View source for Real People (TV program)

{{Infobox television
| image                = Real_People_cast.jpg
| caption              = Cast photo from left to right: Bill Rafferty (Bottom Left), John Barbour (Top Left), Sarah Purcell (Middle), Skip Stephenson (Top Middle) and Byron Allen (Top Right)
| genre                = [[Reality television|Reality]]
| creator              =
| writer               =
| developer            =
| presenter            =
| starring             = {{Plainlist|
* [[John Barbour (actor)|John Barbour]]
* [[Sarah Purcell]]
* [[Byron Allen]]
* [[Skip Stephenson]]
* [[Bill Rafferty]]
* [[Mark Russell]]
* [[Peter Billingsley]]
* [[Fred Willard]]
}}
| voices               =
| narrated             = Jack Harrell
| theme_music_composer =
| opentheme            =
| endtheme             =
| composer             =
| country              = United States
| language             = English
| num_seasons          = 5
| num_episodes         =
| list_episodes        =
| executive_producer   = [[George Schlatter]]
| director             = Dave Caldwell
| producer             = {{Plainlist|
* Bob Wynn
* John Barbour
}}
| editor               =
| location             =
| cinematography       =
| runtime              =
| channel              = [[NBC]]
| first_aired          = {{Start date|1979|4|18}}
| last_aired           = {{End date|1984|7|4}}
| company              = {{Plainlist|
* George Schlatter Productions
* [[NBC]]
}}
| related              =
}}
'''''Real People''''' is an American [[reality television]] series that originally aired on [[NBC]] from 1979 to 1984, Wednesdays from 8 pm to 9{{nbsp}}pm [[Eastern Time Zone|Eastern Time]]. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and [[Central Time Zone|Central]] time zones.<ref>{{cite news|title= TV Playbook: ''Let's Add a Kid!''|work= IGN|url= http://uk.tv.ign.com/articles/935/935812p5.html|access-date=2010-08-15}}</ref> ''Real People'' featured "real people" (as opposed to celebrities) with unique occupations or hobbies.
==Synopsis==
''Real People'' featured a panel of seated hosts in front of a large studio audience. The hosts introduced pre-filmed segments and engaged in comedic banter about them. Each segment was a visit to someone with a unique occupation or hobby. Occasionally, someone was brought into the 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, and was a rare hit for the network at a time when NBC was a distant third in the ratings and struggling with numerous flops. Segments included "funny pictures" and funny newspaper errors sent by viewers, who then were awarded a ''Real People'' T-shirt.
Regular hosts included [[John Barbour (actor)|John Barbour]], [[Sarah Purcell]], [[Byron Allen]], [[Skip Stephenson]], [[Bill Rafferty]], [[Mark Russell]], [[Peter Billingsley]], [[David Ruprecht]], and [[Fred Willard]].
The success of ''Real People'' led to a batch of imitators, the best known and longest-running of which was ''[[That's Incredible!]]'' which aired on ABC, and ''[[That's My Line]]'' on CBS, hosted by [[Bob Barker]]. ''Real People'' gave fitness instructor [[Richard Simmons]] his major break into the mass media and spotlighted unique talents such as [[Pittsburgh Police]] traffic cop [[Vic Cianca]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=1982-12-20 |title=America's best known traffic cop forced to retire |work=Kingman Daily Miner |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1ahRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uVUDAAAAIBAJ&dq=vic%20cianca%20real%20people&pg=6914%2C5692902 |access-date=2023-08-22}}</ref>
When repeats of the show were initially syndicated by [[Telepictures]] to broadcast stations, they were edited down to 30-minute segments and retitled ''More Real People''.
In 1980, NBC launched two attempts at spin-offs: ''Speak Up, America'' and ''Real Kids''.  ''Speak Up, America'' starred former child televangelist [[Marjoe Gortner]] and basically expanded the opening segment of ''Real People'' (in which audience members were encouraged to sound off about any topics they wished) into a full hour program. ''Real Kids'' starred [[Peter Billingsley]] and a cast of child hosts in a format that mirrored ''Real People'', but focused only on kids. Both spin-off formats quickly failed, though Billingsley went on to join ''Real People'' as a recurring host and contributor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/person/george-schlatter/biography.html |title=George Schlatter Biography - Yahoo! Movies |publisher=Movies.yahoo.com |access-date=2012-12-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016030918/http://movies.yahoo.com/person/george-schlatter/biography.html |archive-date=2012-10-16 }}</ref>
A one-hour retrospective special aired on October 1, 1991, with hosts Sarah Purcell and Fred Willard.
== Ratings ==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Season !! Rank !! Rating<ref>{{cite book |last=Brooks |first=Tim |last2=Marsh |first2=Earle |date=2007 |title=The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (Ninth Edition) |publisher=Ballantine Books |pages=1689–1690 |isbn=978-0-345-49773-4 }}</ref>
|-
| [[1978–79 United States network television schedule|1978–79]] || {{n/a}} || {{n/a}}
|-
| [[1979–80 United States network television schedule|1979–80]] || 14 || 22.1 <small>(Tied with ''[[House Calls (TV series)|House Calls]]'')</small>
|-
| [[1980–81 United States network television schedule|1980–81]] || 12 || 21.5
|-
| [[1981–82 United States network television schedule|1981–82]] || 21 || 19.7
|-
| [[1982–83 United States network television schedule|1982–83]] || 30 || 17.2 <small>(Tied with ''[[The Dukes of Hazzard]]'')</small>
|-
| [[1983–84 United States network television schedule|1983–84]] || 40 || 16.1
|}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*{{IMDb title|id=0078676|title=Real People}}
[[Category:NBC reality television shows]]
[[Category:1970s American reality television series]]
[[Category:1980s American reality television series]]
[[Category:1979 American television series debuts]]
[[Category:1984 American television series endings]]
[[Category:American English-language television shows]]
[[Category:Television series by Telepictures]]