Eugene Sidney Patton Sr. (April 25, 1932 – March 9, 2015), also known as Gene Patton[2] and more widely known by his stage name Gene Gene the Dancing Machine, was a television personality, dancer and stagehand who worked at NBC Studios in Burbank, California. Patton was the first African-American member of the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees, Local 33.
Patton's claim to fame, however, was from his various appearances on the network's talent search game show, The Gong Show. In addition to his stage duties, Patton was one of several amateur performers who would warm up and entertain the audience during commercial breaks. Host Chuck Barris found him so entertaining that he had him dance on the show on-air, and he proved so popular that he soon became a recurring act, then an occasional judge. The genial Patton usually wore the same outfit each time he appeared, which consisted of a green sweater jacket, a flat cap, bell-bottomed slacks, and sneakers.
On The Gong Show, Patton's appearances were treated as spontaneous (in reality, they were always written into the show).[citation needed] After Barris would finish with a certain act, the piano player in Milton DeLugg's band would begin to play in octaves the familiar bass line of the first few bars of "Jumpin' at the Woodside," a popular Count Basie tune,[1] and the proceedings would come to an immediate halt once Barris heard the music.[citation needed] Barris would usually react with gleeful surprise, then announce the arrival of Gene Gene.[citation needed] The curtain would then rise. Patton would come out, moving his feet and shoulders to the music, with Barris usually dancing along.[1] DeLugg's arrangement morphed perfectly into Basie's "One O'Clock Jump," at which time Gene showed off his trademark "armspread" move, along with everyone else in the house. Patton's fellow stagehands would toss all manner of things onto the stage while he continued to dance. Through his performances, Patton gained membership in AFTRA.
Patton performed on the NBC edition of The Gong Show until its cancellation in the summer of 1978 and on the weekly syndicated series until it was canceled in 1980. For the last two seasons of the syndicated series, Patton's appearances were scaled back significantly; NBC had evicted The Gong Show from its studios after its cancellation and production moved to what is now KTLA's studios in Los Angeles; since Patton was a full-time NBC employee, he remained there.
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