Editing Family Feud (section)

== Hosts and announcers ==
<gallery class="center">
file:Richard_Dawson_Family_Feud_1976_(cropped).jpg|[[Richard Dawson]] hosted the series from its inception in 1976 until 1985, then again from 1994 to 1995.
file:Louie Anderson 2001.jpg|[[Louie Anderson]] was the host of the show's most recent (and current) incarnation from its inception in 1999 until he was dismissed in 2002.
file:Richard_Karn_(1994).jpg|[[Richard Karn]] replaced Anderson as host in 2002 and continued to host the show until 2006.
file:John O'Hurley by Gage Skidmore.jpg|[[John O'Hurley]] replaced Karn and hosted the show from 2006 until 2010.
file:SteveHarveyHWOFMay2013_(cropped).jpg|Stand-up comedian [[Steve Harvey]] replaced O'Hurley in 2010, and has hosted the show ever since.
</gallery>
When ''Family Feud'' was conceived in 1976, [[Richard Dawson]] (then a regular panelist on the [[Fremantle (company)|Goodson–Todman]] game show ''[[Match Game]]'') had a standing agreement with [[Mark Goodson]] that when the next Goodson–Todman game show was in the planning stages, Dawson would be given an audition to host it. Dawson had read in trade publications that a pilot for a new show named ''Family Feud'' was in the works, and it was originally to be hosted by ''[[Star Trek]]'' actor [[William Shatner]] (although since they were involved in the run-throughs, [[Geoff Edwards]] and [[Jack Narz]], the latter of whom reputedly was Goodson's initial choice to host, were under consideration). Incensed, Dawson sent his agent to Goodson to threaten to present an un-funny, silent, and bland persona on future ''Match Game'' episodes if he was not given an audition for ''Feud''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7539078/|title=Game Changers|last=Thompson|first=J. Craig|date=2018|publisher=IMDb}}</ref>

Dawson was then selected as host of the original ABC and first syndicated versions of ''Family Feud''. As writer David Marc put it, Dawson's on-air personality "fell somewhere between the brainless sincerity of [[Wink Martindale]] and the raunchy cynicism of [[Chuck Barris]]".<ref name="Marc">{{cite book|last=Marc|first=David|title=Prime Time, Prime Movers: From ''I Love Lucy'' to ''L.A. Law'' – America's Greatest TV Shows and the People who Created Them|publisher=[[Syracuse University Press]]|year=1995|isbn=0-8156-0311-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/primetimeprimemo0000marc_d5i4}}</ref> Writers Tim Brooks, Jon Ellowitz, and Earle F. Marsh attributed ''Family Feud''{{'}}s popularity to Dawson's "glib familiarity" (he had previously played Newkirk on ''[[Hogan's Heroes]]'') and "ready wit" (from his tenure as a panelist on ''Match Game'').<ref name="Brooks & Marsh" /> The show's original announcer was [[Gene Wood]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/14/arts/gene-wood-78-game-show-announcer.html|title=Gene Wood, 78, Game Show Announcer|date=June 14, 2004|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=March 6, 2015}}</ref> with [[Johnny Gilbert]] and [[Rod Roddy]] serving as occasional substitutes.<ref name="eotvgs">{{cite book|last1=Schwartz|first1=David|last2=Ryan|first2=Steve|last3=Wostbrock|first3=Fred|title=The Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaoftv0000schw|url-access=limited|edition=3|year=1999|publisher=Facts on File, Inc.|isbn=0-8160-3846-5|pages=[https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaoftv0000schw/page/71 71]–73}}</ref>

In 1988, comedian [[Ray Combs]] took over Dawson's role as host on CBS and in syndication with Wood returning as announcer and Roddy and [[Art James]] serving in that role when Wood was not available.<ref name="eotvgs" /> Combs hosted the program until the daytime version's cancellation in 1993 and the syndicated version until the end of the 1993–94 season. Dawson returned to the show at the request of Mark Goodson Productions for the 1994–95 season.<ref name="autogenerated2002">{{cite episode|network=E!|series=E! True Hollywood Story|title=Family Feud|date=July 28, 2002|season=6|number=34}}</ref>

