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Gene became close friends with Charles Nelson Reilly, one of the regulars on Match Game, while taking part in the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie in the early 60's.
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Gene, along with the Match Game panelists, was known to have sipped alcoholic beverages in between tapings of the show.
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Gene not only had a Croatian background, he could also speak the language.
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Gene picked the last name of Rayburn by sticking his finger in a phone book and picking a random name.
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Gene was married to his wife Helen Ticknor until her death in 1996.
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Gene's only movie appearance was an uncredited role as the "WTIC-TV reporter" in the movie "It Happed to Jane" in 1959.