John Barbour Dies: ‘Real People’ Creator & Host Was 93

John Barbour, whose role in creating, producing and co-hosting the 1979-1984 NBC series Real People is recognized as a pioneering effort in the popularity of reality TV, died from natural causes on Sunday, May 10, at his home in Las Vegas. He was 93.

His death was announced by family.

Executive produced by Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In creator George Schlatter, Real People featured a panel of co-hosts, including Barbour, who introduced pre-taped segments about people with odd or unusual hobbies – or just odd and unusual people – and then riffed on the short films. The popularity of the show and its pliable format would inspire any number of subsequent series, from That’s Incredible! and America’s Funniest Home Videos to MTV’s long-running Ridiculousness.

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