Ray Combs commits Suicide
Justin King
I don't know how correct this info is but when I woke up the radio station
I was listening to said that Ray Combs commited suicide. I was tired and my
radio was full of static but I think I heard that he hung himself and
something about a head injury. If anyone has more information please post
it.
Justin
Brad William Francini
In <4oucvt$c...@news-e2d.gnn.com> Justin King <King...@gnn.com>
writes:
Unfortunately, the terrible news seems to be true! :( According to USA
Today, Combs was first taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center
w/trauma to the head, and at first police said he died of respiratory
failure, but a friend (and later police) confirmed that he had hung
himself at the hospital!
Dear God...this is NOT what I wanted to wake up to this morning. Combs
was probably the best replacement for Dawson on the Feud possible, and
he did that show with class. We may have ragged on Family Challenge,
but he certainly did show the emotion and energy that a good host
should. The game show world has truly lost a good friend.
Brad
Jake Tanner
fran...@ix.netcom.com(Brad William Francini) wrote:
>Unfortunately, the terrible news seems to be true! :( According to USA
>Today, Combs was first taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center
>w/trauma to the head, and at first police said he died of respiratory
>failure, but a friend (and later police) confirmed that he had hung
>himself at the hospital!
Brad, let me understand what you are saying...I'm hoping that
your wording is just a little misplaced...your statement reads
as if Ray took his own life AT THE HOSPITAL...are you meaning
to say that the friend and police verified the suicide upon
their arrival of his body at the hospital?
Jake
MrTV1
Here's the info I was able to get on AOL. (Keyword: NEWS)
Reuters/Variety Entertainment Summary
Game Show Host Commits Suicide
Police have confirmed that game show host Ray Combs committed suicide
at a
hospital in Glendale, California yesterday. He was found dead by a
hospital
worker. ABC is quoting a family friend who says Combs tried to kill
himself
with an overdose of valium on Friday, then suffered a breakdown the next
day
and was taken to Glendale-Venice Hospital for treatment of a head injury.
The
friend reportedly says Combs used bed sheets to hang himself at the
hospital.
Combs hosted ``The New Family Feud'' from 1988 to 1994, and was most
recently
seen on ``Ray Combs Family Challenge'' on the Family Channel. He was 40.
I can't belive this. He fought so hard to regain the use of his legs
after that horrible car accident. Now to kill yourself. It doesn't make
sense. This ruined my whole day!
John
Any additional news, please send to MR...@aol.com
JTRH
This was on the Reuters/Variety Entertainment News page on AOL:
> Game Show Host Commits Suicide
> Police have confirmed that game show host Ray Combs committed suicide
at >a hospital in Glendale, California yesterday. He was found dead by a
hospital >worker. ABC is quoting a family friend who says Combs tried to
kill himself with >an overdose of valium on Friday, then suffered a
breakdown the next day and >was taken to Glendale-Venice Hospital for
treatment of a head injury. The friend >reportedly says Combs used bed
sheets to hang himself at the hospital. Combs >hosted ``The New Family
Feud'' from 1988 to 1994, and was most recently seen >on ``Ray Combs
Family Challenge'' on the Family Channel. He was 40.
Wasn't Ray severely injured in a car accident a couple of years ago? I
thought he'd made a complete recovery, but maybe this had something to do
with the lasting effects of that...
John
Seth
I read somewhere that his dream was to go back to Ohio and open
up a comedy club and stay there to run it. Do you think that it
might have fallen through? Could this have possibly been a
reason?
C Alliaume
This is from the 6/3 New York Daily News; the NY Times didn't have
anything. This must have been released late Sunday night.
Ex-TV game show host kills self
GLENDALE, Calif. -- Ray Combs, one-time host of the TV game show "The New
Family Feud," has committed suicide, police said yesterday. He was 39.
The method of death was not known, but hospital officials said Combs was
admitted Saturday with head injuries. Combs hosted the show from 1988 to
1994.
-- The Associated Press
According to WCBS-AM, he hanged himself in a hospital Sunday with
bedsheets. Reports on why he was in the hospital vary -- one report said
he suffered a breakdown in his home Saturday, another said he hit his head
while in a Jacuzzi.
More reports to follow, I'm sure.
