Jumping at the Graveside

Or

Gene Gene the Dying Machine

Or

Gonged

(Props to Monty)

I want you to remember that no one ever won a talent contest by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor, dumb bastard die for his. Eugene Patton, aka Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, living example that everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, has died of complications in his blood and guts from diabetes at the age of 83. Patton was the first African-American member of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, Local 33 and was working as a stagehand on the set of The Gong Show when he was called upon to warm up the crowd before a show. Host Chuck Barris loved it so much that he had Patton dance on air in “spontaneous” performances, because reality TV hasn’t changed all that much in the last 40 years. The piano player would play the first few bars of "Jumpin' at the Woodside," Barris would act surprised and out would come Patton in his green windbreaker jacket, a painter's cap, bell-bottomed pants, and sneakers would shuffle across the stage. Eventually Patton graduated to dancing in every episode behind the rolling credits. Patton’s fame earned him cameos as himself in The Gong Show Movie and Barris’s fictional autobiography Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Patton put his time working with untalented hacks to use later as a camera man on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."