In 2010, Dawson explained why kissing was so important to him: Felsher recalled the vote about kissing was "something like 14,000 who said 'kiss' and 300 or 400 who said 'don't kiss.' It was that lopsided."ĭawson similarly talked about how uneven the voting was, and other sources indicate there may have been more votes for the practice to stop it was not a problem based on overall totals, but the show did take steps to try to mediate the controversy. To see what the viewers actually wanted from Dawson and from the show, fans were asked to write in about it. They had a couple of people with a little imagination and flexibility in there, and they were fired!
They are the most inflexible tunnel visioned, colorless and frightened people in the world and you can quote me on that. According to producer Howard Felsher, the network was the problem: Richard Dawson's kisses were so prolific that he earned the nickname "The Kissing Bandit." Women came to expect kisses and, to some extent, Family Feud producers supported Dawson's actions. There were people upset that I would embrace or hug someone of a different color. I kissed them for luck and love, that’s all. There were people I know that got upset that I kissed people. In 1985, Dawson explained the importance of kissing and why he kept doing it: Due to an overwhelming majority of support, kissing continued. He asked fans of Family Feud to write in and let the show know if kissing needed to stop. Additionally, fans at the time were upset that he was kissing non-white contestants.ĭawson wasn't about to give up kissing but decided to let the viewers decide.
Because there was no way of knowing the marital status of the women or whether they wanted to be kissed, the network executives asked Dawson to stop.
The lucky kiss worked for the contestant, and soon the practice was commonplace. When a woman needed help thinking of an answer, her obvious nerves sent him in to do something "my mom would do to me whenever I had a problem of any kind." He kissed her on the cheek. The origin of his signature move, according to Dawson, was spontaneous. Early in his tenure, Dawson began kissing female contestants - for "luck." The charismatic host was known for his banter, quick wit, and general bucking of the norm, but the kissing was something that made advertisers and TV executives nervous. Richard Dawson was the first ( beating out William Shatner) and the third host of Family Feud.
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