Richard Dawson remains one of the most memorable hosts in television history thanks to his long run on Family Feud. Before becoming a game show icon, he gained fame as an actor and television personality, earning a reputation for his quick humor and natural ability to connect with people. His charm helped make Family Feud one of the most successful daytime television programs of its era. According to Grunge, however, one habit often attracted as much attention as the game itself. Dawson regularly kissed female contestants before or after speaking with them, earning the nickname “The Kissing Bandit.” While many viewers embraced the tradition, others questioned whether it crossed professional boundaries and whether it should have been allowed to continue. How Richard Dawson Turned Kissing Contestants Into A Signature Tradition FAMILY FEUD, host Richard Dawson, ABC-TV, 1976-1985, (c) ABC / Courtesy: Everett Collection The tradition reportedly began when Dawson noticed a contestant struggling with nerves during an early episode of Family Feud. Hoping to help her relax, he gave her a kiss on the cheek before asking a question. According to Dawson, the contestant immediately settled down and delivered the correct answer. The experience convinced him that the gesture helped put contestants at ease. The Game Show Network hosted several popular programs, including Family Feud / Flickr. From that point forward, kissing female contestants became a regular part of the show. Dawson often described the practice as a symbol of good luck and said it reminded him of the affection his mother showed him growing up. Many viewers saw it as a harmless expression of warmth, and the host’s popularity helped make the tradition one of the most recognizable features of the program. Why The Practice Generated Criticism And Health Concerns FAMILY FEUD, host Richard Dawson (ca. 1970s), 1976-85. © ABC / Courtesy: Everett Collection Despite its popularity among many fans, the habit did not escape criticism. Some sponsors reportedly felt uncomfortable with Dawson kissing so many contestants on television and encouraged producers to reconsider the practice. At the same time, some viewers believed the behavior was inappropriate for a game show host and questioned whether it belonged on daytime television. CELEBRITY FAMILY FEUD (from left): Toni Braxton, host Steve Harvey, and Towanda Braxton; ‘Anthony Anderson vs. Toni Braxton and Monica Potter vs. Curtis Stone’ (Season 1, ep. 101, aired June 21, 2015). photo: Adam Taylor / ©ABC / Courtesy Everett Collection Health concerns added another layer to the controversy. Reports later claimed that producers took unusual precautions behind the scenes because of fears that frequent kissing could spread illnesses. Former contestants recalled undergoing examinations before tapings as part of efforts to reduce potential risks. Although the criticism never forced Dawson to stop, the debate surrounding the kisses became one of the most unusual controversies in Family Feud history and remains a memorable part of his television legacy.   Next up: ‘The Graduate’ Cast Has Only Three Surviving Stars Left The post Why Did Richard Dawson Kiss So Many ‘Family Feud’ Contestants? appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Ruth A

1964 was shaping up to be an extremely busy year for The Beatles. After touring the United States and Canada, sparking Beatlemania and performing their first live US television set on The Ed Sullivan Show to a record 73 million viewers, they returned to the UK in March to begin principal photography on their debut [...]

