Family Feud

OPENING SPIELS:

1976-1985; 1994-1995:

''It's time for the Family Feud! Introducing the (insert family #1 [and their names]), ready for action! And the (insert family #2 [and their names]), on your marks! Let's start the FAMILY FEUD!!!! With/Here's the star of Family Feud, RICHARD DAWSON!!!''

1988-1994:

Daytime 1988-1992/Syndicated 1988-1992; 1993-1994: ''Let's meet the (insert family #1 [and their names]), ready for action! Playing against the (insert family #2 [and their names]), on your marks! Let's start the (NEW) FAMILY FEUD!!!! With the star of Family Feud, RAY COMBS!!!''

Daytime 1992-1993: ''Welcome to the Family Feud Challenge! What is the top answer to this question: (insert question). The number 3 answer is (insert answer). The number 2 answer is (insert answer). What is the number 1 Bullseye answer? You'll get the answer as we play Bullseye on...the Family Feud Challenge!+ Introducing (our returning champions), the (insert family #1), ready for action! Playing against the (insert family #2), on your marks! Let's start the FAMILY FEUD!!!! With the star of the Family Feud Challenge, RAY COMBS!!!''

+Ray would announce the Bullseye answer after he came out.

Syndicated 1992-1993: ''Welcome to the New Family Feud! What is the top answer to this question: (insert question). If you said the number 1 answer is (insert answer), you hit the Bullseye on The New Family Feud! Introducing (our returning champions) the (insert family #1), ready for action! Playing against (our challengers) the (insert family #2), on your marks! Let's start the NEW FAMILY FEUD!!!! With the star of Family Feud, RAY COMBS!!!''

1999-2002:

''Today on Family Feud, from (insert location here, followed in the first season by a rhyming couplet about the family name), it's the (insert family #1)!! From (insert location here, followed in the first season by a rhyming couplet about the family name), it's the (insert family #2)!! You're about to see these two families/teams battle it out, for $10,000/$20,000 in cash, ’cause it's time to play...the FAMILY FEUD!!!! Now here's the star of our show, LOUIE ANDERSON!!!''

2002-2003:

''It's time for the Family Feud! Introducing the (insert family #1 and their names), playing against (our returning champions,) the (insert family #2 and their names)! You're about to see these two teams battle it out, for $20,000 in cash! Cause it's time to play, the FAMILY FEUD!!!! Now here's the star of our show, RICHARD KARN!!!''

2003-2006:

"It's time to play, Family Feud! It's (Our returning champs) (insert family #1), playing against the (insert family #2)!! Now here's the star of our show (insert funny nickname here), MR. RICHARD KARN!!!"

2006-2009:

"It's time to play, Family Feud! Introducing (All the way from [city, state],) the (insert family #1), (ready for action [first and half of second season only])! Playing against (All the way from [city, state],) the (insert family #2), (on your marks [first and half of second season only)! And now, here's your host, ([insert funny nickname here] first season only), JOHN O'HURLEY!!!"

2009-2010:

"It's time to play, Family Feud! Returning for their (x) day, it's the (insert family #1)! Playing against the (insert family #2)! And now, here's your host, JOHN O'HURLEY!!!"

2010-2011:

''Premiere: This is Joey Fatone from Universal Orlando Resort in sunny Florida! It's time to play, Family Feud! And now, here's the star of our show, give it up for STEVE HARVEY!!!''

''It's time to play, Family Feud! This is Joey Fatone from Universal Orlando Resort in sunny Florida! And now, here's the star of our show, give it up for STEVE HARVEY!!!''

(Same words but it got arranged in a different order. When Joey Fatone became the new announcer, he says his name, location and the name of the game show. For Steve Harvey's first year of hosting, Joey Fatone opens the show by saying the name of the game show, his own name and location.)

Steve: Welcome to Family Feud! I'm [your man] Steve Harvey. We got a good one today. It's the (insert family #1), playing against, the (insert family #2)!

2011-present:

''Joey: This is Joey Fatone. It's time to play...Family Feud! Give it up for STEVE HARVEY!!!''

(Steve's opening spiel is the same as 2010 in which he continued to say until June 2012.)

''Steve: Welcome to Family Feud! I'm (your man) Steve Harvey and like always, we got another good one for you today. [Returning for their (x) day, with a total of $XX,XXX;] from [insert city and state] it's the (insert family #1)! And from [insert city and state] it's the (insert family #2)!''

Seen above, this was Steve's opening spiel since September 2012.

A spin-off from Match Game, this show is where two families battle it out by answering surveys to win points. The first to reach a set number of points (mostly 300) gets a chance to play Fast Money for a grand cash prize. Each family has 5 members per team, except from 1994-1995, when there were only 4 members per team.

Face-Off
At the beginning of each round, two members of each family come up to the main podium and play a mini-round for control of the question called "Face-Off". The host announced how many answers are on the board (which are always in order based on popularity), and then read a survey question and the first player to buzz-in gets to answer. The player to give the number one answer or have his/her answer be higher than the other player's answer won control. In case of a tie (both answers with the same number of people who gave it) the player who answered first won control. If neither player gave an answer on the board, the players at the main podiums get a chance to answer for control.

For time reasons, during Louie Anderson's & (some of) Steve Harvey's tenure, if neither player's answer was on the board the question was thrown out, and a new one was played.

During Dawson's first version & the current version, the player that won the Face-Off has a decision to either let his/her family play the question or pass the question to their opponents.

Main Question
The family that won the face-off earns control of the question. The controlling family's job is to reveal the remaining answers hidden on the board with each correct answer adding points to the bank above the board. The answer's value is determined by how many people who gave it. Each player on the controlling team in turn gave an answer and if the answer he/she gave is correct, it is flipped over and revealed. Revealing all the answers on the board won the round (this is classified as a "Clean Sweep"). Giving a wrong answer at any time earned a strike; getting three strikes (one in the final round from 1999-2003) caused the team to lose control of the question, giving the opposing family a chance to steal by giving one correct answer. A successful steal won the round, but an unsuccessful steal gave the round to the first family. The winners of the round took all the points in the bank plus (in the pilot, from 1992-1995, and again from 1999-2003) the value of the correct answer given by the stealing family.

