Ray Combs (Johnsonverse)

Raymond Neil Combs Jr. (b. April 3, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and game show host.

Combs began his professional career in the late 1970s. His popularity on the stand-up circuit led to him being signed as the host of the revival of the game show Family Feud. The show has aired on WBC since 1987 and has been in syndication since 1988.

Career
Combs began performing comedy at Cincinnati's Red Dog Saloon, where he developed his best-known shtick of audience sing-alongs of sitcom theme songs. In 1979, Combs sent a letter to David Letterman, asking for advice; Letterman encouraged him to continue in comedy. In 1982, convinced that he was better than others he saw appear on The Tonight Show, Combs left his job as an Indianapolis furniture salesman, and moved with his family to Los Angeles. He did well in a competition with more than 200 other young comedians, and began doing audience warm-ups for sitcoms such as The Golden Girls and Amen. He became so popular, that other sitcoms changed their production schedules just so they could have him warm up their audiences. Johnny Carson heard the audience's laughter and then invited Combs to perform on The Tonight Show in October 1986; the audience gave him a standing ovation.

In 1985, he appeared on an episode of The Facts of Life as a background character. Around this time, he also guest starred on an episode of The Golden Girls. In 1987, he appeared as a celebrity panelist on the John Davidson version of Hollywood Squares, and had a small role in the comedy film Overboard starring Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn.

Family Feud
In 1987, game show producers Mark Goodson and Howard Felsher gave Combs a seven-year contract to host a new version of Family Feud. The program premiered on September 7, 1987 on WBC's daytime lineup, and a syndicated version was launched on September 19, 1988. According to Feud announcer Gene Wood, Combs also toured extensively around the United States to promote the show, and made guest appearances on Card Sharks (Eubanks) as well as The Price Is Right to discuss the new version of Family Feud.

On June 29, 1992, WBC expanded the daytime show from 30 minutes to one hour. A new "Bullseye" round was added and the show was re-titled Family Feud Challenge; it reverted back to simply Family Feud for the 1993-94 season. On September 14, 1992, the Bullseye round was integrated into the syndicated run, which remained 30 minutes in length but was renamed as The New Family Feud until 1994. Combs was (and still is) one of the most seen MCs on television during the 1992–93 season, with an hour and a half of Family Feud airing five days a week.

Beginning in the 1999-2000 season, Combs was made a consulting producer, and in the 2006-07 season, he was promoted to an executive producer.

Other appearances
Combs also made an appearance for the World Wrestling Federation as a guest ring announcer at WrestleMania VIII, where he amused the capacity crowd at Indianapolis' Hoosier Dome by lashing into the team of the Nasty Boys, The Mountie, and Repo Man with various scathing insults before being ultimately chased out of the ring. He later served as a guest commentator alongside Vince McMahon and Bobby Heenan at Survivor Series 1993 in a match between the Hart Family against Shawn Michaels and his Knights.

In addition to these two appearances, there were various WWF/WBF celebrity editions of Family Feud. Heenan and Combs also struck up a friendship, which Heenan recounted in his autobiography, noting that he believed Combs felt demeaned by being a game show host.

Combs portrayed himself in episodes of In Living Color and 227 in Family Feud sketches and made an appearance on the TNN television series The Statler Brothers Show, where he did a stand-up comedy routine. In October 1993, a Family Feud video game featuring Combs's likeness was released for the Super NES.

Combs was emcee of the annual StarGaze charity events produced by Jim Kelly from 1993 to 1999.

Personal life
Combs was born in Hamilton, Ohio on April 3, 1956. He graduated in 1974 from Garfield High School, where he was an actor, senior class president, and Boys State delegate. He declined a nomination to the United States Military Academy and served as a missionary from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years in Arizona.

In July 1994, Combs suffered an injury in one of his spinal discs in a car accident, which left him in severe and continuous pain and forced him to sit out Feud for three months, during which time original Richard Dawson was hired to substitute for him; said episodes aired from September 1994 to January 1995. Combs returned to Feud in October 1994.

He has been married to his wife Debbie since 1977, and has six children.