Merv Griffin
Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul.[2] He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show. Griffin also created the game shows Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune through his own production companies, Merv Griffin Enterprises and Merv Griffin Entertainment.
Merv Griffin
August 12, 2007 (aged 82)
Television show host, media mogul
1944–2007
1[1]
Early life[edit]
Griffin was born July 6, 1925, in San Mateo, California, to Mervyn Edward Griffin Sr., a stockbroker, and Rita Elizabeth Griffin (née Robinson),[3] a homemaker. He had an older sister named Barbara.[4] As a child, Griffin used to play Hangman games with his sister during family road trips. It was these games which inspired him to create the game show Wheel of Fortune in 1975.[5] The family was Irish American. Raised as a Catholic, Griffin started singing in his church choir as a boy, and by his teens was earning extra money as a church organist. His abilities as a pianist played a part in his early entry into show business.
Griffin attended San Mateo High School, graduating in 1942, and continued to aid in financing the school. He attended San Mateo Junior College and then the University of San Francisco.[6] Griffin was a member of the international fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon.[7]
During World War II, Griffin was declared 4F after failing several military physical examinations due to a slight heart murmur.[8] During the Korean War several years later, he was examined and deemed healthy enough to serve, but by that time was above age 26 and exempt from the draft.
Career[edit]
Singing[edit]
Griffin started as a singer on radio at age 19, appearing on San Francisco Sketchbook, a nationally syndicated program based at KFRC. He was overweight as an adolescent and a young man, which disappointed some radio fans when they saw him in person.[8] Griffin wrote years later in his autobiography that there was a deliberate effort to keep the public from finding out how he looked. He resolved to change his appearance and lost 80 pounds in four months.[9]
Freddy Martin heard Griffin on the radio show and asked him to tour with his orchestra,[1] which he did for four years.[10]
By 1945, Griffin had earned enough money to form his own record label, Panda Records, which produced Songs by Merv Griffin, the first U.S. album ever recorded on magnetic tape.[11] In 1947, Griffin had a 15-minute weekday singing program on KFRC in San Francisco.[12]
Griffin became increasingly popular with nightclub audiences, and his fame soared among the general public with his 1950 hit "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts". The song reached the #1 spot on the Hit Parade and sold three million copies.[13]
Personal life[edit]
Griffin was married to the former Julann Elizabeth Wright,[41][42][43][44] a comedienne he met when he was a guest on the Robert Q. Lewis show, a founder of First Women's Bank of California,[45] from 1958 to 1976; they remained friends after their divorce. Their son, Anthony Patrick (Tony) Griffin, born in 1959, had two children of his own.[46]
In an interview with The New York Times published on May 26, 2005, Merv Griffin "said with a sly grin" about his private life: "I tell everybody that I'm a quartre-sexual, I will do anything with anybody for a quarter."[47] He was otherwise secretive about his business and personal lives.
In 1991, Deney Terrio, host of the Griffin-created Dance Fever, sued Griffin, alleging sexual harassment, but the suit was dismissed. That year, Brent Plott, a longtime employee who worked as a bodyguard, horse trainer, and driver, filed a $200 million palimony lawsuit, which was also dismissed. Griffin characterized both lawsuits as extortion. His Los Angeles Times obituary repeated a 1991 statement he had made regarding Plott's lawsuit: "This is a shameless attempt to extort money from me. This former bodyguard and horse trainer was paid $250 a week, lived in one of two apartments underneath my former house as part of his security function, and left my payroll six or seven years ago. His charges are ridiculous and untrue."[48]
Griffin was a constant companion of actress Eva Gabor from the mid-1980s until her death in 1995, though she told the press in 1990 that they had never been lovers.[49]
After Griffin's death, The Hollywood Reporter published a report stating that he had been a closeted gay man.[50] The article was later altered due to protests from his friends and business associates.
On being wealthy, Griffin said, "when you walk down the street and everybody knows you're rich, they don't talk to you." He kept his wealth an open secret, amassing media outlets, hotels and casinos with a net worth estimated at more than $1 billion. Griffin said that he did not know his actual worth because it "would keep me from sleeping at night".[6]
Griffin and First Lady Nancy Reagan exchanged birthday greetings each July 6 for their shared birthday. This continued after her two terms as First Lady. Griffin was also an honorary pallbearer at the funeral of President Ronald Reagan in 2004, having been the Reagans' friend for many years.[51] He was a longtime member of the Republican Party.[52]
Awards and honors[edit]
In 1974, Griffin was inducted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 1998, a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars in Palm Springs was dedicated to him.[53] In 2005, Griffin accepted the degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from the National University of Ireland, Galway; and in 2008 was posthumously inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
On September 29, 2022, Griffin was posthumously inducted into the inaugural class of the Jeopardy! Hall of Fame at the first Jeopardy! Honors event along with his widow Julann.[54] His son, Tony, accepted the awards on their behalf.[54]
Some of the songs Griffin recorded were:[59]