Game show legend Chuck Barris — creator and host of “The Gong Show” — died Tuesday of natural causes at his home in Palisades, NY … according to his publicist.

In addition to starting ‘Gong Show’ in 1976 … Barris created “The Dating Game” and “The Newlywed Game.” He claimed to have been a CIA assassin on the side, as chronicled in his autobiography, ‘Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.’

The book became a movie in 2002, starring Sam Rockwell as Chuck, and was George Clooney‘s directorial debut.

Chuck was 87.