-- Curt Alliaume
rog...@dris.com
Jake Tanner <desp...@airmail.net> wrote:
>Brad, let me understand what you are saying...I'm hoping that
>your wording is just a little misplaced...your statement reads
>as if Ray took his own life AT THE HOSPITAL...are you meaning
>to say that the friend and police verified the suicide upon
>their arrival of his body at the hospital?
According to the XTRA news service on Yahoo, Combs hung himself at the
hospital. Police came to a disturbance at his house, and there were
reports he was tearing the place up. His head was bleeding, and he
told the police he had fallen in the tub. He was taken to a hospital
and put under some kind of 72-hour watch for mental health, and he
hung himself in the closet with bedsheets.
Jake Tanner
Courtesy of my friend John Ricci and AOL:
REUTERS/VARIETY ENTERTAINMENT SUMMARY
GAME SHOW HOST COMMITS SUICIDE
richard hudson
On 3 Jun 1996, Brad William Francini wrote:
> In <4oucvt$c...@news-e2d.gnn.com> Justin King <King...@gnn.com>
> writes:
> >
> >I don't know how correct this info is but when I woke up the radio
> station
> >I was listening to said that Ray Combs commited suicide. I was tired
> and my
> >radio was full of static but I think I heard that he hung himself and
> >something about a head injury. If anyone has more information please
> post
> >it.
>
> Unfortunately, the terrible news seems to be true! :( According to USA
> Today, Combs was first taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center
> w/trauma to the head, and at first police said he died of respiratory
> failure, but a friend (and later police) confirmed that he had hung
> himself at the hospital!
>
> Dear God...this is NOT what I wanted to wake up to this morning. Combs
> was probably the best replacement for Dawson on the Feud possible, and
> he did that show with class. We may have ragged on Family Challenge,
> but he certainly did show the emotion and energy that a good host
> should. The game show world has truly lost a good friend.
>
> Brad
>
>
I have only one way to reply to this and that is with a question. WHY!
DAMN it, first we lose Jay Stewart, Mark Goodson,then Jerry Chester, then
Bill Cullen, then Art Fleming,Bert Convy and probably alot of people that
I didnt mention here and now Ray Combes! ANd All I can ask is WHY!
Why are all of these great talents leaving us! Why is Donahue still alive
when Jay Stweart is'nt, why is Jerry Springer alive while Jerry Chester
is'nt? Why did he have to lose all of these great producers now. Yes i
understand that some of them were simply taked by old age, but im really
focusing on those who have committed suacide or died do to illness or
accident. And espeically WHY Ray Combes. He was only 40 and at his
Prime,having already proven himself by hosting Family Feud for eight years.
His affablity and enegry even made an unwatachable sow like Family
Challenge bearable. He should have been ableto look foward to hosting
along string of game shows during what is being called in its infancy,
The Game Show Rennicance. Damn it, I wanted him to someday host another
version of Feud and someday, after another great master of game shows,
like the ones mentioned above, Bob Barker goes to his eternal reward
after over 40 years of providing us with countless hours of fun and yes
even a little bit of magic in our humdrum lives, i wanted Ray Combes to
someday say. "Rod,What's the next Item up for bids!" I have stated here
many times that Ray should have hosted the New Price is Right. I had even
created a Family Feud Spinoff just for Ray Combes to host.
It's bad enough when the older hosts,producers and announcers die and
leave us, but when a man who'se carrear has just started, a man in his
early 40's if even that ends up killing himself, I am saddened beyond
belief,more so in this case because Ray leaves behind a large Family
which we have seen grow during his many years on the Family Feud. I know
that Ray Combes has suffered alot since leaving Family Feud,with that car
accident and probably a loss of income. But when I first watched the
Family Challenge, I was estactic to see Ray Combes working afain, even if
the show was less than par simply because it was good to see Ray and Gene
working together again, and knowing that Ray was marking his time until
game shows came back again in earnest.
But now Ray is gone. He was the first of the new generation of game show
hosts and the last of a dying breed.
Ray Combes we salute you and we hope that whever you are that you have
found peace.
Richard Hudson
Joe Capitano
Now, let's see if I got this straight. Ray was taken to the mental ward
of the hopital after a breakdown. There he hung himself.
Question: If he was in such a mental state as has been described, why the
heck did they put sheets on the bed?????
We've lost a class act, and it's a crying shame.
C Alliaume
Just a quick followup so that everybody has their stories straight. (My
information is from the 6/3 "Entertainment Tonight," and 6/4 USA Today and
New York Daily News. Strangely, nothing was reported in The New York
Times as far as I can tell.)