Question Values
The first few questions had its values be worth the number showing. Later on in the game, the values of all the questions would be doubled (the double value round wasn't available from 1999 to 2003); and still later, all the point values would be tripled (in the Dawson era and the first four years of the current version, the triple valued question would be the last question of the game).

Winning
The first family to reach a set number of points won the game. For most versions, the goal is 300 points. In the first season of the Dawson run and pilot episode, the goal was 200 points; but in the final season of the Dawson run, the goal was set to 400 points. (In the original Dawson version and his 1994 comeback, when the game takes too long to reach the 300/400 goal, Richard goes to the controlling family to tell them that each teammate has three seconds to answer once he reads the question to them during the TRIPLE Round. Beginning in 2003, when the 300 goal was restored, Karn only read the question once to both families upon Tripling the point values; though he did read it again after the captain of the stealing family gave an answer. In Karn's final season, whenever he read the question once, home viewers were shown the survey question at the bottom of the screen.) From 1999 to 2003 there was no goal; the team with the most points won the game, even though most families in this period reached the goal of 300 points. In addition, there was only one strike for the team in the triple round (round 4). This created a scenario in which a team could give an incorrect answer and still win if there were not enough points in the bank for the other team to win by a successful steal. Other times when an opposing family already had more points than the bank, if a controlling family gave an incorrect answer, the game would automatically end. Until 1992, dollars were used instead of points.

Lollipop Tree
Due to Dawson giving away boxes of lollipops to some of the studio audience members, a Lollipop Tree was introduced from March 2, 1983 all the way through June 14, 1985, where a tree of Tootsie pops was placed next to the fifth player on each team. If he/she chose a lollipop, and if it had a black stem on the bottom, the family won a $100 bonus, which did not affect the outcome of the game. (NOTE: Originally, only one Lollipop in each tree had a black stem, but within weeks, there were ten on both trees.)

Bullseye/Bankroll Round & Sudden Death Question
Starting in 1992, Family Feud instituted a new Bullseye round. This was the round that affected the grand prize for either family if and when they make it to Fast Money. In this round, both families started with a bankroll of $5,000 ($2,500 in the first half of the Family Feud Challenge). Five questions were asked to each pair of family members in a Face-Off fashion, and only number one answers counted. The first player to buzz-in with the number one answer added money to their own Fast Money bank; this resulted in a possible $10,000 in the first half or $20,000 in the second half. The syndicated version used this round from 1992-1994, with the doubled values.

Scoring
Here how they scored for each question:

Fast Money
The winning family went on to play Fast Money for a grand cash prize. The winning family chose which two players will play the game. The first family member stood at center stage while the second family member went off stage to a soundproof area. The first player has 15 seconds (later 20) to answer five Family Feud questions. He/she has to give the most popular answer to each question. When he/she was done, the answers were reveled on a different board followed by the number of people who gave them. After all the answers were revealed and scored, the second player came out and took his/her turn. The second player had 20 seconds (later 25) to answer the same five questions but with one exception: he/she cannot repeat any of the answers previously given by the first player or a double buzzer will sound, at which point the host says, "Try again." The contestant must give a different answer (the second player will also be charged for similar answers or an answer which fits into the same category as the first player's answer). When the second player was done, his/her answers were revealed and scored. The family wins $5 for each point made in the round, but if the two playing players reached 200 points or more, the family wins the grand cash prize.

NOTE: Very rarely, the first contestant from the winning family playing Fast Money would get 200 points and win the big money all by himself/herself. During Ray Combs' tenure, whenever that occurred, he would trick the second player into thinking that the first player did terribly and then ask him/her five phony ridiculous questions.

Grand Cash Prizes
The grand cash prizes were different depending on the series:


 * Daytime Versions (1976-1985, 1988-1992) - $5,000
 * Syndicated Versions (1977-1985, 1988-1992, 1999-2001) - $10,000
 * Current Version (2001-2009, 2010-present) - $20,000
 * CBS Gameshow Marathon Version (2006) - $100,000 for the player's charity (main game win), $50,000 for a home viewer (Fast Money win)
 * NBC Celebrity Version (2008) - $50,000 for a win, $25,000 for a loss (both for charity)

Bullseye/Bankroll
Here are the max values in terms of Bullseye/Bankroll money:


 * Combs Version (1992-1994): 1st Half - $10,000, 2nd Half/Syndicated (1992-1994) - $20,000
 * Dawson Version (1994-1995): 1st Half - $7,000, 2nd Half - $14,000
 * O'Hurley Version (2009-2010): $30,000

Returning Champions
On the ABC run, families retired from the show after winning over $25,000, a limit which had been lifted during the final season to $30,000. On the syndicated series from 1977-1985 and from 1999-2002, two new families competed on each show. From 1988-1992 and from 2002 onward, winning families could return for up to five days. From 1992-1995, families simply continued until defeated. (Similar to Jeopardy!'s rule on continous winning until defeated introduced in September 2003) Starting in September 2009, families who won 5 days in a row won a brand new car (Chrysler 300C from 2009-2010, Ford Taurus from 2010-2012, Ford Edge from 2012-). The color of the Ford Taurus from 2010-2011 was blue and the color of the Ford Taurus from 2011-2012 was in red.

All-Star/Gameshow Marathon/Celebrity Family Feud primetime specials
In all versions of the All-Star/Celebrity primetime specials, four celebrity teams (celebrities and their families also in the Al Roker version) competed to win money for their favorite charities.

In the Richard Dawson all-star series, there were three games a show. The first two games were played to 200 points, and the third one was a one question showdown; and the Fast Money round was played after each game; the first two Fast Money rounds were worth $5,000, and the third one was worth $10,000.

In the Ricki Lake Gameshow Marathon episode, finalists Kathy Najimy and Brande Roderick along with their families respectively, competed to score the first to 300 points just like the civilian version. The points doubled in round four and tripled in round five and so on. The Fast Money Money round was also played like the regular civilian version as well, with the first contestant having 20 seconds to answer all five survey questions while the other received 25 seconds. but unlike the civilian version, If one or both teams successfully reached their goal of 200 points or more in total, not only do they win $100,000 for the charity of their choice. but they also get to keep the Gameshow Marathon Championship trophy as well. Also, a home viewer won $50,000 if one or both contestsants in Fast Money were able to reach a score of 200 points or above. (NOTE: Kathy Najimy was the winner of the episode and the whole entire series in general.)

