Tear Jerker / Family Feud

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• The ABC Grand Finale where Richard Dawson, on the brink of crying, gives a long, impassioned speech thanking the staff and viewers for keeping Family Feud on the air for nine years. After he finishes, the credits roll with no theme and somber applause. Gene wraps up with "Thank you, Richard, thank you, America."
  • In unaired footage, Richard gave some context to his speech. In 1984, the staff learned of a terminally ill Family Feud fan. Richard gave her a phone call, and the staff sent lollipops for her birthday. When the staff came back from vacation, they discovered that she had died. Richard was upset with himself for forgetting to mention the girl during his speech.
• Ray Combs' last episode, as it would be the start of the downward spiral that would drive him to suicide two years later. In no uncertain terms, he let America know about his fate towards the end of Fast Money.
  Ray: You know, I've done this show for six years and this could be the first time that I had a person that actually got no points and... I think it's a damn fine way to go out. Thought I was a loser until you walked up here; you made me feel like a man! Gimme your hand. "Something that should be built to last"— you said... (no answer as he ran out of time for that question, followed by a buzzer) Mm-hmm. (Ray kisses contestant on the head) Give 'em five dollars a point!
  • And when the show comes back from commercial, Ray just says "See you next time!" before walking off the set as the credits begin to roll. He didn't just leave the set — he went to his dressing room to get changed, left the studio without saying good-bye to anyone, got into his car, and drove home.
• November 28, 1996: Five months after Ray's death, Game Show Network aired a Feud marathon hosted by Gene Wood (in one of his last game show related activities) and Richard Dawson (in his final on-camera appearance save for the 2009 Game Show Awards). At the end of the marathon (which was all Dawson-hosted episodes), Gene gave what amounted to a public eulogy for Ray, followed by a brief montage of some of Ray's funnier moments.
• March 16, 2006: One question asks for a fact about John Lennon with one contestant answering, "He's still alive." Karn is understandably hesitant to ask if the answer is on the board^note It isn't; one of her teammates later supplies the #2 answer of "Shot/murdered". Before doing so, he says this:
  In our hearts. In our hearts, he'll always be alive.
• On June 2, 2012, Richard Dawson died. Host Steve Harvey held a moment of silence to remember him.
• In 2014, the worst Fast Money meltdown happened, and all Steve Harvey could do was do his best to console the poor contestant who failed to score the 18 points needed to reach 200 points and the $20,000 prize.
  • On a lighter note, the same contestant managed to reach 200 points when that family came back for a bonus week special.
  • On one particularly Fast Money episode, a contestant almost pulled off the comeback of the century. They needed well over 100 points to win... and they got 199.
• Host Louie Anderson passed away on January 21, 2022.

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