The Graduate is a perfect time capsule of suburban life in the ’60s, and the pressures that affluent parents can subject to their aimlessly adrift children. Leading the cast of The Graduate, director Mike Nichols perfectly guides this masterful film, which follows the life of Benjamin Braddock as he co-pilots with his hormones and life decisions, as he is seduced by an older married woman, and eventually falls head over heels in love with her daughter, Elaine, It’s no wonder it became the highest-grossing film of 1967. By the third year of its release, The Graduate was the third highest-grossing movie of all time to that date. But did you ever catch a certain Jaws star in one of his earliest roles? And do you know if it was Butch Cassidy or the Sundance Kid who nearly nabbed Hoffman’s role, if only he could have persuaded Nichols that he ever had trouble with the ladies? Today, we’re going back to the ‘60s to see what Benjamin and the rest of the gang have been up to since college ended! Anne Bancroft (Mrs. Robinson) Anne Bancroft in the cast of The Graduate and after There’s no forgetting Mrs. Robinson, aka The Leg, belonging to the older, married woman who seduces the young Benjamin – and warns him to stay away from her daughter Elaine, which proves to become a larger problem later on. Bancroft / ImageCollect Anne Bancroft began working in 1951, booking her first major role in the Marilyn Monroe-led film Don’t Bother to Knock in 1952.  Over the next five years, she’d book 14 films such as 1954’s Gorilla at Large and 1955’s New York Confidential. Perhaps her most known role is in The Graduate, which delivered her third Oscar nomination. She’d go on to receive more nominations for Best Actress for 1977’s The Turning Point and then in 1985’s Agnes of God. But her lone Oscar win was her first nomination, back in 1963 for her incredible performance in The Miracle Worker. Her last appearance was as herself in a 2004 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. She had been working on a project called Delgo, which was released posthumously in 2008, as Bancroft sadly died in June 2005 at the age of 73. The cause of death was reported as uterine cancer. This news shocked many of her close friends as she did not disclose any of these details to them. Delgo was dedicated to Bancroft in her memory. Murray Hamilton (Mr. Robinson) Murray Hamilton in some of his roles / Everett Collection Mr. Robinson is the husband of Mrs. Robinson, just an innocent bystander caught up in the whole scandal. Poor guy. Golden Girls was one of Hamilton’s final credits / YouTube screenshot Murray Hamilton stepped onto the scene in the ‘40s, and his best-known film roles include 1959’s Anatomy of a Murder, 1975’s hit thriller Jaws, but no, this actually was not the Jaws actor teased earlier. That’s coming. Murray also had TV success, from Love and Marriage back in 1959, to playing Capt. Rutherford T Grant in B.J. and the Bear, in 1981, but the ’80s were slower for him, as his health took a sharp decline. Murray sadly died in 1986, at the age of 63 from lung cancer. His final credit was a season one guest spot on The Golden Girls. Elizabeth Wilson (Mrs. Braddock) Concerned mother and actress Elizabeth Wilson from The Graduate and after / YouTube screenshot / Everett Collection Mrs. Braddock is Benjamin’s mom. She’s definitely your typical mom, concerned with her son laying around, the usual. HYDE PARK ON HUDSON, from left: Olivia Williams, as Eleanor Roosevelt, Samuel West, as King George VI, Elizabeth Wilson, Olivia Colman, as Queen Elizabeth, Bill Murray, as Franklin D. Roosevelt, 2012. ph: Nicola Dove/©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett Collection Elizabeth Wilson first began acting in the ‘40s and she made her screen debut reprising her original stage role in the 1955 film adaptation of Picnic. She was an incredible character actress, appearing in over 30 films and many Broadway plays during her time, which included 1963’s Alfred Hitchcock-led The Birds, 1971’s Little Murders, and 1994’s Quiz Show. She appeared in a number of TV shows too, including Dark Shadows and All in the Family. Her last role was actually in 2012, portraying the role of Mrs. Roosevelt in Hyde Park on Hudson. She died in 2015 at the age of 94 at her home. Norman Fell (Mr. McCleery) Norman Fell in some of his most prominent roles / YouTube screenshot / Everett Collection Mr. McCleery is the boarding house operator, which is so fantastic for all you Three’s Company fans, as McCleery is a pre-curser to the irritable and oblivious Mr. Roper. Norman Fell continued the role in a spinoff called The Ropers for a