Charity specials
Special-themed weeks have been prominent during "sweeps" weeks through all incarnations of the show's long history. Among them are the following:

1976-1985 - Game show hosts competed for $10,000 in cash for charity.

1988-1994
The 1988–1994 version carried special tournaments for the four highest winning families from certain periods of time returning for a Winner-Take-All Tournament of Champions. These were rarely held at first for both the CBS and syndicated versions.

The main game rules applied, but if a family reached 200 points in Fast Money, $5,000 went into a jackpot that started at $25,000 and went up to potentially $55,000 on the CBS version. Likewise, on the syndicated version, the jackpot started at $50,000 and went up $10,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $110,000. If the score was less than 200, nothing was added to the jackpot, as the $5 a point rule was discarded for the tournament. Each semifinal was the best-of-three games, with the first family in each one to win two games advancing to the finals, which was also a best-of-three match. There was no Fast Money round played during the finals. The scoring was similar to the 1984–1985 season (single-single-single-single-double-triple) or the regular CBS/Syndicated version from late 1989–1990 (single-single-single-double-triple) in the finals, with the first family to reach $400 winning the game instead of $300. The first family to win two out of three games won everything in the jackpot in addition to what they won in the regular game. Again, no Fast Money was played.

No additional tournaments were conducted on the syndicated version after the second season. The CBS version continued conducting them, but in mid-1990, tournaments were held every month, with the top four money-winning families of the previous month returning. The main game point goals for winning a semifinal and a final game were the same, but the match format was changed from the best-of-three to a one-game match for both the semifinals and the finals. Thus, the potential maximum was lowered to $35,000.

2002-present
The current version began doing tournaments in 2002. The first occurred in May 2002 with the Family Circle Tournament of Champions, with eight winning families returning in a single-elimination tournament. The jackpot started at $50,000 and went up $20,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $170,000. For this particular tournament only, if Fast Money was not won, $5 per point was added to the jackpot. Each game was played to 300 points except for the finals, which required 500 points to win the game and the jackpot. The winning team for this tournament won a trip to Charleston, South Carolina and tickets to the Family Circle Cup women's tennis tournament in nearby Daniel Island, in addition to the money, which was $112,230. The runners-up for this tournament won a trip to Jamaica.

This version, however, did not do tournaments on an occasional basis until May 2005. Again, eight families were brought back, but this time, they consisted of either families who previously lost their first game for the tournament that was held in May 2005 and May 2006, or previously winning families, but not necessarily focusing on the higher winning families of the past for the tournament held in February 2006. The differences at this point for the tournaments were that the jackpot started with nothing, except for the February 2006 Tournament of Champions, which began at $10,000 and went up $20,000 for each time Fast Money was won, up to a possible $130,000. Losses in Fast Money did not add anything to the jackpot, as in the 1988–1994 version, and the championship game was played to 400 points and used the 4 singles-double-triple round format (with Sudden Death if applicable). Trips were sometimes awarded to the jackpot-winning family, including Hawaii during the February 2006 tournament and Mexico during the May 2006 tournament. Again, no Fast Money was played in the finals.

There was an opening phrase for Family Feud's Big Money Tournament which was: "This is Joey Fatone, it's time for Family Feud's Big Money Tournament presented by Publisher's Clearing House. Give it up for Steve Harvey!". The tournament format did not return again until 2013, where the jackpot started at $40,000 and could get as high as $160,000 and was sponsored by Publishers Clearing House. The Fast Money round was won 6 times in a row and had it built up to $160,000. As before, there was no Fast Money round that played in the finals, and the first team to reach 400 points won the jackpot of $160,000 and the runners-up received $20,000.

The Original Board
For a span of the first 20 years, Family Feud used a trilon game board. Two sides of the board had twelve flip panels (six in each column) used for revealing answers during the main game (though no question ever had 12 answers, the most was 10), one of those sides was covered up by the show's logo during the opening and was taken down backstage when the opening was finished, and the words "double" & "triple" were placed on both sides of the main game board to indicate that the values were either doubled or tripled, and the third was a digital board which displayed the show's title and was used for Fast Money. During the opening and sometimes closing of the show, the digital board had an animated light pattern: The original Dawson series had its board light up/turn off one row at a time, while the 1988-1994 series had their board light up/turn off in a "four square-like" manner. This was not used for the closing, but was used for the closing of the 1994-1995 series. For most of the series, the digital board in neutral title mode was displayed in yellow on black, but in the pilot and in the early episodes of the Combs run, the board displayed black on yellow.

Alterations
All Versions: In the 1975 pilot, the trilon board was housed in a box-like shape, with all three numerical displays (the bank & family's scores) up top. Under the board were three little boxes which were used to display the strikes. The number sides of the flip panels had the numbers sandwiched between 2 triangles. They were similar to that of Match Game the show that gave us Family Feud, and the unplayed panels were tan with a pale blue circle in them. When the show became a series in 1976 and lasting until 1994, the trilon board was now housed inside the now familiar blue oval with rectangles sticking out of either side to make room for the family's scoreboards (the bank was still at the top as it had always been; plus, the strikes were now superimposed). The oval board has chasing lights which lit up from the center to the ends; one of the top sides would light up when a family won the round and the entire side would light up when a family has won the game. While the Dawson shows always had their lights turned off, the Combs shows turned on theirs when it was time to play Fast Money and continued to have them turned on during the final segment of the show.

Today's Board
When the show returned in 1999 after a four year hiatus and to keep up with the times, the trilon/digital board was replaced with a single TV monitor which like the digital board in the 1994-1995 run did all jobs. The bank display returned to holding three digits until 2010, when all displays became computerized. The main game board still held eight answers and the number sides still had the same look from before only now the unplayed slots were the same, they just don't have numbers on them; from 1999-2010, the bottom two slots were replaced with one large slot with the word "DOUBLE" or "TRIPLE" on it to indicate affection of the values, these days only the sudden death question had the large "TRIPLE" slot below since there was only one answer needed to be given. The Fast Money board is completely computer animated, it has ten black slots to house the answers & ten black squares on the right to house the point scores (the scores next to the right side answers on the original versions used to be on the left), and one additional slot for the total scores. For individual reveals, a red square was used to reveal the answers and ending up in the point square and it accompanies the now familiar reveal sound, the square disappeared when the value was revealed. While the face-off podium was seen for the entire show in the past, for the current era, it would be removed for the remainder of the show.

