Controversy
An incident often talked about regarding The New Treasure Hunt concerned a contestant on an September 1974 episode named Vera Augenbach, who fainted on-stage upon being told that she had won a 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom convertible. This incident was replayed on 60 Minutes as part of an exposé on the series; producer Chuck Barris expressed pride in the incident, given the show's premise.
In addition to playing on the presumed emotionalism of female contestants, the decision of Barris to only allow women in the game was reportedly a safety precaution – he was concerned that a male contestant might become angered by the show's antics (presumably including being led by a skit, which typically ran for around five minutes or so, into a Klunk) and physically attack Edwards or other staffers. However, in an interview on Blog Talk Radio, Edwards said that men would most likely not show as much enthusiasm as the women, even if they won the grand prize.
During the 1970s run, Barris told Edwards during the fourth season (1976–1977) that he wanted to make The New Treasure Hunt even more sadistic for the upcoming fifth season (1977–1978) – an example being that the contestant would be shown a very expensive car (such as a Rolls-Royce, Ferrari, or Mercedes-Benz) but, after the excitement subsided, revealing that the prize was only a small part of the vehicle (such as the rear-view mirror). Edwards refused and was initially fired, but Barris quickly went back on that decision and Edwards didn't miss any episodes. However, Edwards left on his own after the season and Barris, unwilling to replace him, canceled the series shortly thereafter.
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