We knew nothing of his relationships because he guarded his privacy fiercely, and we didnt pry. Yet, it was nothing discussed in the media and, apparently, in many of his own circles, particularly straight political circles. Playing to the camera unmercifully, he leans close, interrupts, turns his back and challenges. As his family was Roman Catholic, he started signing in the church from an early age. Griffin was a well-known TV personality who died on 12 August 2007 due to prostate cancer. Marlo was 40 when she married the talk show host, and it was her first marriage. It won several awards and nominations and has been adapted into numerous international versions. Their meeting was later described as love at first sight, and by 1980, the pair were married! Furthermore, he also remained the host of another game show Keep Talking released on ABC. Merv Griffin was in relationships with Eva Gabor (1985 - 1995), Natalie Trundy (1959) and May Wynn (1953). He lost his virginity, to a female, that is, when Judy Garland seduced him. I was mulling over game show ideas, when she noted that there had not been a successful 'question and answer' game on the air since the quiz show scandals. Both programs shared Studio 6B at NBC's Rockefeller Center complex at the time, with Play Your Hunch airing live in the morning while Tonight taped later in the day. Open homosexuality is a threat to the closeted, and powerful people in the closet like Merv Griffin will often do whatever it takes to squash those who are open and who might advocate that all among the powerful should come out. "There's nothing too controversial for television," Donahue says. "We don't like to discuss sex at that hour of the morning," NBC explained. Griffin also hosted a game show Play Your Hunch in 1958 whose producers were Bill Todman and Mark Goodson. He had short grey hair and brown eyes, his height was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) and he weighed around 175lbs (80kgs). Merv Griffin, the creator of Jeopardy! [6] He was a member of the international fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. Over the years, he also became very popular by performing in nightclubs. . They had one son, Tony Griffin, born in 1959; who had two children of his own. "You're on the cover of 'Publisher's Weekly'," editor-in-chief Michael Korda told talk-show king Phil Donahue. Merv understood himself as a celebrity (or, at least, as a hanger-on) and would casually mention that he had played tennis with Errol Flynn, or had sublet. On his retirement, Griffin sold his production company, Merv Griffin Enterprises, to Columbia Pictures Televisionthen a unit of The Coca-Cola Companyfor US$250million on May 6, 1986. He was best known for hosting the Goodson/Todman classic, Play Your Hunch, and for creating the two long-running hit series, Jeopardy! His real problems, he says, were economic. He continued to appear in films like The Boy from Oklahoma and Phantom of the Rue Morgue. He rarely expects answers to questions: He wants only punchy responses. ", Donahue said, "Thank you, Walter," and promptly fired off audition tapes and glossies. [25] After Paar left The Tonight Show, but before Johnny Carson took over (Carson was still hosting Who Do You Trust? Merv Griffin reaches only 3.9 million viewers, Mike Douglas 3.7 and Dinah Shore 2.8 million. In 1990, Griffin had an ambitious but unsuccessful attempt at adapting the venerable board game Monopoly into a game show of the same name. What he made then was a far cry from the billionaire he was at the end., But what about the sex? However, it returned years later and led to his death on 12th August 2007. This song remained a huge hit by selling 3 million copies. Men, he says, "have done an awful lot of oppression. Griffin also booked controversial guests like George Carlin, Dick Gregory, Richard Pryor, Norman Mailer and Bertrand Russell. Donahue calls himself a "shy, insecure, vulnerable man-child." Says Donahue, "Well, what does that mean? His last game show was a wild show called Ruckus, which emanated from the Resorts International Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, which he owned at the time. His voice becomes soft, "We have a lot to lose now. Griffin was considered the most successful of the guest hosts,[26] and was rewarded with his own daytime talk show on NBC in 1962. She returned to her native New Mexico, remarried and disappeared from public view -- until now, with publication of a "family" picture in Donahue's book. Subsequently, Sony Pictures Entertainment purchased Columbia and he retains the title of executive producer of both "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" I like someone to love me," Thomas replied. Griffin, who died of prostate cancer Sunday at 82, stayed in the closet throughout his life. The censorship did not boost the ratings for Griffin, who was facing stiff competition from the genial Carson, who himself was criticized during the era for shying away from controversial subjects.In 1972, a fed-up Griffin negotiated a syndication deal with Metromedia to move his talk show back to the daytime, and in the event he was terminated by CBS. The Famous Psychologist's Wife Has Never Missed a Taping, Julia Roberts Is Living Her Dream with Kids & Spouse of 20 Years at Rustic Ranch after Becoming Mom at 39, Dr Phil & His Wife of 46 Years Are Still in Love in $29.5M Home after They Sold Their 'Weird' Mansion, Geena Davis Became Mom of 3 at 48 Her 20-Year Marriage Ended & Much Younger Spouse Asked For Spousal Support, Jenna Bush Hager 'Smooched' Husband on 1st Meeting & Proposed to Him Later They've Made It to 14 Years. The actress was so private but called the host's telecast when her father, Danny Thomas, noted a hilarious observation. [17][20][21] After the wedding, and about two months after arriving in the city, Griffin moved into a different apartment, but in the same building, and remained lifelong friends with Buzzell and Simms. On her YouTube channel in 2012, Phil's wife confessed how no one dreamt of being a stepmother. Griffin produced the show's successor, Wheel of Fortune, which premiered January 6, 1975 with host Chuck Woolery and hostess Susan Stafford, and had high ratings throughout its network run. American Talk Show Host Merv Griffin was born Mervyn . In 1965, Griffin launched a syndicated talk show for Group W (Westinghouse Broadcasting) titled The Merv Griffin Show. Its disheartening that Merv had to die to shake it for good. That's what I'm paid to do.". The show was a huge success and earned immense popularity. Eva Gabor and Merv Griffin were in a relationship for 10 years before Eva Gabor died aged 76.. About. Also, he founded two TV production organizations Merv Griffin Entertainment and Merv Griffin Enterprises. Griffin's approach to television talk was influenced by two New York shows, David Susskind's The David Susskind Show (1958) and Mike Wallace's Probe and Night Beat (1956), and like Susskind and Wallace, he openly embraced controversial subjects. Donahue denied the rumors by signing a six-year contract to continue independent production. Rumors about Griffin's sexuality followed him for much of his life. His 7-year-old grandson Donovan Mervyn was an honorary pallbearer, as was Nancy Reagan. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. "We read a lot of magazines. I said, I just don't believe it's for me.". Marlo Thomas making her Broadway debut at the Broadhurst Theater in "Thieves" with her father, Danny Thomas, and mother, Rosemary Thomas, at the opening night performance on April 7, 1974 | Source: Getty Images. She explained how she felt a union of two whole people could work compared to one of one and a half. ", So, talking about marriage with Phil on his show wasn't easy for her. "Yes," finally emerges. As rewrds, he dispenses liberal "God bless you's" and "I love you's." His funeral was held at the Church of Good Shepherd in Beverley Hills which was attended by several celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jack Klugman and Catherine Oxenberg. (His book reports that in 1978, 56 percent of his programs featured guests with something to sell.) However, Griffin stated that both the lawsuits were extortions. [29], In 1988, he purchased Resorts International and two of their hotels, one in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and another on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, from Donald Trump and other investors. Also, he was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame after his death in 2008. He married Julann Griffin, whom he divorced after some time. He started the game show Jeopardy! in 1964. He works live (most markets broadcast an unedited tape). Neither Cronkite nor CBS responded, a silence echoed by everyone else to whom the ambitious Donahue mailed resumes. Merv Griffin was previously married to Julann Griffin (1959 - 1976). Winner of 15 Emmy Awards, Griffin was presented an Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show Emmy for 1993-1994 as executive producer of Jeopardy! But each of the more than 200 "Donahue" stations -- including flagship WGN in Chicago -- buys it on his terms: If any station manager wants to pull the plug, fine. [15] He also had an uncredited