Alterations
Louie's Era: When Louie Anderson was the host, the monitor was a projection TV housed inside a oval-like square with chase lights on it. It was located on a wall which doubled as an opening for host Anderson to go through. Not only that, the bank was now in blue eggcrate mode (the toteboards used to be in a Ferranti-Packer font), while the family's scoring displays in the same font were now shown on their podiums. For the final season of this run and continuing into Karn's run, the show's logo would be seen on the floor, similar to Combs' run.

Additional Pages
Family Feud/Airdates

Galleries
To see pictures of the many looks of the Family Feud logos over the years click here.

To see pictures of the many sets of the Family Feud over the years click here.

To see pictures of show tickets click here.

Sounds
The strike buzzer, the correct answer clang and the win bells were recycled from a previous ABC Goodson-Todman game show, Showoffs.

The Face-Off buzzer sound was used in a few other Goodson-Todman shows such as Child's Play, Classic Concentration, Trivia Trap & Chuck Henry's Now You See It.

Spin-Offs
Gameshow Marathon - Family Feud was the finale of the 7 games.

100 Mexicanos Dijeron-The original Spanish language version that aired on Telefutura from 2002 to 2005.

¿Que Dice la Gente? - The short-lived Spanish language revival that aired on Telefutura from 2006 to 2008.

Celebrity Family Feud - A nighttime hour-long six-episode summer series that aired on NBC in 2008 with teams of celebrities playing for charity. All but one episode aired. The new graphics and music this show had were incorporated into the current syndicated version.

Inventors
Mark Goodson & Bill Todman

Music
1975, 1976-1985, 2006 - "The Feud" by Walt Levinsky, Robert A. Israel & Ken Bichel

1988-1994, 2003, 2008-present - Edd Kalehoff & Score Productions

1994-1995 - Edd Kalehoff & Score Productions

1999-2002, 2003-2006 John Lewis Parker

2006-2008 - John Lewis Parker

2003 (Unused) - John Lewis Parker

The 1976 main was originally a prize cue by Walt Levinsky on The Price is Right and when Mark Goodson heard it, it inspired him to create this show.

The last few notes of the 1976 theme are currently being used on The Price is Right as the introduction to Grand Game; they were also used for a brief period as the intro to Plinko. Trivia Trap also used these notes for getting all the wrong answers eliminated. For a brief time in the 1990s, the 1988 theme's end notes replaced those from the 1976 theme in the aforementioned Grand Game introduction.

The 1994 opening vamps as well the unused main themes from the 1994 version were recycled into the daytime and 1994 versions of The Price is Right as showcase cues.

Although the 2003 main is unused, replaced with the 1988 main, the face-off cue was still used on the show.

From 1999-2006, the main theme song had a hip-hop music style that used electric guitars or saxophones.

From 2006-2008, the main theme song had a remix of the hip-hop music style with a disco music style. The winning cues were recycled from 2002-2006.

Merchandise
Main Article: Family Feud/Merchandise

Family Feud Live!
Family Feud Live! is a stage show original held at the Foxwoods Resorts & Casino in Connecticut with several hosts, including Michael Burger, Marc Summers, Doug Davidson, David Ruprecht, and Bob Goen. The shows are produced in association with RTL group officials, including former television director Andrew Felsher, producer Cathy Dawson and others who have worked on the TV version of the Feud and other popular TV game shows. (NOTE: the live stage version ran at two casinos in Atlantic City in 2006.)

International Versions
Countries that did their versions of Family Feud include:


 * Armenia
 * Argentina
 * Australia
 * Belgium (Dutch language only)
 * Brazil
 * Bulgaria
 * Cambodia
 * Canada (French language only) (Currently on Canada's Superstation NTV in Newfoundland)
 * Chile
 * China
 * Colombia
 * Czech Republic
 * Cyprus
 * Estonia
 * Finland
 * France
 * Germany
 * Greece
 * India
 * Indonesia
 * Ireland
 * Israel
 * Italy
 * Japan
 * Laos
 * Lebanon
 * Lithuania
 * Malaysia
 * Mexico
 * Myanmar
 * Netherlands
 * Panama
 * Pakistan
 * Peru
 * Philippines
 * Poland
 * Portugal
 * Romania
 * Russia
 * Serbia
 * Slovakia
 * Slovenia
 * Spain
 * Switzerland
 * Taiwan
 * Thailand
 * Tunisia
 * Turkey
 * Ukraine
 * United Arab Emirates
 * United Kingdom
 * Uruguay
 * Venezuela
 * Vietnam

NOTE: even though most international versions of Family Feud uses the five against five team member format, their are some versions that uses the four against four team member format which include for example: Australia, Philippines and Thailand.

In Popular Culture
Sesame Street had a spoof of Family Feud, called "Family Food", featuring a family of muppet contestants and Richard Dawson himself, teaching about the concept of a full, healthful meal. Prior to this, in 2012 Burger King had a short-lived promotional game called The "Family Food" Sweepstakes, where you had to collect game pieces by scratching off the Top Answer for a chance to win a Nintendo 3DS Family Pack, a Kindle Fire, a 2013 Ford Explorer, a $10,000 BBQ Makeover, Trips to a Taping of the show, Southwest Airline Airfare for a year, $100,000 in cash and more.

Cartoon Network's MAD series parodied Family Feud as Batman's Family Feud. with the set resembling the 1988-1994 Combs' era, with Steve Harvey as host (who would incidently go on to host the actual show since 2010).

A 1998 episode of Histeria! called "The U.S. Civil War Part II" had a Feud Spoof called The Uncivil War hosted by Lydia Karaoke (voiced by Nora Dunn) where Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, and General Sherman were pitted against Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Stonewall Jackson to find out the reason behind the civil war.