short while. You see, the contract for The Ropers included an option to return to Three’s Company if the spinoff failed to make one season. Well, The Ropers aired for one-half a season and Fell was permanently replaced by the masterful Don Knotts. FAMILY REUNION: A RELATIVE NIGHTMARE, Dody Goodman, Norman Fell, 1995, (c)Victor Television Productions Inc./courtesy Everett Collection Luckily Fell already enjoyed ample success, with one particularly beloved project being Steve McQueen’s Bullitt, though Three’s Company was certainly his largest roles in later years. But he was still acting up until his death, at the age of 74 in 1998. Norman leads us right to that Jaws trivia. Recall when Elaine tracks down Ben in his gloomy room and she screams, and the guy behind Norman Fell who says,  “Shall I get the cops? I’ll get the cops.” That, right in the middle of The Graduate cast, is a young Richard Dreyfuss in one of his earliest film roles. For reference, American Graffiti didn’t happen for another six years. Is Dustin Hoffman still alive? Dustin Hoffman led the cast as the titular graduate / Everett Collection / ImageCollect Benjamin Braddock is a recent college graduate with no aim or goals for the future, just wandering through life until emotions start guiding his path. First comes lust, then comes love. When Dustin Hoffman showed up at producer Joseph Levine’s office for a casting interview, Levine mistook him for a window cleaner. So Hoffman, in character, cleaned a window. Hoffman is still active in the industry / John Nacion/starmaxinc.com STAR MAX 2017 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED / ImageCollect That’s the kind of actor he was, as he studied at the Actors Studio and latched onto method acting. He worked mostly on the stage before landing his breakthrough role as Benjamin Braddock. This gave him two things, one good, one bad: Academy Award nomination, good. Intense fame, bad. Mike Nichols looked at young Hoffman’s explosion onto everyone’s radars similar to his character in the film: unwilling and unfit. Despite the generally positive feedback, many critics thought that Hoffman didn’t have much of an acting range and couldn’t portray a wide variety of characters. So two years later when he was offered the incredible “Ratso” from Midnight Cowboy, he used it as a chance to prove his critics wrong – and Dustin did just that, receiving his second Oscar nomination. In 1976, he starred alongside Robert Redford in All the President’s Men, which is about the Watergate scandal.  But it would be 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer that helped the actor win his first Oscar. 1988’s Rain Man with Tom Cruise proved to be a triumph for Hoffman as well, earning him his second Oscar win. Today at 88, he’s not slowing down just yet. In 2022 he starred in Sam & Kate, which was a lot of fun to watch as he plays Bill, Sam’s father. On top of that, Sam is played by Dustin’s real son, Jake Hoffman. In 2024 he’ll be starring in Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis. Is Katharine Ross still alive? Katharine Ross over the years Elaine is the daughter of Mrs. Robinson, who Benjamin later falls for. Her actress, Ross, began booking roles on TV shows such as Gunsmoke and The Alfred Hitchcock Hour through the ‘60s. She made her first film in 1965’s Shenandoah, playing the daughter-in-law of James Stewart. Ross today / ImageCollect She was also in the 1968 movie Hellfighters, playing the legendary John Wayne’s daughter. We also saw her portray the role of Etta Place in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid in 1969. Here’s a bit of trivia: it was Robert Redford, who had previously been directed by Mike Nichols in his first Broadway play, Barefoot in the Park, who desperately wanted to be Braddock in The Graduate. But Mike told him, “Bob, look in the mirror. Can you honestly imagine a guy like you having difficulty seducing a woman?” He’s just too good-looking! One of her best-known roles might be in 1975’s The Stepford Wives. The ‘80s brought more great roles, even acting with her future husband Sam Elliott with 1982’s movie of Travis McGee and 1986’s Houston, The Legend of Texas. But she entered a semi-retirement phase in the 1990s… Now 86, we last saw her in the 2019 film Attachments. She prefers to live a quiet life with Elliott on their ranchito in Malibu. Is William Daniels still alive? William Daniels in the cast of The Graduate and after Mr. Braddock is Benjamin’s dad, a rich attorney. He’s not a bad dude; in fact, William Daniels has some really great scenes, especially when he’s forcing Benjamin to don scuba attire in