John Barbour

John Barbour (April 24, 1933 – May 10, 2026) was a Canadian actor, comedian, documentarian, and television host who worked extensively in the United States. He was the only performer on television to win Emmys for both entertainment and news shows. Barbour was known as one of the hosts of the NBC reality television series Real People, for which he was also a creator and co-producer.

Life and career Born in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada on April 24, 1933, Barbour dropped out of high school and moved to the United States in the 1950s. He released his second comedy album in 1978. He made appearances on The Tonight Show and The Dean Martin Show. Barbour later became the host of AM Los Angeles, during which he received his first Emmy Award. He took an anti-Vietnam War stance, interviewing anti-war activists like Jane Fonda and Muhammad Ali. He also hosted the pilot for The Gong Show in the mid-1970s.

Barbour was the executive producer of the game show That **** Quiz Show (That Awful! Quiz Show) hosted by Greg & John Rice in 1982.

He wrote and narrated Keith Burns's documentary Ernie Kovacs: Television's Original Genius.

Barbour also directed and wrote the 1992 documentary The JFK Assassination: The Jim Garrison Tapes. This film covers the investigation by District Attorney Jim Garrison, who, after the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy, decided to further investigate the official report given by the Warren Commission. The documentary hypothesizes connections between the assassination and the FBI, the CIA, the Mafia, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the Vietnam War, and other organizations and foreign affairs issues. The film won an award in 1993 at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain. He died at his home in Las Vegas, on May 10, 2026, at the age of 93.