A 1994 episode of The Critic, “Marty's First Date”, has a movie poster for Family Feud: The Movie with the last names of "Sheens & Bridges" in the backdrops. Jay Sherman (voiced by Jon Lovitz) responded, "It stinks!"

Pookie Poo, an Internet Cartoon from the late 90's, did their spoof of Feud based on the 1999-02 version called Nutty Family Fools the host for it was Loogie (obviously a spoof of Louie Anderson).

A 1979 episode of the short-lived ABC sitcom Angie feature an episode of Family Feud as an on the road show with Richard Dawson and Gene Wood appearing as themselves.

An early episode of Mama's Family had the Harpers as contestants on the show, playing against the Van Courtland family and unfortunately not ending up successful; they lose on Thelma's answer to the question "Name something you wind up", "Letter".

An October 1978 issue of Cracked magazine spoofed the Feud as Family's Feud based on the Richard Dawson era.

The July 1985 issue of Seventeen magazine contains a journal-like story, from a teen girl's point of view, of her family's exciting Family Feud adventure from auditioning to be contestants all the way to actually appearing on the show against an unidentified opposing family. The story does not end happily, however; the girl's family ends up losing to their opponents on (largely) her answer to the question "Name something you use scouring powder on", "Windows". (The remaining answer was "toilet".)

In 1997, late "Feud" host Ray Combs was mentioned in an hour-long documentary on ''E! True Hollywood Story. Prior to this, a follow-up documentary about Family Feud was released as a True Hollywood Story ''itself in 2002. (NOTE: the "Feud" episode references only the first three host: Richard Dawson, Ray Combs and Louie Anderson from the franchise respectively; this episode came out first before Richard Karn was announced as the new "Feud" host, even though this documentary does briefly mention his name.)

In 2001, TV Guide listed Family Feud #14 as one of The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All-Time. prior to this, in 2013, the show was ranked #3 as one of The 60 Greatest Game Shows of All-Time.

In 2006, GSN listed Family Feud #3 as one of The 50 Greatest Game Shows of All-Time, the special was hosted by Bil Dwyer.

The NBC sitcom 227 also featured Family Feud in one of their shows in 1988. This game was a "Neighbor vs. Neighbor" game, with Mary Jenkins (Marla Gibbs) & Sandra Clark (Jackee Harry) as team captains. Sandra's team won the game but didn't win Fast Money. Prior to this, Family Feud was mentioned in a 1985 episode.

The WB sitcom The Jamie Foxx Show episode “I Believe I Can Fly” from 1999, Fancy (played by Garcelle Beauvais) brings a group of "Family Feud" contestants to the King's Tower.

The short-lived NBC sitcom Watching Ellie episode from 2003 appropriately titled Feud, Ellie (played by Julia-Louis Dreyfus) meets Richard Karn at one of her club performances and gets this crazy idea of being a contestant on the show in hopes of winning a free vacation. Ellie gets a "family" on her own together with her sister Susan and a few adoptees named Ben, Don and Edgar when the Riggs family gets ready to play the feud.

In August 2003, it was mentioned as a topic on VH1's nostalgic miniseries I Love The 70s 1976 episode.

In Living Color contributed to the Feud franchise, as well. As a regular skit with the Jackson Family playing against The Royal Family along with Ray Combs appearing as himself. Another one was called Family Dozens in which the survey answers were fully calibrated with Yo Mama jokes. The host for it was Stu Dufny (played by Nick Bakay).

Saturday Night Live even parodied Family Feud. This sketch was entitled “Dysfunctional Family Feud” based on the 1980's Combs version. Prior to this, their were two other SNL Feud skecthes: one in the 70's as a Coneheads skit featuring Bill Murray playing as Richard Dawson while the other was from 2009 as "Celebrity Family Feud" with the Osmond Family playing against the Phillips family. Both of these skits were based on the 1970's Dawson version.

Mad TV also parodied Family Feud, with Will Sasso as Louie Anderson. Another one featured The Sopranos. The third one had the cast from Lord of The Rings playing against the cast of Cold Mountain with an actor playing as Richard Karn. The fourth and final one was based on the short-lived 2008 NBC primetime version called Celebrity Family Feud with the Kardashians (who were on the real show as well) playing against the stars from The Disney Channel with Keegan-Michael Key playing as Al Roker.

The WB short-lived sketch-comedy series, Hype, also did a parody of Family Feud based on the '99-'02 Anderson version in 2000.

Howard Stern parodied Family Feud as the Female Feud.

The 1987 film The Running Man (loosely based on a 1982 novel of the same name, written by famed horror writer Stephen King) sees former "Feud" host Richard Dawson playing as a ruthless, evil game show host named Damon Killian where conivicted criminals (runners) must escape death at the hands of professional (killers).

The 1990 film, Misery, sees Paul Sheldon (played by James Caan) watching the Ray Combs version of Family Feud during the Fast Money round set as a background noise.

The 1995 film, Vampire In Brooklyn, sees Silas Green (played by John Witherspoon) and Julius Jones (played by Kadeem Hardison) watching an episode of the Feud as "the world's first war of the showgirls".(NOTE: The actual clip was from the "Battle to discover the superior sex" special from 1992.)

The 1995 film, Clueless, has referenced the show's catch phrase.

The 1995 film, Mallrats, Brodie Bruce (played by Jason Lee) says "Richard Dawson, why don't you just go back to your podium until it's time to play the Feud. All right?"

Road Runner & American Online commercial parodied Family Feud as “High Speed Internet Challenge”. Its set and pieces had colors resembling The Price is Right while its host resembles the likes of Wink Martindale.

In the music video called Someday by The Strokes from 2002, The Strokes were playing against Guided by Voices on the 1999-2002 Anderson era set of Family Feud, featuring a special appearance by Richard Karn who surprisingly enough hosted the actual show from 2002-2006. (NOTE:Guided By Voices won 350-211)

In 2002, Old Navy made a series of commercials called "Family Fleece" (featuring actress Morgan Fairchild), a parody of the Feud where families showed off the clothes that were for purchase.

