathi Gachagua Says Matiang'i Fled Kenya Fearing Ruto Would Harass Him: "Some People Are Cowards", Hamason Baraka: Ailing Mum of Boy Born without Bowel Opening Dies as He Starts Treatment, 100+ hottest handsome boy status to share on Instagram and WhatsApp, Top 25 beautiful black actresses over 50 you need to know, How to get KMTC admission letters 2022 and other details, UK mine plan pits enthusiasts against environmentalists, Indian Man Taunted for His Height Breaks Bones to Grow Taller, Diana Maura Says Hubby Bahati Can't Eat Food Prepared by Her Househelps: "Lazima Nijipange", Pregnant Amber Ray Jokingly Blames Her Village 'Witches' after She Gets Hospitalised: "Mtaniombea Kifo", Joseph Gatiba: Meet Upcoming Kenyan Musician Who Works as Driver for Super Metro. Gene had only one wife and was never married to Somers. In 1970, Somers was cast as Jackie Stevens on The Odd Couple. I was standing backstage, and I thought, Youre an older person., You should be lying down somewhere in a nice cool bed watching TV! And I went out there, and I just had a great time.. Its two contestants playing for themselves and trying to match the six celebrities on stage. Well, of course, in the phone book. This allowed him to interact with other industry personalities like Mark Goodson and Bill Todman in 1953. She was clearly left-handed as she was always seen writing her answers with her left hand. That name of yours sounds Eye-talian. Was gene rayburn married to brett somers? What happened to Gene? He moved to New York City in the 1930s where he was a page for NBC, later working as an usher for the NBC symphony orchestra. [citation needed], A member of the Actors Studio from 1952,[11][12] Somers began her career in theater and made many of her initial television appearances in dramatic programs such as The Philco Television Playhouse, Kraft Television Theatre, Playhouse 90, The Naked City and Robert Montgomery Presents. [citation needed] She played the role of Siress Belloby on the 1978 science-fiction series Battlestar Galactica. By 1952, the team of Rayburn and Finch split up when Gene was wooed away by NBC, where he started hosting his own show. Reviewed the Democrat and Chronicle of this early version of the show, In his newest role, Gene Rayburn has relinquished a good deal of the silliness and settled down to the extremely serious business that is an emcees function: to make certain the half-hour is light, bright and mentally untaxing. Posted on December 26, 2007. Although Somers' cancer had been in remission, it returned in an inoperable form in 2007. He was 81. Its already hard enough to catch lightning in a bottle twice, but by 1989 you have Gene Rayburn whos turning 72 and you do have to wonder if 72-year-old Gene Rayburn can deliver what 50-year-old Gene Roddenberry delivered. And he turned that show into a minor success that managed to stay on the air a few years. The repartee was hardly the stuff of Mike Nichols and Elaine May or even Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca they basically tried to match contestants answers to questions that called for a lot of toilet and underwear jokes but with Somers and Reilly what mattered more was not what was being said exactly but who was saying it. I love RICHARD DAWSON, Brett and Charles. She married Milan Rubessa, and Gene took his new father's surname immediately. After moving to New York, Somers married and had a daughter, Leslie, before divorcing her first husband. According to Adam, this was because they got caught up in a bidding war, and NBC wanted to give them a shot at the big time. Following her death, Somers was cremated and her ashes were interred at Memorial Garden at the Unitarian Church in Westport, Connecticut. Inspired by a character from Ernest Hemingways The Sun Also Rises, she changed her name to Brett, attaching her mothers maiden name, Somers. Did Brett Somers marry Gene Rayburn? Rayburn also had a long career in radio and television, serving as an announcer on many shows and hosting his own programs. She played foil to Charles Nelson Reilly, Betty White, Scoey Mitchell, Fannie Flagg and many others. Our content is designed to be personal, curated and relevant for each family, regardless of their age or interests. However, they never officially divorced. He has written for some of the biggest blogs and newspapers in the world. After his father died at a very young age, his mother moved to Chicago and married Milan Rubessa, and Gene adopted his stepfather's name. In 1953, Brett Somers married Jack Klugman. Gene Rayburn was born on December 22, 1917, in Christopher, Illinois. Riveting stuff! and would she get . With such an exhaustive. Charles Nelson Reilly, another regular, died from pneumonia complications on May 25, 2007. I watch it for 3 hrs everyday. She was best known for her role as Jackie Stevens on the television sitcom The Odd Couple from 1970 to 1975. He was born in Madison, Wisconsin and currently resides in Anaheim, California, Camren Bicondova Interesting Facts About Her Life & Career, Emily Rudd 10 Facts About Her Life & Career, 11 Facts About Balthazar Getty Life, Career, Family, 14 Facts About Blair Waldorf The Gossip Girl Series, Cory Michael Smith 9 Interesting Facts About Hist Life And Movies, Interesting Facts About Bill Skarsgrd Life & Career, The Secret to Beautiful and Captivating Eyes, A Spotlight on Alan Aldas Daughter Beatrice Alda. All Rights Reserved. Together they had one child, Leslie Klein (who died of lung cancer in 2003), but their marriage ended in divorce. Randy took a big shit on him. He died at the age of 90 in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California, from prostate cancer on