Gene Gene the Dancin' MaSHEEEEEENE!

[filkertom]

I used to be a big fan of The Gong Show. Not because of the talent, because most of it frankly was... average. No, it took me awhile to appreciate how brave those people were, and how much they wanted a break, a chance to be more than they felt they were.

But there was always one bit that was strictly for fun. No... for joy.

Many thanks to Mark Evanier for digging up this video of Gene Gene the Dancin' Machine.

If you were to go on an amateur-hour-style show -- and let's assume you couldn't play to your greatest strength (for instance, I couldn't go out there and sing) -- what would you do? I'd probably break out the close-up magic. It's been a long time, but I could still pull out a few surprises.

Comments

[madmanotl.livejournal.com]

and let's assume you couldn't play to your greatest strength....
That means I could "sing". or not

Actually, I would juggle.

[druidsfire.livejournal.com]

I find it entirely amusing for my iTunes to have shuffled to 'And They Say I've Got Talent' /just/ as I saw this post.

[shadowriderhope.livejournal.com]

Thanks, this just made me smile when I sorely needed to. I love to see folks do something that they love so completely that it just shines outta their pores. :)

[shadowriderhope.livejournal.com]

I would sing, and hope my voice would cooperate. :) Or dance, maybe. ;)

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

Actually, those repeat contestants were crew. it started early on, I think on the second show, when they were running out of contestants and had time to fill. Someone grabbed one of the sage hands and shoved them behind the curtain with the orders "Do something!" Since everybody was more or less silly (someone I know who worked in the same building said they were the only crew who went home at night still snickering) they did something stupid. Those that proved to be winners were put on again and again to fill time, and Gene Gene the Dancing Machine is the one most people still remember. I forget what his job was.

[johno.livejournal.com]

Gene retired a few years ago.

They celebrated his 40+ years with NBC on The Tonight Show. Which of course featured clips of him dancing on The Gong Show.

[scruffycritter.livejournal.com]

More than retired. He lost both his legs to diabetes.

I always find depressing stuff when I surf imdb.com.

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

Wow... I remember him--and The Gong Show, for that matter. Haven't thought about that for ages (automatic accompanying thoughts: The Unknown Comic, and Raymond Jay Johnson, Junior).

I suppose I'd bring my cat Random out and see if I could make him do a few tricks. He can sit up and beg, and meow on command... but he's a cat, and therefore the likelihood that he will display such talents is in inverse proportion to the number of people watching. Modified by slivers of Jarlsberg cheese--his favorite.

[partiallyclips.livejournal.com]

I've never taken a stab at stand-up comedy, other than one open mic night in college. I'd try and put together a routine.

[smallship1.livejournal.com]

Well, my greatest strength isn't a spectator sport (he types! he corrects! he types again! he deletes the file!) so I'd probably recite "The Green Eye of the Little Yellow God" by J. Milton Hayes, with hopefully soren_nyrond to heckle from a box.

[palenoue.livejournal.com]

Not a spectator sport? I take it you haven't listened to Monty Pythons "Novel Writing Live From Wessex."

[janet-coburn.livejournal.com]

I guess I would have to recite Jabberwocky in French.

My one memory is a contestant who sang Jimmy Buffet's jukebox hit "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw?" He substituted the word "groove" for "screw," but I still fell out laughing.

[wookiee71.livejournal.com]

The other day, someone called me Dean Dean the Dancing Machine. I used to hear that phrase all the time in elementary school. And because I had seen the Gong Show and knew who Gene was, I would dance like him and sing the tune played for him.

Ahh, memories.

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

It would be a fine time to display tuned flatulence?