An Interview With Steve Harvey of “Family Feud”

The new season of Family Feud has been on for a week now, and the reviews of new host Steve Harvey have been coming in.  Most seem to be very happy with him and the way he’s worked comedy back into the show.  The many YouTube out takes from the show also scored much acclaim.  I recently got the chance to talk to Mr. Harvey.  We discussed how he got the job, how he’s brought comedy back to the show, and how an Orlando audience compares to a Los Angeles one.  I’m obviously AD and bolded, and Steve is obviously SH.

AD: You’re from West Virginia, right?
SH: Welch, West Virginia, buddy. What do you know about that?
AD: I’m actually originally from farther up north, originally from Fairmont, near Morgantown.
SH: Oh, yeah?
AD: Yeah, in Pittsburgh now.
SH: I’m telling you, man, West Virginia boys.
*laughing*

AD: Thanks again. We’ve been watching it all week, and it’s funnier than it has been in a very long time. Did you ever see yourself doing something like this in your career?

SH: No, it wasn’t on the radar screen anywhere. I never saw it coming. You know, it was never, “Hey, man I’m going to get a game show.” I was doing my radio show, doing my standup, running our businesses, doing our award shows, doing our programs, and we got a call that said, “Hey, we’d love to see if you’d like to do a huge game show.” We said, “What is it?” They said, “Well, we really can’t say what it is, but it’s a very popular game show,” so I thought it was Who Wants to be a Millionaire…or Deal or No Deal, because those are the two hugest game shows I know now. They said, “We really can’t say because if you decide not to, we’ll have to continue in the direction we’re going and we don’t want it out there that we’re looking.”

So we flew out to LA with no idea what it, we sat at a table, and they said it’s the Family Feud. I went, “Whoa, Family Feud.” I immediately started thinking Richard Dawson. And, to me, he was the best host ever…between him and Bob Barker who were the two coolest game show hosts of all time. And so, we talked and they said they wanted to go in a different direction and they wanted me to use my skill set as a standup and my congenial nature with people, and can you be that to these people and be funny too, and I said I think so. We negotiated and, bam, that’s how it happened.

AD: That’s interesting because watching it right now…well, they haven’t had a comedian as a host in a while, they’ve just had actors. The last host, John O’Hurley, was very good, but watching the clips of you it’s very evident the show has been needing a comic like you to bring it back to the Richard Dawson style. Was it a conscious effort and a lot of thought bringing the comedy back, or did it happen naturally for you on stage?

SH: Well, you know…they told me they need something to put some life into it. They did not know that I’d give them what I’ve given them. Every exec I’ve talked to, producers, camera men, everyone who has been doing the show for years…they’ve all…at least what they’re telling me, you know they could be saying something else behind my back, but when they see me…they say it’s far more than they bargained for. These shows are great. We don’t know what to do. It’s bigger than we thought, we think this is going to be huge now. They started working on promos now and stuff they haven’t been doing in years. They started getting press on it, interest from the press started, they picked up markets they didn’t have, people doubling up on it. Just looking at the dailies being released and the clips on YouTube, it kind of took off. After the first day or so they got some great numbers they’re saying, and everyone over there is popping champagne corks.

AD: I have to be honest, I don’t think I’ve been close to being in tears laughing at Family Feud ever before I’ve seen some of these clips. It’s unbelievably.

SH: That’s good, man. This game show really came at a time where I was ready for something like this because my entire career has been gearing for a moment like this and I didn’t know it. From hosting Showtime at the Apollo to Steve Harvey’s Big Time to talking to everyday people on my show. All of it has been geared towards getting to a moment where a show like Family Feud can come along, and I’m good with everyday people. I’ve never been so famous or so full of myself that I can’t remember how it used to be. I know a lot about people’s careers now because I’m 53 years old and I know a lot about people…the way they think and the nuances, and I have hours and hours of material I can draw from. But what’s really helped me on this show is my quick wit. I’m a pretty spontaneous guy. I can come up with stuff on instant recall and I can come up with some pretty funny stuff.

AD: Oh, yeah. Then was it instant when they said, “We want you to do Family Feud.” Were you like, “I’m sold,” or did it take time and did a moment come later where you said, “I can do this and this would be a lot of fun?”

SH: You know what, after we talked…what happened was, I was reluctant. I went, “I don’t want to just stand there and be a traffic cop.” What can I do where I can be me and not lose my sensibility as a stand up comedian? I don’t want to stop being funny just so I can read some information and give people directions and point to answers on the board. I asked if they make an answer that’s crazy can I comment or do I have to keep the show moving? They said, “Steve Harvey, we want you to do whatever you want to do. If you think it’s funny could you please do that? We have no idea where you should put funny because that’s not what we do, but we’re hoping you can show us where it goes, and you just do you and we’ll roll tape.”

