Ray Combs facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ray Combs
Combs in a publicity photo for Family Feud in 1988
Born	Raymond Neil Combs Jr. (1956-04-03)April 3, 1956 Hamilton, Ohio, U.S.
Died	June 2, 1996(1996-06-02) (aged 40) Glendale, California, U.S.
Education	Garfield High School
Occupation	Actor comedian game show host
Years active	1979–1996
Spouse(s)	Debbie Combs ​ ​ (m. 1977; sep. 1995)​
Children	6

Raymond Neil Combs Jr. (born April 3, 1956 – died June 2, 1996) was an American actor, comedian, and game show host. He was best known for hosting the popular game show Family Feud.

Ray Combs started his career in the late 1970s. His funny stand-up comedy acts made him famous. This led to him becoming the host of Family Feud when it returned to TV. The show was on CBS from 1988 to 1993. It was also shown in syndication (meaning it was sold to many different TV stations) from 1988 to 1994. Later, from 1995 to 1996, Combs hosted another game show called Family Challenge.

Early life and education

Raymond Neil Combs Jr. was born in Hamilton, Ohio, on April 3, 1956. He went to Garfield High School and graduated in 1974. While in high school, he was an actor and the president of his senior class. He also represented his school at Boys State, a program that teaches young people about government.

Ray was offered a chance to go to the United States Military Academy. However, he chose not to go. Instead, he served for two years as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Arizona.

Career beginnings

Ray Combs started doing comedy at a place called the Red Dog Saloon in Cincinnati. He became known for his special act, where he would lead the audience in singing theme songs from popular TV shows.

In 1979, Ray wrote a letter to famous TV host David Letterman asking for advice. Letterman encouraged him to keep doing comedy. By 1982, Ray felt he was as good as, or even better than, some comedians he saw on The Tonight Show. So, he quit his job as a furniture salesman in Indianapolis. He then moved with his family to Los Angeles to pursue his comedy dreams.

Ray did very well in a comedy competition with over 200 other young comedians. He started working as an audience warm-up act for TV shows like The Golden Girls, Facts of Life, and Amen. He was so good that other TV shows would change their filming schedules just to have him warm up their audiences. Johnny Carson, the host of The Tonight Show, heard how much the audiences loved Ray. He invited Ray to perform on his show in October 1986, and the audience gave him a standing ovation.

In 1985, Ray appeared in an episode of The Facts of Life. He also guest-starred on an episode of The Golden Girls. In 1987, he was a celebrity guest on the game show Hollywood Squares. He also had a small part in the movie Overboard, which starred Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn.

Hosting Family Feud

In 1988, famous game show producers Mark Goodson and Howard Felsher offered Ray Combs a seven-year contract. They wanted him to host a new version of Family Feud. The show first aired on July 4, 1988, on CBS during the daytime. A version for syndication started on September 19. The show's announcer, Gene Wood, said that Ray also traveled a lot around the United States to promote the show. He appeared on other game shows like Card Sharks and The Price is Right to talk about the new Family Feud.

On June 29, 1992, CBS made the daytime Family Feud show longer, from 30 minutes to one hour. A new game round called "Bullseye" was added. The show was then renamed Family Feud Challenge. On September 14, 1992, the Bullseye round was also added to the syndicated version. This version stayed 30 minutes long but was renamed The New Family Feud. During the 1992–93 TV season, Ray Combs was one of the most seen hosts on television. He hosted an hour and a half of Family Feud five days a week.

Even though Ray enjoyed hosting Family Feud, he started to feel limited by the show's strict format. He asked his agent to find him new chances to act and do comedy.

In the middle of the 1992–93 season, the show's ratings started to drop. CBS canceled the daytime version in early 1993. The last new episode aired on March 26. The syndicated version was also close to being canceled. Jonathan Goodson, who took over Mark Goodson Productions after his father passed away, decided to bring back the original host, Richard Dawson. He hoped this would make the ratings go up. Ray Combs was very upset about being let go from the show.

Other TV appearances

Ray Combs also made appearances for the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE). He was a guest ring announcer at WrestleMania VIII. He made the crowd laugh by making fun of some of the wrestlers. He later was a guest commentator at Survivor Series 1993.

Ray also appeared in special celebrity versions of Family Feud that featured wrestlers. He became friends with wrestler Bobby Heenan. Heenan later wrote in his book that he thought Ray felt stuck being only a game show host.

Combs played himself in episodes of In Living Color and 227 in Family Feud sketches. He also did a stand-up comedy routine on The Statler Brothers Show on TNN. In October 1993, a Family Feud video game was released for the Super NES and Sega Genesis. The game featured Ray Combs's image.

From 1993 to 1995, Ray Combs was the host of the yearly StarGaze charity events. These events were put on by Jim Kelly.

Personal life

In July 1994, Ray Combs was in a serious car accident on the Ventura Freeway. He hurt one of the discs in his spine. This caused him a lot of pain all the time. Ray also faced money problems. Two of his comedy clubs did not do well, and his home in Hamilton, Ohio, was at risk of being taken by the bank. In September 1995, he separated from Debbie, his wife of 18 years. They had six children together. The couple tried to get back together but later decided to file for divorce again.

Ray tried several times to get back on TV. He filmed a pilot (a test episode) for a talk show called The Ray Combs Show, but it was not picked up by a network. Ray also hosted Family Challenge on The Family Channel from 1995 to 1996. He also made several appearances on the Game Show Network.

Death

On June 1, 1996, police were called to Ray Combs' home in Glendale, California, because of a disturbance. He was taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center. There, a doctor checked on him, and he was placed under observation for 72 hours. He was taken to the emergency room, where he was pronounced dead. He was 40 years old.

Ray Combs' funeral was held on June 7, 1996, at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Glendale. His body was then flown back to his hometown of Hamilton, Ohio. He was buried at the Greenwood Cemetery. Ray was survived by his parents, his wife, and their six children.

Filmography

Images for kids

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  Combs in a publicity photo for Family Feud in 1988

See also

In Spanish: Ray Combs para niños