Combs had been trying to kill himself for up to several weeks. He had
been depressed because his wife was leaving him. It's possible that the
other problems he had in the past few years, such as the car accident that
temporarily paralyzed him and his being replaced by Richard Dawson on
"Feud," might have been minor factors, but it's clear the pending breakup
of his marriage was the primary reason.
He was taken to Glendale Hospital Saturday and was put under a suicide
watch. 14 hours later, he was found dead, having hung himself with
bedsheets. The hospital spokespeople's comments were along the lines of
"This shouldn't have happened." This seems fairly obvious -- anyone who
has been trying to kill himself shouldn't be left alone with any
implements to commit suicide.
Combs leaves a wife and six children. They are in our thoughts.
-- Curt Alliaume
---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Don't let yourself go
Cause everybody cries
Everybody hurts...sometimes
So hold on."
--R.E.M.
Jake Tanner
richard hudson <rich...@mercury.gaianet.net> wrote:
>I have only one way to reply to this and that is with a question. WHY!
>DAMN it, first we lose Jay Stewart, Mark Goodson,then Jerry Chester, then
>Bill Cullen, then Art Fleming,Bert Convy and probably alot of people that
>I didnt mention here and now Ray Combes! ANd All I can ask is WHY!
>
>Why are all of these great talents leaving us! Why is Donahue still alive
>when Jay Stweart is'nt, why is Jerry Springer alive while Jerry Chester
>is'nt? Why did he have to lose all of these great producers now.
Question one, WHO IS JERRY CHESTER?? I checked the
Encyclopedia of TV Game Shows and his name appears nowhere...
And number two, why such vicious digs at Donahue, whom I feel
has made major contributions to television...I don't feel he
ever stooped to the levels of the others...and since when are
Phil Donahue's and Jerry Springer's lives worth less than Jay
Stewart and Jerry Chester?? I mean, just because we are in
pain because we lost someone that we liked doesn't mean we
should wish others were dead in their place...how morbid...
While you are at it, why don't you ask why babies die of AIDS
and some killers live to kill again many times over...
Why ask why?
Jake
MrTV1
In article <Pine.BSF.3.91.96060...@mercury.gaianet.net>,
richard hudson <rich...@mercury.gaianet.net> writes:
>I have only one way to reply to this and that is with a question. WHY!
>DAMN it, first we lose Jay Stewart, Mark Goodson,then Jerry Chester, then
>Bill Cullen, then Art Fleming,Bert Convy and probably alot of people that
>I didnt mention here and now Ray Combes! ANd All I can ask is WHY!
>
>Why are all of these great talents leaving us! Why is Donahue still alive
>when Jay Stweart is'nt?
Well, one reason is Jay shot himself in the head and Donahue chose not to.
In all fairness, Mark Goodson, Bert Convy and Art Fleming dies of natural
causes. Only Ray and Jay [hmmm - Ray - Jay ---] ended their own life. I
don't know who Jerry Chester is, should I, please don't hate me if I
should.
John
DBBBIGDOG
MrTV1 said:
>In all fairness, Mark Goodson, Bert Convy and Art Fleming dies of natural
>causes....
Uh, not from what I remember. Maybe that was the case of Goodson,
Fleming, Todman, et al., but Convy I thought died at a relatively young
age of cancer. I think I still remember hearing it on the news while
living in Columbia, South Carolina and becoming depressed and shocked at
hearing about it. Now, I come back home from a 5-day "vacation" in New
Orleans only to hear this. I don't know if the game show world is going
to be able to recover.
I always used to look forward to plopping down on the couch every day
during the summer and watching game shows (that is, on network TV rather
than cable) for about 3 hours a day. Now, I have to rely on cable TV game
shows (which, dare I say it, are generally not even close to as good as
even the dreaded "Your Number's Up" with Nipsey Russell). What has this
country come to???
Ray Combs, we'll miss you dearly.
David "BIG DOG" Bykowski
"Harry got up
Dressed all in black.
Went down to the station,
And he never came back.
They found his clothes
Scattered somewhere down the track.
And he won't be down on Wall Street anymore."
--Don Henley's "New York Minute"
Kevin Nagle
>I'm really
>focusing on those who have committed suacide or died do to illness or
>accident. And espeically WHY Ray Combes. He was only 40 and at his
>Prime,having already proven himself by hosting Family Feud for eight years.
