Charles Hirsch "Chuck" Barris (June 3, 1929 – March 21, 2017) was an American game show creator, producer, and host. He was best known for hosting The Gong Show, and creating The Dating Game and The Newlywed Game. He was also a songwriter, who wrote the hit "Palisades Park" for Freddy Cannon and the author of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, his claimed autobiography, which was made into the film Confessions of a Dangerous Mind directed by George Clooney. Barris' first wife was Lyn Levy, the niece of one of the founders of CBS. Their marriage lasted from 1957 to 1976, ending in divorce. Together they had a daughter, Della, who sometimes appeared on The Gong Show. Della died of a drug overdose from alcohol and cocaine in 1998 at age 36. By the time of her death, she was also HIV-positive.[13] In 1980, Barris married Robin Altman, 23 years his junior. That marriage also ended in divorce in 1999. The following year, he married Mary Clagett.
His uncle was singer, songwriter, and actor Harry Barris. Barris was diagnosed with lung cancer in the 1990s. After undergoing surgery to remove part of his lung, he contracted an infection and spent a month in intensive care. Barris died on March 21, 2017, of natural causes at his home in Palisades, New York at the age of 87, where he lived with wife, Mary Clagett.
