Suicide Of Ex-‘Family Feud’ Host Followed Several Attempts

Former “Family Feud” host Ray Combs had tried for weeks to commit suicide, including banging his head against the wall, before hanging himself with bedsheets in a mental ward.

Combs, a 40-year-old father of six, apparently was anguished over his pending divorce, police Sgt. Rick Young said Monday.

The host of “The New Family Feud” from 1988 to 1994, Combs was taken to Glendale Adventist Medical Center on Saturday with head injuries and was admitted for mental observation, Young said.

About 14 hours later, hospital staff found he had hanged himself in a closet. He left no note, and officials are not sure exactly when he died.

“He had attempted numerous times during the past couple of weeks,” Young said. “We have information that over the past several days he was banging his head against walls.”

The hospital knew that Combs was suicidal, but such patients normally are not under constant watch, Young said. They are put into secured rooms supposed to contain nothing they can use to hurt themselves.

Combs suffered several personal and professional setbacks in recent years, including being replaced as “Family Feud” host in 1994. He was temporarily paralyzed in a July 1994 car accident.