>His affablity and enegry even made an unwatachable sow like Family
>Challenge bearable.
>I wanted Ray Combes to
>someday say. "Rod,What's the next Item up for bids!" I have stated here
>many times that Ray should have hosted the New Price is Right. I had even
>created a Family Feud Spinoff just for Ray Combes to host.
>When I first watched the
>Family Challenge, I was estactic to see Ray Combes working afain, even if
>the show was less than par simply because it was good to see Ray and Gene
>working together again, and knowing that Ray was marking his time until
>game shows came back again in earnest.
>
>But now Ray is gone. He was the first of the new generation of game show
>hosts and the last of a dying breed.
>
>Ray Combes we salute you and we hope that whever you are that you have
>found peace.
Some very true, and very moving words. When I heard it on the radio at
2:00 in the morning, I didn't sleep well, and I was cranky as heck the
entire next day about Ray Combs. I mentioned the news story on our
school's morning newscast and almost had to turn away for fear of crying
on camera.
I really looked up to Ray Combs. His wit and humor *is* what made the
shows he hosted great. Even if the concept of the show sucked (a la
"Family Challenge"), Ray made the show by using his humor and one-liners
to entertain everyone. Ray, you will be truly missed. I had hoped to
meet you some day-- perhaps that meeting will take place a lot later than
I had planned.
KN :)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Survey!!" --Ray Combs
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Have you seen the Top Ten List? Try news:alt.fan.letterman.top-ten
MrTV1
In article <4p5koo$c...@newsbf02.news.aol.com>, dbbb...@aol.com
(DBBBIGDOG) writes:
>MrTV1 said:
>
>>In all fairness, Mark Goodson, Bert Convy and Art Fleming dies of
natural
>>causes....
>
>Uh, not from what I remember. Maybe that was the case of Goodson,
>Fleming, Todman, et al., but Convy I thought died at a relatively young
>age of cancer.
Well, I meant that THEY didn't purposly end their lives.
John
Jake Tanner
mr...@aol.com (MrTV1) wrote:
>Well, one reason is Jay shot himself in the head and Donahue chose not to.
Jay Stewart shot himself? I didn't know that...what were all
the circumstances around that?
>In all fairness, Mark Goodson, Bert Convy and Art Fleming dies of natural
>causes. Only Ray and Jay [hmmm - Ray - Jay ---] ended their own life. I
>don't know who Jerry Chester is, should I, please don't hate me if I
>should.
I'm still waiting to hear the solution to that mystery...I've
never heard of Jerry Chester either...is this someone he went
to high school with??
Dave Mackey
Jake Tanner (desp...@airmail.net) wrote:
:
: Question one, WHO IS JERRY CHESTER?? I checked the
Giraud "Jerry" Chester was an executive with Goodson-Todman Productions.
--
dma...@raven.cybercomm.net Dave Mackey
Visit my Home Page! http://raven.cybercomm.net/~dmackey
Steve Leblang
I'll just speak my piece, having been fortunate enough to know Ray Combs
somewhat, and let the chips fall where they may...
I really, really liked many things about Ray. He was a class act
publically, he was thoughtful enough to treat my wife with the same
respect as he treated me, and she wasn't often in a position to possibly
help his career as I was. There was another side to Ray, though, one
which I won't cheapen his memory or this forum by going into details on;
and please respect my request for you not to ask or speculate. Suffice
to say, a great deal of what led to his impending divorce were long-term
residual effects of Ray's own doing. When his wife finally reached her
breaking point, instead of dealing with the problems Ray chose the most
one-sided solution--one that negates her feelings for eternity. As my
wife so succinctly put it, it was the ultimate act of selfishness.
Bottom line: I mourn for his children, and I mourn for those of you here
who seem moved enough to have lost someone who touched your lives
significantly. And I mourn for the business friend who I will sincerely
miss. As for Ray himself, my sympathy ends. He was no victim of cancer,
he was not murdered, he didn't die in an auto wreck--he was hell-bent on
killing himself and after a third attempt, in a third fashion, in less
than 72 hours he did. And by doing so he ultimately and completely
ignored all those who were willing to love and appreciate him in spite of
his actions. The only feelings that mattered to him were his, and he
responded to them. Selfishness par excellance.
