It was just last month that Chuck Barris, creator and host of The Gong Show, passed away. I wonder what he'd think about this latest development regarding the kooky talent show he'll always be associated with. It's coming back, but not as you might expect. Mike Myers will be hosting it...only it isn't really Mike Myers. But it is Mike Myers. Ugh.
So the new host of The Gong Show revival is Tommy Maitland, a 70-ish British comedian with a lengthy resume that includes stuff like spaghetti Westerns. Only, Maitland is actually Mike Myers, wearing fake prosthetics and everything. It's...weird. What's even weirder is that some sites haven't caught on that it's Myers because they only read the press release from ABC which plays the whole thing is legit as possible:
Born on July 7, 1944, Thomas Winston Maitland (his middle name is a tribute to Winston Churchill) grew up in Neasden, GLC, Borough of Brent, where his father was an actuary and in the Merchant Marine and his mother was in the RAF. After a failed stint as a pipe fitter’s apprentice, Tommy joined the British Army at the tender age of 15. He later joined the Entertainment National Service Association (ENSA), where he got to know some of the UK’s biggest comedians. He played the ukulele, told jokes and drummed (though he drummed badly), and he ended up hosting the show – a talent he would later be known for. He was voted ENSA Entertainer of the Year, for which he was given a guarantee to appear on British radio. He later worked as an announcer for the British radio show, “The Whosey Whats,” and got small roles in the “Carry On” films – either as the over anxious compart at a men’s club or the strict union pipe fitter. He also appeared in the TV series, “The Lord Mayor,” as the cheeky mayor of a mythical town in East Anglia, who struck it rich because they sat atop an oil field.
Will Arnett is behind this as a producer, and as you probably guessed there will be a ton of celebrities as special guest judges, Zach Galifianakis, Alison Brie, Andy Samberg, Elizabeth Banks, Joel McHale, Dana Carvey, Will Forte, Jack Black and Anthony Anderson to name just some of them. The new Gong Show premieres on June 22nd, and if you want to see what Myers looks like as Maitland, check it out below. Don't blame me if it scars your brain for the day the way this whole idea has done to me. Can we gong this thing now? [THR]