When ''Family Feud'' returned to syndication in 1999, it was initially hosted by comedian [[Louie Anderson]],<ref name="Brooks & Marsh" /> with [[Burton Richardson]] as the new announcer.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gameshows.about.com/od/interviews/a/burton_richardson_2.htm|title=Interview with Burton Richardson, 'Family Feud' Announcer|publisher=[[About.com]]|last=Grosvenor|first=Carrie|access-date=March 6, 2015|archive-date=March 4, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304211917/http://gameshows.about.com/od/interviews/a/burton_richardson_2.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2002, [[Richard Karn]] was selected to take over for Anderson,<ref name="Brooks & Marsh" /> until he was replaced by [[John O'Hurley]] in 2006.<ref name="Brooks & Marsh" /> In 2010, both O'Hurley and Richardson departed from the show. O'Hurley later stated that he left because he was resistant toward the show's decision to emphasize [[Ribaldry|ribald]] humor and wanted to keep the show [[family-friendly]].<ref>{{cite web | url =http://video.foxnews.com/v/5384730389001/?#sp=show-clips | publisher = Fox News | title = John O'Hurley reflects on Trump, why he left 'Family Feud'| date = April 4, 2017 }}</ref> [[Steve Harvey]] was later named the new host and began hosting on July 10, 2010. Harvey has been hosting the show ever since.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/445187-Steve_Harvey_to_Host_Family_Feud_.php?rssid=20068|title=Steve Harvey to Host 'Family Feud'|work=[[Broadcasting & Cable]]|first=Paige|last=Albiniak|date=January 20, 2010|access-date=February 9, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101216033142/http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/445187-Steve_Harvey_to_Host_Family_Feud_.php?rssid=20068|archive-date=December 16, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Steve Harvey's first time hosting Family Feud! (Full Episode) |type=TV |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plvevyM2cW4 |series=Family Feud |publisher=Fremantle |language=en |access-date=2022-09-24 |via=[[YouTube]]}}</ref> Announcements were made using a pre-recorded track of [[Joey Fatone]]'s voice, which was used on the show until the end of the 2014–2015 season.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2010/07/23/joey-fatone-dancing-your-ass-off|title=Joey Fatone will not Dance his Ass Off. He'll just judge those who do!|first=Breia|last=Brissey|date=July 23, 2010|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|access-date=March 6, 2015}}</ref> Rubin Ervin, who has been a member of the production staff as the warmup man for the audience since Harvey took over, became the announcer at the start of the 2015–2016 season and has retained the role since.

The first four versions of the show were directed by [[Paul Alter]] and produced by [[Howard Felsher]] and Cathy Dawson. For the 1988 versions, Gary Dawson worked with the show as a third producer, and Alter was joined by two other directors, [[Marc Breslow]] and Andy Felsher.<ref name="eotvgs" /> The 1999 version's main staff include executive producer Gabrielle Johnston, co-executive producers Kristin Bjorklund, Brian Hawley and Sara Dansby, and director Ken Fuchs; Johnston and Bjorklund previously worked as associate producers of the 1980s version.<ref name="Production credits">End credits lists of appropriate ''Family Feud'' episodes.</ref> The show's classic theme tune was written by an uncredited [[Walt Levinsky]] for [[Score Productions]]. The theme and cues for the 1994–1995 version was written by [[Edd Kalehoff]] and are based on the Walt Levinsky composition. The themes used from 1999 to 2008 were written by John Lewis Parker.<ref name="Production credits" /> The production rights to the show were originally owned by the production company Goodson shared with his partner [[Bill Todman]], but were sold to their current holder, Fremantle, when it acquired all of Goodson and Todman's format catalog in 2002.<ref name="Production credits" />