'Gong' Making Revival Thanks To George Clooney

Posted Friday, January 17, 2003 at 12:11 PM Central

by John Couture

According to Warner Bros., when George Clooney's directorial debut, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind, opens nationwide today, it's sure to rekindle interest in the old TV show 'The Gong Show.' The movie is based on the quasi-autobiographical book of Chuck Barris, who claims that he was hitman for the CIA at night while he hosted 'The Gong Show' during the day from 1976-1980.

In fact, they expect the interest to be so huge that they're readying an updated version of the show that featured non-traditional talent acts. The point of the show was for the acts to make it through their shtick before one of the judges "Gong"-ed them.

No host has been named yet and no channel has picked up the broadcast rights as of this writing.