December 24, 2012. Russell is one of the iconic figures of Match Game. Get the news that matters from one of the leading news sites in Kenya. It is hard to calculate how much she earned, but, usually, some actors make deals for a smaller upfront flat fee but get part of the royalties if the movie continues to be played on TV, whereas some actors take a flat fee for the movie and nothing on the back end, which means no royalty payments. An actress, singer, and comedienne, Brett Somers was born Audrey Johnston in 1924 in New Brunswick, Canada. Gene hosted the Match Game portion and Jon Bauman the Hollywood Squares portion., Fairchild Archive/Penske Media/Shutterstock, Amazingly, there were plans to bring Match Game back yet again in 1989 with Gene once again hosting, but things took a strange and sad turn around that time when Entertainment Tonight, in what used to be nightly sign-offs for the show, announced birthdays and noted that Gene was 69 years old. The Background: It was early fall 1978. "Match game" circa 76: from left, Charles Nelson Reilly, Brett Somers, Gene Rayburn and Richard Dawson. Go for it. And so DeBartolo starts writing the question for comedy and word of mouth apparently spreads and the ratings began ticking up. Charles Nelson Reilly was born in South Bronx, New York in January 1931 and passed away in 2007. Brett was best known as a panelist on the 1970s game show Match Game and for her recurring role as Blanche Madison opposite her real-life husband, actor Jack Klugman, on The Odd Couple. Alec Baldwin likes playing with matches. A month before his passing, he managed to appear in person to accept a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Most people just want a little fun out of life. But neither disavowed their Match Game legacy. After serving within the Army as an officer, bombardier and pilot right through World War II, he become a group of workers announcer at WNEW radio in New York, the place he helped to popularize what is referred to now as pressure time programming in a full of life, early morning radio show called Rayburn & Finch. He later hosted other techniques for NBC William Lawrence Cullen was born in Pittsburgh. She also wrote an autobiography entitled Confessions of a Matzo Ball Mother (1997). Brett Somers was known for wearing various wigs and it is unclear which, if any, of these were real hair. The marathon was followed by the Match Game documentary The Real Match Game Story: Behind the Blank.. I hadnt done any acting since I left college. Everything I had done was strictly off the top of my head, but for the Montgomery stanza, the script did all my thinking for me. It was long reported that Somers and Klugman separated in 1974 but remained legally married until her death; this mistaken belief was furthered by the fact that Klugman waited until after Somers died to marry his second wife. The maximum commonplace rationalization is the fact he was extraordinarily upset with how he was once treated by Kline & Friends, as he discussed all the way through interviews close to the top of his life. Asked once to describe Match Game, she said: Youd get six people who are not smart, dont know what theyre doing, put them on a panel, and find two contestants off the street, and ask them dopey questions., In 1980, she portrayed Rose Miller in Getting There.. They had a weather map that was permanently imprinted on a chalkboard and Gene would draw symbols on it. Somers was best known for her appearances as a panelist in the 1970s CBS game show Match Game. Bruce Willis Is Surrounded by Love and Family Amid Dementia Battle, Bruce Willis Family Is Heartbroken After His Dementia Diagnosis, Sailor Brinkley Cook Is Excited About Being Part of the Next Generation, Sean Kanan Suffered Scary Emergency on The Karate Kid III Set, Sailor Brinkley Cook Says Mom Christie Brinkley Is a Big Inspiration, Cary Grants Best Quality Was His Humility, Wife Barbara Jaynes Says, The Reason Why Acting Icon Estelle Parsons Agreed to Star on 'Roseanne'. So much fun to stumble across this thread! Brett passed away on September 15, 2007 at the age of 83 from a combination of stomach and colon cancer. It brings back memories and GOOD memories. Bad career move. But Somers might have been the true sexual pioneer. Brett Somers was on Match Game the most. Score: 4.9/5 (55 votes) . And in real life she was exactly what you saw onscreen, a funny, down-to-earth person.. Shows like Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune thrived at night but were more about the game and less about the show; as all Americans time budgets became pinched, viewers just couldnt commit to the kind of wit that Somers and Reilly brought to Match Game. The celebrity-driven shows that remained on the air became graveyards for once-promising talents or never-quite-wases. How I became Gene Rayburn is a little story in itself, he told the News-Pilot of San Pedro, California in 1973. In 2013,TV Guideranked the 197379 CBS version ofMatch Gameas No. Brett Somers (born Audrey Dawn Johnston; July 11, 1924 September 15, 2007) was a Canadian-American game-show personality, actress, and singer. They had one child, a . 