'America's Funniest Home Videos' celebrate 500th episode

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Tom Bergeron and the crew at ABC's "America's Funniest Home Videos" are celebrating the show's 500th episode. It's a rare milestone in broadcast television.

"Five-hundred is a big number," Bergeron said. "So few shows have reached that. I think we mentioned 'Gunsmoke,' 'Lassie,' 'The Simpsons' and us. That's it."

From dad's being hit in the groin, to kids falling on their faces, to pets acting out, "America's Funniest Home Videos" has viewers laughing it up every Sunday night.

Executive Producer Vin Di Bona has been there from the beginning. He readily admits that in those early days, he was worried about gathering enough material to fill the show's hour each week.

"Somehow people started sending in tapes, 3,000 tapes a day," he said. "The Hollywood post office had to put on three or four extra people just to get the bags. We would get 30 or 40 big, huge mail bags."

Technology has helped in the oversized mail bag department.

"Now we have an app where you can actually take a video with your phone, upload it to us via the app and instantly submit it. It's a long way from the days of VHS tapes and sending it snail mail."

While the show is in its 23rd year, Bergeron has been part of the gang since 2001. And for the past seven years, he's juggled this job with his other hosting gig on "Dancing With The Stars."

"I've said that on this network, on ABC, I host shows with the most and least coordinated people on the planet," Bergeron said.

As long as people do uncoordinated, silly or surprising things, "America's Funniest Home Videos" hopes to be there to share them.

Di Bona said his personal favorite home video is the next funny one that someone sends in.

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television, abc, hollywood wrap, george pennacchio

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