Long before America's Got Talent graced our screens, Americans tuned into NBC to watch a different kind of amateur talent show. 

Created and hosted by Chuck Barris beginning in 1976, The Gong Show featured entertaining acts with a simple task: Perform until you hear the gong. 

Typically evaluated by celebrity guests, judges had the ability to eliminate any act whenever they wanted by banging the gong. Acts that made it all the way through were scored, with the winner receiving a small cash prize. 

But unlike America's Got Talent, The Gong Show typically selected acts specifically for their absurdity, and bits ranged from engaging to downright nonsensical. Comedy was the name of the game and the show only got more ridiculous until it concluded in 1982. 

A brief modern revival created by Will Arnett and staring Mike Myers failed to live up to the original.