A Diet Dr. Pepper commercial parodied Family Feud as Crime Family Feud in 2001. The commercial starts with the showing of the Anderson/Karn era-like logo as it cuts to a survey board with the top six answers on it after which a John O'Hurley look-alike host reading the question: "Name a Popular Family Activity." Then the guy on the left side of the face-off podium hits the button and answers "Racketeering!". as the host says, "Show me Racketeering!" as it revealed itself as the number two answer with 18 people out of 100 agreeing in the survey. Finally, the announcer says, that “Not everything can be as good as the original, but Diet Dr. Pepper is. It tastes more like regular Dr. Pepper.” as It cuts to a woman in the studio audience drinking a Diet Dr. Pepper with a guy sitting on the right side of her saying the shows actual catchphrase, "Good Answer!"

Comedy Central did a Feud spoof promo based on "The Fast Money Round" for their January “Stand-up Month”. In 2005, the promo stars with the host asking, "Name Something You Find In The Desert." Then a black overweight female contestant named Iris standing beside him answers, "Prostitute Bones!" revealed as the third answer with 0 people agreeing in the survey while a buzzer noise goes off. Then the next question read by the host was "Something You Learn In College"; then Iris says, "Bisexuality!" revealed as the fourth answer with 0 people agreeing in the survey while a buzzer noise goes off again. Finally, the last question read was "A Month That's Popular for Stand-Up Comedy. You Said..." Then Iris answers, "January!" as the host shouts, "Show us, January!" As the fifth answer revealed itself with 100 people agreed in the survey. everybody in the studios celebrates their victory as it shows a montage of comedians that appeared in the month; at the end Iris pushes the host away yelling, "Get off me!"

Trivia
When Richard Dawson, Ray Combs, Richard Karn, and John O'Hurley goes to the controlling family after the face-off question, they sometimes don't use the word "Name" when asking the same question to the family member.

When Richard Dawson and Ray Combs start asking the 5 questions in the fast money round, they don't use the word "Name" for the 2nd-5th questions. Richard Karn would do that sometimes during the fast money round, too.

Example: "Name something that has buttons", (player gives answer), "an animal that eats plants", (player gives 2nd answer), "something specific that melts", (player gives 3rd answer), "a sport that's played indoors", (player gives 4th answer), "something you see in the summer time", (player gives 5th answer).

The famous "Blip" sound effect from the Fast Money round when an answer was revealed on its Ferranti-Packard (1976-1995) and Visually-styled (1999-present) board, made its debut in the 1988-1994 Combs version and has been used since then. However, out of all the previous incarnations of the show, it was never used in the original 1976-1985 Dawson version.

The buttons on the face-off podium in the original 1976-1985 Dawson version were always colored yellow. as they were never red until the 1988-1994 Combs version and all of the other previous incarnations since then. In the 2006 "Feud" episode of Gameshow Marathon, the buttons on the face-off podium were also colored red as well.

This is the 2nd game show where John O'Hurley and Burton Richardson both worked together from 2006-2010. The 1st game show they worked together on was the 2000-2002 revival of To Tell the Truth.

Both the Combs and Dawson '94 versions of the show were the only two incarnations of the franchise to nix The "Play or Pass/Pass or Play" option for which after a contestant in the Face-Off guessed the top answer or if the opposing contestant guessed a better answer than the one before. His/Her family are then forced to play the question out until they get three strikes. However, Four years later, the "Play or Pass/Pass or Play" option returned in the 1999-2002 version with Louie Anderson at the helm and all other previous incarnations since then.

In the 1994-1995 Dawson version, (excluding the original Dawson '76 and Combs versions) the original team size was reduced from five to four. Three years later, the original size returned in the 1999-2002 Anderson version and all the other incarnations have kept it since then.

For the 1976-1985 Dawson version, in order to boost the show's sagging ratings for both the ABC daytime and syndicated versions in the 1984-1985 season, they extended the amount of points needed in order to win the game from 300 to 400. Sadly, the ratings for both versions were being hammered-in by the likes of The Price is Right on CBS and Wheel of Fortune in syndication. However, the 400 point format later returned in the "Tournament of Champions" finale (for which the Fast Money round was excluded in the episode) of the Combs, Karn, O'Hurley and Harvey versions since then.

It takes at least 3 rounds to reach 300 points, but normally it took 4 rounds to reach 300 points.

Fast Money got played early 4 times. It happened at least 3 times with Richard Karn and once with John O'Hurley and the 3 family teams that won at least 300 points in just 3 rounds won $20,000 in Fast Money.

After the 1st run of Fast Money, Richard Karn would bring out the 2nd Fast Money contestant after the 4th commercial break while John O'Hurley brought out the 2nd Fast Money contestant before the 4th commercial break.

The Cunnigham family was the very first team to win a brand new car in 2009.

Quotes & Catchphrases
"Thank you and welcome to Family Feud, that's where two typical American families fight it out for family honor and a little spending money for the relatives. If I look happy tonight, I am. I just got the oil drilling rights to Jack Lord's hair!" - Richard Dawson (from the 1975 pilot.)

"I haven't been this excited since I got the oil drilling rights to Jack Lord's hair!" - Richard Dawson (on the first episode of the ABC daytime version in 1976.)

"Thank you. Thank you so much and welcome to Family Feud. I'm Ray Combs, the new host of the show. Happy Birthday America. Let me say that, first of all, it’s a pleasure to be with you. Today, we're going to see two wonderful families battle it out for family honor on their way to $5,000, with a chance for $5,000. but I want you to know that I'm excitied about being on CBS and hosting this show. I have, uh, been studying all of the great CBS shows. I think I'm prepared, so if you're ready, let's have the first item up for bids!" - Ray Combs (on the first episode of the CBS daytime version in 1988.)

"Thank you. Thank you. Whoo! Welcome to Family Feud. Thank you for the ovation, and thank you for joining us at home. If you've just tuned in, we welcome you to the premiere episode of our evening version. Now, Family Feud can be enjoyed twice a day, for twice as much fun with the greatest families in America. battling it out for their family honor, and in the evening version, they're playing for $10,000." - Ray Combs (on the first episode of the daily syndicated version from 1988.)

