Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Chuck Barris
St. Martin’s Press, 1984
This long out-of-print “unauthorized autobiography” of Gong Show host Chuck Barris was back in bookstores at the time that George Clooney released the film adaptation of the same name. (If you don’t feel like paying retail, however, see if you can find it used; I paid a buck for a hardcover copy from its original run.)
I can see why it was adapted for the big screen: not only is it unusual material (sometimes truth is stranger than fiction, but one will debate if this is the truth), but actually Barris’ prose is quite cinematic. You can “see” the shots in your brain in the sarcastic ending, with “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” on the soundtrack!
Chuck Barris shot to fame in the 1960s and 1970s as the creator of lowest common denominator TV game shows such as The Newlywed Game, The Dating Game, and of course, The Gong Show. The recurring trend in all of these programs was basically to ridicule everyday people, while viewers just like them would chortle over their foibles at home in front of the boob tube. However (and this is where the controversy lies), back when he was still scrounging for a living, he replied to a newspaper ad which led him to a strange interview that enrolled him into the CIA!
Barris’ book attests that even while he was hosting his big TV shows, he was still working for them on the side as a hit man! His prose is such that one constantly debates whether he is being sincere or pulling your leg. (Barris refused to confess to either.) Because he disappeared from the public eye shortly after the initial release of this book, (his popularity had waned, especially after his pet project, The Gong Show Movie, flopped) perhaps this is meant as Chuckie’s one last laugh at the expense of everyday people who seek vicarious thrills.
But even so, this book is compulsive, fascinating reading (in spite or because of the curious personality that pervades it). There are moments which are genuinely suspenseful (such as the meticulous public square assassination South of the Border; or hiding out in England, just escaping death). As with any fictional book of this genre, there are even double-crosses and colourful characters. To further add to the mystique, there is even a midsection of photographs, with these people who may or may not be fictitious!
But still, you can tell that Barris spent a lot of his life in the world of images, because his book is so visual. The gripping opening where he analyses his sagging, 50 year-old body in the mirror, lingers in the memory as much as the “hit man” episodes. Plus, to keep one interested he sprinkles in boastings of his sexual conquests. The more I think about it, the more I believe what I wrote– maybe this book is a last stab at preying on the vicarious needs of everyday people.