16 . In his personal life, Gene married Helen Ticknor in 1940 and remained with her until her death in October 1996. They didnt divorce for years, but they stopped living together. She was 83. Reilly won a Tony in 1962 for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, was an acclaimed theater director and had multiple Emmy nominations. Brett Somers, born as Audrey Dawn Johnston, was a Canadian-American actress, singer, and game-show personality, who was best known for playing the recurring role of Blanche Madison on the TV show The Odd Couple and for appearing as a panelist on the CBS game show titled Match Game.. In 1958, Somers made her Broadway debut in a flop play called Maybe Tuesday, which also featured future TV star Alice Ghostley, who played Esmeralda on Bewitched. I love Match Game. Brett used to be as soon as married to actor Jack Klugman, but they separated in 1974. They had two sons, Adam and David. Penny Marshall and Cindy Williams originally appeared as the characters Laverne DeFazio and Shirley Feeney on an episode of Happy Days . However, it is possible that at least some of the wigs worn by Brett Somers were not real hair, as she was known for her over-the-top fashion sense and often wore outrageous costumes on The Odd Couple. Subsequent game shows included The Match Game (1962), Make the Connection (1955), Musical Chairs (1954), Play Your Hunch (1958), Tic Tac Dough (1956) and Dough Re Mi (1960). One of the big TV game shows of the 1970s was Match Game, hosted by Gene Rayburn, which featured six celebrity panelists who would try and match answers with contestants. Brett was once married to actor Jack Klugman, but they separated in 1974. Please note that this form cannot be used to reset your Google or Facebook password. She appeared in a cabaret show An Evening with Brett Somers in 200304. Actress and comedian Brett Somers, who amused game show fans with her quips on the "Match Game" in the 1970s, has died, her son said. He is also known for voicing the character of Clayface on Batman: The Animated Series. Last Update: October 15, 2022. They went to Gene and basically said, Listen, we need an announcer for the show and we want you to do it. Gene basically said yes, because he didnt have enough elbow room to say no. Check your inbox to be the first to know the hottest news. The biggest challenge he faced was the fact that years earlier hed fractured his left leg in multiple places in a skiing accident, and the show required extensive dance sequences. The television show with clever witticism defined its host, giving him a grand and revered persona in the media industry. Did Brett Somers marry Gene Rayburn? Actually, Gene clarified in 1973, I went to college for about 20 minutes, and then I ran out of money and went into the cold, cruel world to make some. However, they never officially divorced. She began her career as a model before moving to New York City to pursue acting. His daughters theory is that thats why he was so obsessed with being an actor, because when youre an actor, youre playing a character and changing your identity. Now, we have got a complete detailed explanation and answer for everyone, who is interested! Somers was a familiar on-screen presence, wearing enormous eyeglasses and various wigs. She wasnt particularly a great actress, but whatever the attraction was, it was there. Her Broadway debut was in the play Maybe Tuesday. It was a comedy in three acts and seven scenes. Maybe Im wacky wanting to act so much. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. After completing his studies, Rayburn was interested in acting and singing in the opera. They didnt dislike each other which is why she appeared on so many episodes of The Odd Couple but they just didnt want to live together anymore. The divorce went through in 1977. They made many tv appearances as a couple. He also had a small part in the movie, It Happened to Jane (1959). Gene Rayburn had persuaded lyricist Carl Sigman to write words for the tune, which became the popular Hot Scotch Polka. Record sold like hot cakes in this country and, across the Atlantic, Bill Whitlock moved into two large rooms. So Gene began putting more people on stage for him to work with and he turned it into this fun, free-wheeling comedy game where the game was kind of secondary to his own antics. Actress and comedian Brett Somers, who amused game show fans with her quips on "The Match Game" in the 1970s, has died, her son said. WESTPORT, Conn., Sept. 17 (AP) Brett Somers, the actress and comedian who amused game show fans with her quips on "Match Game," one of the most popular quiz shows of the 1970s, died on Saturday. They would also end up hosting an evening edition titled Night Shift with Rayburn and Finch. The couple had a long-lasting marriage of 56 years. Plus, if the bottom drops out of the game show business, I want to be ready for something else, he mused. The two separated in 1974 but never divorced. In 1973 she played Perry Mason's receptionist Gertie on The New Perry Mason, a short-lived revival of the classic TV series, with Monte Markham as Perry Mason. Richard Dawson wore sunglasses on his final appearance on Match Game because he had scratched his eye and left a scar. Genes account, Adam relates, was that his phone never rang again after that. She appeared in numerous television shows througout the 1950s and 1960s, including The Ed Sullivan Show, The Jack Paar Show and The Love Boat. Brett Somers, Gene Rayburn and Charles Nelson Reilly were regulars on the 1970s show 'Match Game.'. -- Dick Martin, Brett Somers, Charles Nelson Reilly, Lorrie Mahaffey, from "Family Feud," Richard Dawson, and Joyce Bulifant, as we play the star-studded, big-money Match Game PM, and here's the star of Match Game PM Gene Rayburn! His job at the time was as a night watchman. On top of that, Gene begins interacting with the stage hands, he begins bringing announcer Johnny Olson on stage for gags. Please scroll down for much more on Gene Rayburn and Match Game. On top of that, Genes brother was killed in a traffic accident when Gene was still a child, and his mother actually blamed him for the death, which is something he had to live with.