"Welcome to The New Family Feud. We're starting our brand-new season of Family Feud, and to help us celebrate, we're gonna introduce an exciting new game we called it Bullseye. The Bullseye Game means that one of these families could win up to $20,000." - Ray Combs (on the first episode of the Bullseye Round from The New Family Feud in 1992)

"Who'd you got?" - Richard Dawson

"Who'd you bring with you?" - Ray Combs

"Introduce me to your family."

"Let's play the Bullseye Game!" - Ray Combs (at the start of the Bullseye Round from 1992-1994)

"Each member of each family is going to get a chance to play the Bullseye Game and each team will play the Bullseye Round to determine how much money you could be playing for in Fast Money if you win the game. We'll start by placing $5,000 in their banks to both families." - Ray Combs (about the Bullseye Round)

"We'll get started right now with the Bullseye Round, and we'll put $15,000 in their banks. I'm gonna ask you 5 Bullseye questions, each increasing value by $1,000, which means you could win up to $30,000." - John O'Hurley (at the start of the Bullseye Round from 2009-2010)

"Is (insert answer), the ($500/$1,000/$1,500/$2,000/$2,500) Bullseye?" - Ray Combs

"Is (insert answer), the ($1,000/$2,000/$3,000/$4,000/$5,000) Bullseye?" - Ray Combs

"BULLSEYE!!! (Right on Target!)" - Ray Combs (when a family member hit it right on the nose during the Bullseye Round)

"Are you ready to play the Feud?"

"Let's play the Feud!"

"I say it's time to play the Feud!" - Ray Combs

"Good luck to both families."

"You know the way the game is played..." - John O'Hurley

"First team to (200/300/400) points/dollars plays Fast Money for (insert amount)!"

"300 is the magic number!"-Richard Dawson

"This is going to be a little different from normal. There is no Fast Money. First team to 400 points/dollars wins the Tournament worth (insert amount)!" - Host about Tournament Finale

"We surveyed 100 people/100 people surveyed, top (insert number) answers are on the board. Try to find the most popular answer. Here's the question."

"We surveyed 100 people; top (insert number) answers are on the board. Give me the most popular answer."

"100 people surveyed, top (insert number) answer are on the board. You got to try to find the most popular answer. Here's the question."-Richard Dawson

"For this question only, we asked 100 Men/Women (No Men/Women). All the other questions are normal."

"Name Something/A..."

"Tell Me Something/A..."

"We asked 100 people these five questions."-Ray Combs (start of Fast Money)

"Point/Dollar values are Doubled/Tripled. 100 people surveyed, top (insert number) answers are on the board. Here's the question."

"Did any of our 100 people in the survey said (insert answer)?" - Richard Dawson

"Number One/Top Answer!"

"(insert number) answer(s) better."

"You got control. Do you wanna Play or Pass?"

"Do you wanna Play or Pass?"

"Play or Pass?"

"Pass or Play?" - Louie Anderson & John O'Hurley

"Think of a steal." - Ray Combs

"Show me (insert answer)!"

"Up there?" - Louie Anderson

"Good answer!"

"If it's there, you’re still alive/you got it all. If it's not there, second strike!"

"If it's there, you got it all (and you'll play for the big money). If it's not there, then the (insert Family Name) will get a chance to steal!" - Richard Dawson

"If it's there you guys have stolen the points and taken first blood; if not, the (insert Family Name) keeps those points for themselves!"-Richard Karn (said during the first single point round)

"You got it!" - Richard Dawson

"Survey says!"

"I'm going to read the question once. When I get to you, you'll get three seconds to answer it. I'm not going to repeat it again." - Richard Dawson (to the Controlling Family during the Triple Round if time runs short)

"But I'm going to read the question once, so everybody, pay attention/listen (closely/carefully). You'll only hear this once. - Richard Karn (said at the start of the Triple Round from 2003-2006)

"Make Those Answers Count!"-Richard Karn (said during the Triple Round)

"Nobody reached 300 points, we're going to Sudden Death."

"For this survey, we're asking for the Top Answer/Number One Answer Only. Whoever gets this Top/(Number) One answer wins the game."

"Your partner is off-stage with headphones on, (he/she) cannot see or hear your answers, in (15/20) seconds I'll ask you five question, you give me five answers; try to give me the most popular answers if you can't think of an answer, say pass then I'll get back to it if there's time. but, if you or your partner can come up with 200 points or more total you'll win ($5,000/$10,000/Bullseye/Bankroll amount/$20,000)."

"Give me (15/20) (20/25) seconds on the clock, please!, (ding!) clock starts when i'm finished reading the first question."- said during the start of the fast money round

"Turn Around!"-Richard Dawson (said when a contestant checks the answers in Fast Money)

"Clear the board and let's bring out (insert name)!"- said after the first half of the fast money round

"Let's remind everyone of your partners answers!"- said before the start of the second half of the fast money round

"Try Again!"- said during the second half of the fast money round

"I'll ask you the same five questions as your partner. You cannot duplicate (his/her) answers. If you do, you'll hear this sound (buzz-buzz). I'll say, ‘Try again.’ Then you must give me another answer."- Said before the second contestant plays Fast Money

"You said/Survey said!"- said during Fast Money

"Survey!" - Richard Dawson

"You chose/survey chose!" - Ray Combs (during The Fast Money Round)

"You liked/survey liked!" - Ray Combs (during The Fast Money Round)

"Our survey said!" - Ray Combs (during The Fast Money Round)

"What did the/our survey say?" - Ray Combs (during the Fast Money Round)

"You had that on the other side." - John O'Hurley (during the second Fast Money Round)

"(number of points) at $5 a point, total of... (bell sounds) (insert total)"

"You got the cash!" - Ray Combs (because of a Fast Money Win)

"Holy Smokes!"-Richard Karn

"BAM!" - Richard Dawson/Ray Combs

"BEN!" - Ray Combs (alternate version of BAM!)

