I recently gained access to discarded Gong Show contestant application forms , found in a Los Angles garbage can. These are the scanned interview polaroid photographs and include direct quotes from their applications. The images were scanned on a high resolution flatbed scanner and restored using photoshop.
For me, these photographs defy categorization. Far from Hollywood head-shots, they are reminiscent of mugshots. The faces are often pensive, some melancholic. Is this momentary regret, the end of a long day, or have they been pushed as part of the interview test process?
I have tried to search out these contestants. I have many questions. None have responded. Some are dead, others selling cars, working construction, and one enjoyed fleeting fame as an extra on “Different Strokes”. Dyn-o-mite!
“One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” unattributed. – Steve Eilenberg