role as a radio announcer in the horror/science fiction film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). It was a good question. was merv griffin married to marlo thomas. . The actress continued explaining her reasoning: "It seems like it's only a place for one-and-a-half persons, you know, the person that has the dream and the other person who supports the dream." The audience quickly picks up his rhythm. Both ultimately were dismissed. And television, he says, provides the public with what Lenny Bruce called "plastic puke." The "That Girl" actress first met Marlo when she was on his talk show as a guest in 1977. No name. Griffin never acknowledged he was gay, though it became widely known in Hollywood, even as Eva Gabor played his beard. When political activist Abbie Hoffman was his guest in April 1970, CBS blurred the video of Hoffman so viewers at home would not see his trademark American flag pattern shirt, even though other guests had worn the same shirt in the past, uncensored. That's when Griffin's wife pitched the . His father was a stockbroker while his mother was a homemaker. She recalled one of the questions he asked her, saying: "And he said to me, 'How come you've never married?' He has made this huge amount of wealth through his dedication and contribution to show business to a greater extent. . [8] He wrote years later in his autobiography that there was a deliberate effort to keep the public from finding out how he looked. In 1974, under intense pressure to "put some glitter in the show," he moved to Chicago, hoping to attract better guests and big-city flair. Some guests receive a silent, comforting pat on the hand. He also created the still running game shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune. "To say 'yes' to that question flatters me," he says, pausing to look at the wall as though hoping to see the proper answer. Donahue denies using that word, but says, "It had better be an issue about which people care or we're all going to be parking cars.". He maintained a virtual male harem and a pimp who supplied porn stars, but I dont go into his pay-for-gay guys. "Donahue" is unlike any other talk show. and Wheel of Fortune. One regular attendee, Lillian Miller, became a fixture on the show throughout its run. Griffin was best known for creating the two most popular game shows in television syndication history, Wheel of Fortune (1983) and Jeopardy! There is a story in Queer in America about a man identified as The Mogul who did just that. Another was '79 Wistful Vista.' . He bought his contract back from Warner Bros. and decided to devote his attention to a new medium: television. He also created the game shows Jeopardy! When Treacher left the show in 1970, Griffin did the announcing himself, and walked on stage with the phrase "And now here I come!" Griffin was married to the former Julann Wright from 1958 to 1976; they remained friends after their divorce. If the station manager objects to a particular program, Donahue argues, but he will supply a back-up. Griffin, in 1964, also introduced a game show Jeopardy which was a big success. He grins or grimaces extravagantly. Public response wasn't always entirely pleasant, but continued commercial success gave Donahue confidence. I had more than a passing acquaintance with him, having worked on The Merv Griffin Show as a talent coordinator/segment producer in 1985-86 as the show was winding down. ", The book reveals he was a virgin before marriage, a lousy lover afterward, and avoided the draft through fatherhood. Merv Griffin was married to Julann Griffin from 1959 to 1976. This show was initially aired on NBC. Griffin was born July 6, 1925, in San Mateo, California, to Mervyn Edward Griffin Sr., a stockbroker, and Rita Elizabeth Griffin (ne Robinson),[3] a homemaker. And as any law student knows, you cant libel the dead. Marlo revealed that even in 2020, she still wasn't sure she believed in marriage. To prove his point, Donahue does a Kissinger imitation, complete with heavy accent. He resolved to change his appearance, and lost 80 pounds in four months. The Merv Griffin Show (TV Series 1962-1986) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. "He speaks in tablets. [30][31][32][33][a] In early 1988, Trump wanted to take Resorts private; but Griffin, through Griffin Gaming & Entertainment, offered the minority shareholders significantly more than Trump in April 1988. After 17 years, his wife left him. The background to this was on November 12, when Resorts reached a tentative agreement with certain bondholders, several bondholders petitioned the United States Bankruptcy Court