Is Ed Burke based on a real TV presenter? How did he die?

In the Netflix crime film ‘Woman of the Hour’, Ed Burke serves as the host of the game show ‘The Dating Game’. With his sarcastic comments, misogynistic behavior and objectification of women, he makes life difficult for Sheryl, the protagonist. As the recording of her episode progresses, the aspiring actress grows tired of the generic scripts and the host, which motivates her to ask the three singles questions that she poses herself. The change immensely provokes Burke, who does not hide his anger and dismay at the participant. Even though the thriller film is based on a true story, Ian McDonald wrote the script with several partially fictional elements, including the television presenter!

Ed Burke is loosely based on Late Game Show host Jim Lange

Ed Burke is a fictionalized version of Jim Lange, arguably the most prominent host of ABC’s ‘The Dating Game’. He is credited with over one hundred and seventy episodes of the show. After working at different radio stations in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and San Francisco, California, he became part of NBC’s ‘The Ford Show’, appearing alongside host Tennessee Ernie Ford. Besides ‘The Dating Game’, he has also hosted other game shows like ‘Hollywood Connection’ and ‘Take My Word for It’. He also starred as himself in George Clooney’s true crime drama ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind’.

In 1978, Lange was the host of ‘The Dating Game’ which featured serial killer Rodney Alcala on national television without having knowledge of his crimes. Ian McDonald, who wrote ‘Woman of the Hour’, created a fictionalized version of the television personality, rather than a character in her name, to gain the freedom to explore the misogyny and sexism that were prevalent in Hollywood in the 1970s. “There are a lot of shitty guys in the world who aren’t serial killers. And the idea was to explore not (just) him (Rodney) himself, but the spectrum,” McDonald told Deadline.

Ed Burke represents the misogyny that existed in Hollywood

More than Jim Lange as an individual, Ian McDonald was apparently interested in shedding light on the male stars who worked in the film and television industry in the 1970s. Ed Burke can be seen as a representative of all the men who did not hesitate to humiliating and objectifying women at that time. As far as Tony Hale is concerned, Lange was also a representative of the male stars of the time. “To me, he (Lange) represented the culture of the time – the objectification of women and sarcastic comments that were accepted, even on a public platform. (…) Also, just the detachment he had, not only in the way he spoke, but with the women around him,” the actor, who plays Burke in the crime thriller, told Decider.

To portray Burke accurately, Hale watched episodes of ‘The Dating Game’ and noticed how Lange presented them. The actor particularly noted the real-life TV personality’s “speech rhythms” and integrated them into his performance. That being said, all of Burke’s actions cannot be attributed to Lange. No reports suggest that the host exhibited any sexist behavior behind the scenes of ‘The Dating Game’. Cheryl Bradshaw, Sheryl’s real-life counterpart, never accused him of being misogynistic. Burke asking the contestant to dress provocatively also appears to be a fictional plot point.

From what we understand, Lange was aware of the sexist practices that were prevalent in the entertainment industry. “They wanted a boy and a girl. They wanted the boy to play sports and the girl to dance and other things that went on in the Twin Cities — very sexist — and play music once a week,” he said in a 1992 interview with Bay Area Radio Digest about the victory. an audition at a local station in Minnesota.

Jim Lange passed away in 2014

In the later phase of his career, Jim Lange worked mainly at radio stations in California. These include KFRC in San Francisco and KKSJ in San Jose. For a brief period, he also played weekday mornings on Magic 61, a radio station owned by Peter Bedford’s Bedford Broadcasting. In the 1990s, he considered his association with ‘The Dating Game’ a burden, revealing that the reputation “stigmatized” him and prevented him from being considered for commercials because of his image. In 1997, Lange joined KABL in San Francisco to host the morning show ‘The Lange Gang’. He retired from the industry in 2005.

He spent his golden years with his wife, Nancy Fleming, the 1961 Miss America. He passed away on February 25, 2014, at age 81, due to a heart attack at his home in Mill Valley, California. His partner, one sister, three children, two stepchildren and four grandchildren survive him. Before his death, he apparently accepted his legacy from ‘The Dating Game,’ stating in an interview with The Chronicle that a reference to the show would be on his tombstone. As long as Rodney Alcala’s appearance on the ABC series continues to shock true crime enthusiasts, Lange will not be forgotten.

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