the family’s swimming pool. Daniels with Bonnie Bartlett / ImageCollect Before joining the cast of The Graduate, William’s first motion picture film was as a school principal in the 1963 film Ladybug Ladybug. He also starred as John Adams in the Broadway musical 1776 and then appeared in the film version in 1972. But somehow his voice is maybe more famous than his face, as he provided the voice of KITT in the Knight Rider series and all its other appearances. At that same time, his face and his voice were saving lives on the program St. Elsewhere. He was nominated for five Emmys for the role, and he took home two trophies. Younger viewers certainly remember Daniels as another principal, this time George Feeny in Boy Meets World. Today, he’s 99 years old, and impressively, in the project Superintelligence from 2020, and he provides the voice, once again, for KITT. So let’s toast to a wonderful film, with possibly the greatest soundtrack of all time. What’s the best scene from this classic? Is this the best film from the 1960s, or the best soundtrack of the decade? Let us know in the comments; we read them all. Also, tell us who your favorite member of The Graduate cast was.   Next up: Why Did Stanley Livingston Suddenly Disappear From Television After ‘My Three Sons’? The post ‘The Graduate’ Cast Has Only Three Surviving Stars Left appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Dana Daly

For a generation of television viewers, Stanley Livingston was Chip Douglas, the middle son on My Three Sons. Week after week, audiences watched him grow up on screen as part of one of television’s most successful and longest-running family sitcoms. The role made him a familiar face in households across America and secured his place in classic TV history. Yet unlike many actors who spend their lives chasing the spotlight, Livingston gradually stepped away from the kind of Hollywood career many expected him to pursue. While fans continued to remember him as Chip, he quietly built a different life behind the scenes and discovered opportunities that extended far beyond acting. Stanley Livingston’s Rise As Chip Douglas MY THREE SONS: William Frawley, Stanley Livingston, Fred MacMurray, Tim Considine, Don Grady, 1960-72/Everett Collection According to Woman’s World, Livingston’s journey into show business began almost by accident. His mother enrolled him in a famous Hollywood swim school, where industry professionals often brought their children. One talent agent noticed the young boy’s outgoing personality and believed he had the qualities needed to succeed as a child actor. MY THREE SONS (back, l to r): Barry Livingston, Stanley Livingston, William Demarest, Beverly Garland, Don Grady, Tina Cole, (front): Tramp the dog, Fred MacMurray, Dawn Lyn, 1960-72/Everett Collection Acting came naturally to Stanley Livingston. Before landing My Three Sons, he appeared in several TV shows and films, including The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, which helped him join the Screen Actors Guild and opened doors to bigger opportunities. His growing experience eventually earned him the role of Chip Douglas, a part that changed his life. For 12 seasons, Livingston starred alongside Fred MacMurray on one of television’s most beloved family shows. Unlike many child stars, he stayed grounded thanks to a supportive home environment. Why He Chose A Different Path After Hollywood Fame MY THREE SONS, Stanley Livingston, (ca. early 1960s), 1960-72/Everett Collection When My Three Sons ended, many expected Stanley Livingston to continue acting. Instead, he shifted his focus to production and other behind-the-scenes roles. Drawing on years of television experience, he built a successful career away from the spotlight while staying connected to Hollywood and avoiding many of the pressures former child stars often face. MY THREE SONS, from left: Stanley Livingston, Fred MacMurray, Barry Livingston, 1960-72. TV Guide/courtesy Everett Collection Today, Stanley Livingston remains proud of his time on My Three Sons, but he does not define his entire life by the role. While Chip Douglas made him famous, Livingston’s decision to step away from the Hollywood spotlight helped him create a career on his own terms. For fans who wonder why he seemed to disappear, the answer is simple: he never truly left the industry—he simply found a different place within it. Next up: Nicole Kidman’s Father’s Day Post Gave Fans A Rare Look At Keith Urban As A Dad The post Why Did Stanley Livingston Suddenly Disappear From Television After ‘My Three Sons’? appeared first on DoYouRemember? - The Home of Nostalgia. Author, Ruth A