John Saponaro
DBBBIGDOG wrote:
>
> Uh, not from what I remember. Maybe that was the case of Goodson,
> Fleming, Todman, et al., but Convy I thought died at a relatively young
> living in Columbia, South Carolina and becoming depressed and shocked at
> hearing about it. Now, I come back home from a 5-day "vacation" in New
> Orleans only to hear this. I don't know if the game show world is going
> to be able to recover.
When I heard that Bert Convy died of brain cancer -- something I haven't
heard of at the time -- I was amused: I never thought of him as being in a
brainy job (like, he doesn't live in a cage with a stupid mouse named Pinky).
Today, since hearing that many people get brain cancer from the
electromagnetic radiation emminated from cellular phones and similar hi-tek
devices (including power lines), I don't laugh as hard anymore.
***************************************************************************
John's Words O'Wisdom Amusing Webheads Since 1996
***************************************************************************
"Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall."
-- William Shakespeare, MEASURE FOR MEASURE
***************************************************************************
Keep Me Off Your Mailing Lists... ...I Don't Want Your Junk Mail
***************************************************************************
John Teti Jr.
In article <4p8ft8$1d...@useneta1.news.prodigy.com>, BCB...@prodigy.com
(Steve Leblang) wrote:
> When his wife finally reached her
> breaking point, instead of dealing with the problems Ray chose the most
> one-sided solution--one that negates her feelings for eternity. As my
> wife so succinctly put it, it was the ultimate act of selfishness.
>
> Bottom line: I mourn for his children, and I mourn for those of you here
> who seem moved enough to have lost someone who touched your lives
> significantly. And I mourn for the business friend who I will sincerely
> miss. As for Ray himself, my sympathy ends. He was no victim of cancer,
> he was not murdered, he didn't die in an auto wreck--he was hell-bent on
> killing himself and after a third attempt, in a third fashion, in less
> than 72 hours he did. And by doing so he ultimately and completely
> ignored all those who were willing to love and appreciate him in spite of
> his actions. The only feelings that mattered to him were his, and he
> responded to them. Selfishness par excellance.
You have no right to judge Ray Combs for committing suicide. As far as I
know, nobody in this group has felt the immense pain that would make
someone determined to end his own life. Your holier-than-thou attitude
disgusts me since you can't comprehend what he was going through. If you
were in his situation, how can you know that you wouldn't do the same
thing? You can't. None of us can, and therefore we can't start passing
judgment on Ray.
Now that I've got that off my chest, I would like to say that I had always
enjoyed Ray's sense of humor and his friendliness on Family Feud. I can
remember the time on TPIR when a nervous Ray came out to tell everyone
about the new Family Feud. I was skeptical and thought it would never
work, but forunately I was wrong and Ray was a success for eight fun
years. Feud will never be the same without him. We'll miss you, Ray. I
hope you're in a happier place now.
John Teti Jr.
john...@kear.tdsnet.com
--
There is an exception to every rule (except this one).
Stan Ryckman
In article <31B87D...@village.ios.com>,
John Saponaro <joh...@village.ios.com> wrote:
[snip]
> Today, since hearing that many people get brain cancer from the
>electromagnetic radiation emminated from cellular phones and similar hi-tek
>devices (including power lines), I don't laugh as hard anymore.
To my knowledge, there is *no* evidence of this to date. Do you
care to quote a reliable (scientific/medical) source? Or would
you just prefer to spread rumors?
Cheers,
Stan.
--
Stan Ryckman (st...@tiac.net)
MgcVoice
>> Today, since hearing that many people get brain cancer from the
>>electromagnetic radiation emminated from cellular phones and similar
hi-tek
>>devices (including power lines), I don't laugh as hard anymore.
>To my knowledge, there is *no* evidence of this to date. Do >you
>care to quote a reliable (scientific/medical) source? Or >would
>you just prefer to spread rumors?
While I don't think it's *MANY* people, I do believe I saw a report on
either CNN or NewsWatch 24 about the risk of illness from cell phones with
people with pacemakers... I'm not sure about cancer, though.
TND
CNSngWritr
Oh, my goodness, I can actually hear Ray saying "Rod, what's the next item
up for bids?". I think that he would have been the best host (other than
Barker) that the show would have ever seen. His type of wit was the type
that would have perfectly matched the show format.
Ray, we'll always remember you.
CNSngWritr