"So, the Mackins were our final winning family, and they've won $5,504, and I'm proud of 'em. I've had the most incredible luck in my career. I've done lots and lots of jobs, and I've never, ever had a job like Family Feud. I've never dreamed I would ever have a job where so many people could touch me and I could touch them (Audience laughing). And it is...a great magic about this show that I've never seen on any other show. I want to publicly acknowledge Howard Felsher, who's our executive producer. He was a producer in the beginning of the show, and he helped steer and guide the way that we went. and he and I fall a lot of times, but I tell you that he is important and I should acknowledge him, because he was the one, with me, that, we said, "Let anybody come on this show, anyone that could play this game, no matter what color or creed, no matter if they're in a wheelchair or they have no sight!" And we had everybody on this show, and he was very, very important in that I acknowledge and thank him for it. I thanked my crew, and I thanked my director already. I had the best staff you've ever dreamed of. You can't...but you don't have to dream of them, 'cause I'm gonna take them with me. Even if I never work again, they'll just be near me (Audience laughing) They are so special and wonderful. ABC - Jackie Smith, Wally Weltmen, Joe C. Albott - they kept us on the air probably a year more than they should have, 'cause were weren't really helping them. You know, our ratings weren't that good. and they were so great. They buried themselves carrying us, and I love them for that. not that I wanted to hurt 'em, but I...'cause I love 'em. They were good people. There were people I know that got upset that I kiss people; I kiss them for luck and love, that's all. That's what my mother did to me. There were people upset that I would embrace or hug someone of a different color. (smacks lips) The first time I ever saw people of any color was when D-Day left from my hometown in England, to go and free Europe from the war. And there was every color you could imagine, and I'd not seen that in England. And I asked my mother about it; I said, "Is there something wrong?" she said, "God...God makes people. you understand that don't you?" And I said, "Yeah!" She said, "Who makes a rainbow?" I said, "God." She said, "I never presumed to tell anyone who could make a rainbow what color to make children!" and she changed my whole life with that statement. All I can tell you is, this has been a very special nine years of my life! If I never do another thing, I've met the good, sweet people of the world. So I leave you with love, and for the little girl, that, nine years ago I first signed to - I guess she's 13 now - I'll think of you everyday (camera snapshot). God bless all the little children in the world. Thank You." - Richard Dawson (from his emotional farewell speech from the 1985 season finale.)

"Thank you, Richard! Thank you, America!" - Gene Wood (during the credits from the 1985 season finale.)

"You know, I've done this show for six years, and this could be the first time that I had a person that actually got no points, and I think it's a damn fine way to go out. You thought I was a loser until you walked up here. You made me feel like a man. Tim, give me your hand." - Ray Combs (on the Tran family only getting 77 points in Fast Money and left the stage after signing off in the 1994 season finale.)

"(Audience cheering) Thank you. Thank you very much. (Audience cheering continues) Don't make me cry. (Audience cheering continues). If you do too much of that, I won't be able to do a show for you because I'll cry." - Richard Dawson (on the first taped episode of his 1994 comeback.)

"I had the best time in the world. Sweet Eddie, I thank you. My daughter, and my wife, my two sons I love. God bless all the little children in the world. Good Night."- Richard Dawson (from his 1995 "America's Finest" week season finale.)

Steve Harvey Catchphrases
"Give me (insert name), give me (insert name). Let's go." - Steve Harvey

"If it's there, you're still alive. If it's not there, the (insert family team name) can steal and win." - Steve Harvey

"If it's there, you win the game. If it's not there, you're still alive." - Steve Harvey

"If it's there, you win the game. If it's not there, the (insert family team name) can steal and win." - Steve Harvey

"If it's there, you steal. You win the game. If it's not there, the (insert family team name) wins the game." - Steve Harvey

"If it's there, you steal. You win the game. If it's not there, the (insert family team name) gets to play sudden death." - Steve Harvey

"If it's there, you steal. You get to play sudden death. If it's not there, the (insert family team name) wins the game." - Steve Harvey

"For this survey, we are asking for the top answer only. Whoever gets this one answer will win the game. Good luck." - Steve Harvey

"For the win, (insert answer)!" - Steve Harvey

"For sudden death, (insert answer)!" - Steve Harvey

Taglines
"We love ya. See ya here on the (Family) Feud. Bye-bye." - Richard Dawson (1976-1985; 1994-1995)

"God bless all the little children in the world." - Richard Dawson (The Final Episode)

"For the Feud, I'm Ray Combs saying thank you for watching. Have a great day (on CBS), and see you next time. Bye-bye. (Play at home!)" - Ray Combs (1988-1994)

"Be good to your family. Come back and see our families on the Feud." - Louie Anderson (1999-2002)

"I'm John O'Hurley. Thanks for joining us here on the Family Feud. We'll see you next time. Bye-bye." - John O'Hurley (2006-2010)

"I'm Al Roker saying, 'Love your family, don't feud.'" - Al Roker (2008)

"(Play Family Feud on Facebook with your friends.) I'm Steve Harvey. We'll see you next time, folks." - Steve Harvey (2010-present)

Links
Official Site

Official Site (Celebrity Version/Roker 08')

the "original" official website from the 1999-2002 era featuring pictures from the 2002 Karn era (via Internet Archive)

the "original" official website for the 2002-2006 Karn era (via Internet Archive)

the "original" official website for the 2006-2010 O'Hurley era (via Internet Archive)

YouTube Profile

Kyle's Family Feud Dominion

Josh Rebich's Family Feud Rule Sheets

A gallery of the original 1976-1985 Dawson version

A gallery of the revised 1994-1995 Dawson version

Comedy Central Fast Money Spoof Promo for their "January Stand-Up Month" in 2005

Official Pearson website for Family Feud (and Family Fortunes) via Internet Archives

Official Pearson website for Family Feud ('99-'02 Anderson era) via Internet Archives

Family Feud's 400 Point Format

Ray Combs's Last Fast Money

Family Feud Wiki

Family Feud Live!
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eZWqaFtFsM Family Feud Live! Fairs]

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6ywwGTLhpw Family Feud Live! at the San Diego County Fair promo]

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWVDoTYgxno Rehearsal of Atlantic City's Family Feud Live! 2006]

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYPRWUVIUbY Family Feud, Live! Highlights]

Michael Burger Hosting Family Feud Live!

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnXxR0gtxHs Family Feud Live! Michael Burger clip]

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWpTzAh4Iek Familuy Feud Live! Fast Money Roger Lodge clip]