AD: It’s worked.

SH: When they told me that, I said cool. OK, then why does the show just have to be flip over answers and you play for $20,000. No, man, the game should be, genuinely, where are you from, what do you do, learn something about the family, go back, talk to them. And if they say an answer that’s utterly ridiculous, I got the families standing there clapping like seals. “Good answer! Good answer!” You and I, at home, know good and hell well that answer ain’t up there. We know it’s not there. So, can I say that, too? They said, “Well, Steve, I don’t know. Just go ahead and see.” But I’m not being mean spirited to the families. I’m not making them feel like dunces. It’s just, “Come on, folks. That’s not the greatest answer, so here’s the funny part of what you said.”

AD: It’s bringing it more back to what it used to be.

SH: Let’s laugh at it, we know it’s not up there, just take the X like a man and move on.

AD: This season’s just been interesting because they’ve done game play changes before, but they haven’t done a tone change before. Again, it makes you realize how much a comedian has been missing. But also…I do production work and I’m based on the east coast, and the shift from Los Angeles to Orlando has been interesting. You’ve dealt with Los Angeles audiences. How’s the Orlando audience compared?

SH: You know, LA…New York…they’ve seen so much…so many opportunities to see the game shows, the TV shows, the sitcoms, that maybe they are just a bit jaded. Been there, done that. Orlando…they can’t believe that this is in their city. We get treated that way, too. The audiences come there…they haven’t seen anything like that. They pull the audience from people at the parks at Universal. Come on, man. These people have jobs and go on vacation once a year. They haven’t been out to LA and sitting in on the George Lopez Show or one of the sitcoms. They haven’t been to New York and seen Letterman or seen the VMAs from the audience. No, they’re seeing a real TV show they are very familiar with, that they’ve seen for 30 years, and all of a sudden they’re there.

Well now it’s the hottest ticket in town. Getting into see Family Feud is very difficult now. It didn’t used to be in LA, but it is now. During commercial breaks I don’t let the warm up act do anything. I do it. I talk to the audience, we laugh, I tell jokes. It keeps everyone’s spirits real high and when they walk away from the game show they’ve walked away from the Steve Harvey experience. I want people to come there and go, “Man, that guy really is bringing a lot to the show as a host, but he’s a nice guy. He was talking to us, answering questions.”

AD: I did hear that from audience members. I had a lot of people that came back and told me you were interacting with them constantly and how great of an experience it was.

SH: Because I want people to know this about me. Look, man, I genuinely want these families to win a lot of money. I really, really do. I’m so invested in them. The producers talk to me sometimes and say, “Steve, it’s not your fault.” I actually feel badly when people don’t win the money, man. Look, it’s five people standing up there. $5 a point. You win $450, that’s 5 people. We’re talking about $80 here. I want you to win the $20,000. And if you win show number four, please know I want you to win this fifth time so you can win this brand new car. I want the people to have that experience. I tell them how to play the game better at Fast Money, I tell them to not rush so much and take their time, let’s win this money. I try to get them comfortable. I’ve given away a lot of money this year. I think I’ve given away five or six cars. The producers are going, “Wow, you really know how to handle every day people,” and yeah, because really I just got this money I got recently. I’ve been an every day person for 38 years.

AD: You brought it up briefly before, but you did guest host Millionaire for a week. Was Family Feud easier for you to host, with the comedy, than the pretty serious quiz show of Millionaire.

SH: Oh yeah, man it’s a world of difference. It’s night a day. I had to pay attention to read some of these words. Some of these words I’ve never heard of in my life. When I was at Millionaire, I was pronouncing words that aren’t in my vocabulary every. I tell jokes, let’s be real. Some of those words are not in the vocabulary, but it’s in the questions. Thank God they had a guy in a little bug in my ear so when I got to the word he’d pronounce it for me so I wouldn’t be out there struggling. I would have died a dog’s death if that guy wasn’t in my ear. But they are in every host’s ear because when you host they know where you struggle. I want people to win money, but it’s a lot more pressure on Millionaire a lot more tension. Family Feud is a lot more fun. The questions they ask you on Family Feud…you can get these. These are just survey questions. What do you like most about a donut? Come on.

AD: Looking back, from your experience this season, what’s been your favorite part of hosting?

SH: I love going down the line and meeting the people. That’s my favorite part…hen I go to the families and do the introductions. I love watching their faces when they know there’s a camera that they’ve been told to look at this certain camera and do your little thing. I love watching regular people become stars for a day. It’s the best thing about the gig for me. And then if I can give them some money…wow, great day.