Real People
Encyclopedia
Real People is an NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...

 series that aired from 1979
1979 in television
The year 1979 in television involved some significant events.Below is a list of television-related events in 1979.For the American TV schedule, see: 1979-80 American network television schedule.-Events:...

 to 1984
1984 in television
This article is a list of television-related events in 1984.-Events:*January 9 – Wendy's "Fluffy Bun" ad first airs, which propels Clara Peller and her "Where's the beef?" catchphrase to national prominence....

, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

 and Central Time Zone
Central Time zone
In North America, the Central Time Zone refers to national time zones which observe standard time by subtracting six hours from UTC , and daylight saving, or summer time by subtracting five hours...

s.

Synopsis

Real People had the format of a comedy talk show taped in front of a large studio audience. Each segment featured a news report consisting of visits to people with unique occupations or hobbies, occasionally bringing some of them in-studio to interact with the audience. In its early seasons, Real People was NBC's most popular series, often scoring at the top of the ratings
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...

. Segments included "funny pictures" and funny newspaper errors sent in by viewers, who were awarded a Real People T-shirt. According to a 2008 interview with producer George Schlatter
George Schlatter
George Schlatter is an American television producer and director, best known for Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and founder of the American Comedy Awards....

, who also co-created Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In is an American sketch comedy television program which ran for 140 episodes from January 22, 1968, to May 14, 1973. It was hosted by comedians Dan Rowan and Dick Martin and was broadcast over NBC...

for NBC, the show had covered serious topics like war heroes.

Regular hosts included John Barbour
John Barbour (actor)
John Barbour is an actor, comedian, and television host, known as one of the hosts of the reality television series Real People.-Career:Barbour moved to the United States in the early sixties...

, Sarah Purcell
Sarah Purcell
Sarah Purcell is an American former talk show host, game show host, and panelist.She was co-host of The Better Sex , Real People , America , and The Home Show , and made guest appearances on several TV dramas. She also co-starred in the 1981 film Terror Among Us with Tracy Reed...

, Byron Allen
Byron Allen
Byron Allen is an American comedian. He is the head of Entertainment Studios, a broadcast syndication company responsible for producing and distributing several television shows pertaining to stand-up comedy and the entertainment industry. Allen also hosts some of the shows himself.-Early...

, Skip Stephenson
Skip Stephenson
Charles Frederick "Skip" Stephenson was an American actor and comedian. He was born in Omaha, Nebraska, and graduated in 1958 from Holy Name High School. After attending a year at University of Omaha, Stephenson took a job as a DJ in Alliance, Nebraska.In the 1970s he moved to Los Angeles, where...

, Bill Rafferty
Bill Rafferty
William "Bill" Rafferty is a comedian and impressionist who hosted the game shows Every Second Counts , Card Sharks , and Blockbusters .Rafferty was born in Queens, New York...

, Mark Russell
Mark Russell
Mark Russell is an American political satirist/comedian. He also sings and plays the piano.-Biography:...

, Peter Billingsley
Peter Billingsley
Peter Billingsley , also known as Peter Michaelsen and Peter Billingsley-Michaelsen, is an American actor, director, and producer best known for his role as Ralphie in the 1983 movie A Christmas Story. He began his career as an infant, in television commercials.-Early life, family and...

, and Fred Willard
Fred Willard
Fred Willard is an American actor, comedian, and voice over actor, best known for his improvisational comedy skills. He is known for his roles in the Christopher Guest mockumentary films This is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration as well as...

.

The success of Real People led to a rash of imitators, the best known and longest-running of which was That's Incredible!
That's Incredible!
That's Incredible! was an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984.-Synopsis:In the tradition of You Asked For It, Ripley's Believe It or Not! and Real People, the show featured people performing stunts and reenactments of allegedly paranormal events...

which aired on ABC. Real People gave fitness instructor Richard Simmons
Richard Simmons
Milton Teagle Simmons , known professionally as Richard Simmons, is an American fitness personality who promotes weight-loss programs, most famously through his Sweatin' to the Oldies line of aerobics videos and DVDs and is known for his eccentric, outgoing and frequently flamboyant personality...

 his major break into the mass media, and spotlighted such unique talents as Pittsburgh Police
Pittsburgh Police
The Pittsburgh Police, or officially the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, is the largest law enforcement agency in Western Pennsylvania and the third largest in Pennsylvania...

 traffic cop Vic Cianca
Vic Cianca
Victor S. "Vic" Cianca, Sr. was a famous traffic police officer from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who spent his entire career with the Pittsburgh Police Bureau retiring January 4, 1983 His flamboyant style of directing traffic led to appearances on the television program Candid Camera in 1964, and...

. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1ahRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uVUDAAAAIBAJ&dq=james%20slusser&pg=6914%2C5692902

When the show was initially syndicated to broadcast stations, it was edited into 30-minute segments and retitled More Real People.

A one-hour retrospective special aired on September 16, 1991 with hosts Sarah Purcell and Fred Willard.
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