Wink Martindale, veteran game show host of 'Tic-Tac-Dough', 'Gambit', and more, dies at 91
Martindale was surrounded by his family in his final moments, including his wife of 49 years, Sandra Martindale, according to a press release. A cause of death was not disclosed.
Born Winston Conrad Martindale on Dec. 4, 1933, in Jackson, Tenn., Martindale began his career at 17, working as a disc jockey at the local Jackson radio station WPLI before hopping to WTJS, WDXI, and eventually WHBQ in Memphis. There, in 1954, fellow DJ Dewey Phillips was playing Elvis Presley's very first record, "That's All Right," while Martindale tried calling Presley's mother to see if they could get the King to come down to the station. Eventually, Presley showed up "for his first interview, and music was changed forever," per the press release.
Martindale first broke into TV with a hosting gig on the local sci-fi children's series Mars Patrol. He then hosted Teenage Dance Party, where Presley would eventually appear in a 1965 episode.
Martindale's first stint as a game show host came on NBC's What's This Song? in 1964 and '65. He followed that up with Words and Music on NBC and Gambit on CBS (from 1972 to 1976, and again from 1980 to 81). His biggest success was Tic-Tac-Dough, which he hosted from 1978 to 85.
He hosted other popular game shows including Headline Chasers (which he created and executive-produced), High Rollers, The Last Word, The Great Getaway Game, Trivial Pursuit, Debt, and Instant Recall. In total, Martindale hosted a whopping 20 game shows throughout his lengthy career — according to The Hollywood Reporter, only Bill Cullen did more.
Martindale's radio work didn't end in his youth. He had stints at various stations, including longer stays at KGIL-AM, KKGO-FM/KJQI, Gene Autry's KMPC, and KABC. His radio credits include Your Hit Parade, Music of Your Life, 100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time, and The History of Rock 'n' Roll. More recently, he had a recurring appearance on The Howard Stern Show.
His iconic voice nabbed him a gold record as well, for the spoken-word song "Deck of Cards," which made it to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold more than 1 million copies in 1959.
In his later years, Martindale added commercials to his resume, including for Orbitz and KFC, the latter of which saw him star alongside Rob Lowe. He also made appearances on television shows including The Bold and the Beautiful, The Chase, and The Eric Andre Show.
In addition to his wife, Martindale's survivors include his daughters, Lisa, Lyn and Laura; his sister, Geraldine; many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; his "honorary son," Eric; and his "beloved Chihuahua," Dude.
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
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