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 the comedians whose acts he saw 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 NBC sitcoms such as
The Golden Girls,
The Facts of Life 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 (he was the local cop in the beginning hospital sequence).
Family Feud In 1988, 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 July 4, 1988, on CBS's daytime lineup, and a syndicated version was launched on September 19. According to
Family Feud announcer
Gene Wood, Combs also toured extensively around the United States to promote the show, and made guest appearances on
Card Sharks and
The Price Is Right to discuss the new version of
Family Feud with respective hosts
Bob Eubanks and
Bob Barker. While most stations were ready to carry the new
Family Feud, Combs was publicly "very, very embarrassed" by one station who did not choose to carry the daytime version of show: then-CBS affiliate
KSL in
Salt Lake City, a station owned by
Bonneville International Corporation elected to air community information in its place; KSL's competitor, then-NBC affiliate
KUTV, picked up the syndicated version of
Family Feud in September 1988. On June 29, 1992, CBS expanded the daytime show from 30 minutes to one hour. A new "Bullseye" round was added and the show was retitled
Family Feud Challenge. On September 14, 1992, the Bullseye round was integrated into the syndicated run, which remained 30 minutes in length, but was renamed as
New Family Feud. Combs was one of the most seen hosts on television during the 1992–93 season, with an hour and a half of
Family Feud airing five days a week. While Combs enjoyed hosting
Family Feud, he grew increasingly frustrated by the rigid formula of the show. He pressured his agent to find new opportunities for him in acting and comedy. Midway through the 1992–93 season, ratings for the show began to plummet. CBS canceled the daytime version in early 1993, with the final new episode airing March 26 (reruns aired through September 10), as many CBS affiliates had dropped the show entirely by that time. The syndicated version was also on the verge of cancellation (as many stations had also dropped that or moved it into overnight time slots).
Jonathan Goodson, who had become chairman of Mark Goodson Productions after the death of his father, Mark Goodson, in 1992, decided to replace Combs with original host
Richard Dawson in the hopes of spiking ratings (Dawson's return season initially drew good ratings, but was unable to sustain this strength long-term, and
Family Feuds second incarnation ended after the 1994–95 season). By all accounts, Combs was hurt by his dismissal from the show.
Other appearances Combs also made an appearance for the
World Wrestling Federation (WWF) 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 of the Hart Family against
Shawn Michaels and his Knights. In addition to these two appearances, he appeared in 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 pigeonholed 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' likeness was released for both the
Super NES and the
Sega Genesis. Combs was the master of ceremonies of the annual
StarGaze charity events produced by
Jim Kelly from 1993 to 1995. ==Personal life==