Have you read Confessions of a Dangerous Mind?

Question

If so, do you think Chuck Barris was really a CIA hit man?

Answer 1

Not likely. I mean doing "The Gong Show", writing a hit song and killing people for CIA? That would be like Lance Armstrong finding the cure to cancer and creating a complete line of earth-friendly hair care products.

Then again, who knows how the CIA was thinking back then. They might have recruited him for a while; but unless he had some real tallents for the craft, I doubt they would have kept him.

Answer 2

I only saw the flick. Didn't read the book, although I likely should have.

I personally don't believe Chuck was a hit man. I find it unlikely that he could have been and lived to tell the tale. Having seen the Special Features of the video, observing his mannerisms and answers to questions he reminds me very much of other people I have known to have made similar claims but in fact were ordinary people with very low self-esteem in dire need of attention.

I once met a man who was rumoured to have been the real-life James Bond upon whom Ian Fleming created his fame. He did not talk about his involvement in espionage during WW1 and WW2 with MI-6. Rather he passed it all off as part of his youth and had no desire to discuss it. He did perfect the invisible ink method, quite by accident, and laughed about it when re-telling the fluke of it all. It's documented in his auto-biography and can be verified if you're into doing the research. But Conrad would never admitt to being the original prototype of Bond. He and Ian knew each other but only in social situations. At that time, Ian was riding on the coat-tails of his older and more popular brother, Peter. It was Ian Fleming who broke this man's cover and lost him his position, which is alluded to in Conrad's auto-biography.

Having been a rather somewhat astute observer of human behaviour I would venture to say that Mr. Berris is either a very fine story-teller or suffers from a delusional disorder of some sort.

Answer 3

G'day Richo - I can only admit to seeing the movie, which I know is often a really crap rendition when compared to any book, but for the record, I don't think he was

Answer 4

richo working my way up to it...

that war and peace, the constitution, the new by laws and well everything else i can put off till i am older and have nothing better to do...

seriously was it good, maybe i could bump it up the list just for you....

Answer 5

No but it sounds interesting is a true story? whats it about.