in Camden, New Jersey, to put the company into involuntary bankruptcy to protect legal claims they might have against Trump, the real estate investor Griffin outbid for Resorts the prior year. Family. But in a New York office recently, Donahue looked much more subdued that he does goes on television, his eyes more pale and penetrating. The spin-offs included the children's shows Wheel 2000 (CBS, 1997), and the short-lived Jep! "Let's put a ribbon on this," he tells the long-winded. Day arranged for a screen test at the Warner Bros. Studios for a role in By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). Not even lukewarm -- hot!" She explained how she'd tried to portray a first for television - a young girl who wasn't thinking about marriage and instead about who she could be in the world. Wheel barely escaped cancellation in 1980, when NBC replaced three of its other game shows with a daytime talk show starring David Letterman. It lasted only one season, with its last episode on May 16, 2008, but has had reruns on various channels. His funeral was held at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. Merv Griffin began his career as a singer on the radio at the age of 19. Donahue inherited not only the show, but a live studio audience whom he decided not to burden with yet another song-and-dance program. [49][50], Funeral services were held on August 17, 2007 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. [51] He was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, where his epitaph reads "I will not be right back after this message". There is no wise-cracking sidekick, band, desk or ashtray. Marlo Thomas, 2018 | Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas, 2022 | Source: Instagram.com/marlothomas | Getty Images. His roommate a year and a half was Montgomery Clift. (VH1, 1998) for pop-music trivia fans; Click!, a teen-oriented game that introduced Ryan Seacrest as its host; and, in association with Wink Martindale, Headline Chasers (1985). The show enjoyed tremendous popularity and was adapted into several international versions which aired in 60 countries. His program is television's most consistent forum for provocative, controversial subject matter: lesbian couples adopting children; parents of homosexuals; breast-feeding mothers; unwed mothers; elderly people living together out of wedlock; victims of incest. Wednesday brought an obstetrician, and on Thursday he climbed into a coffin as he interviewed a mortician. "How important is love?" [2] He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show. Merv Griffin was a singer and band leader, movie actor, television personality and media mogul who in his time hosting The Merv Griffin Show (1962) was second in fame and influence as a talk show host only to Johnny Carson. None of this has to be true for him to get a book deal without worrying about getting sued. Marlo shared how her dreams of becoming a mother were frustrated by her ambitions and society. Griffin's home was sold for $7million. If youre Griffin, why would you think a judgmental culture would be any more tolerant as you grew into middle and old age? He was a famous but unsuccesssful single until 1977, when actress Marlo Thomas made her second appearance on his program. He attended San Mateo Junior College and then the University of San Francisco. Around the office, Mervs being gay was understood but rarely discussed (and certainly never with him). Merv Griffin had an encounter with Betty Kelly. He married Juliann Wright in 1958, and they divorced in 1973. Even though they divorced, they continued being good friends. Text. In a December 1977 article, the actress recalled how Phil was a modern man and a single parent when they met. He had an older sister, Barbara. . He started his professional life by joining the radio as well as by singing in collaboration with a big band. He's not afraid to sound stupid, either. A biography of television legend Merv Griffin claims tgat when he died in 2007, he left behind a legacy that included Wheel Of Fortune, Jeopardy, hotels, side business ventures, and more than a billion dollars.Also: speculation. Menu. [32][34] After Trump paid $101 million for Resorts International Inc. in 1987, Griffin bought it back from him for $365 million and assumed the hotel-casino's debt of $925 million on November 15, 1988. And not everybody who's a good television persona necessarily knows what they're talking about.". Marlo Thomas . Griffin ventured into real estate, purchasing the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 1987. Melissa McCarthy Said She 'Hit the Jackpot' with Husband Ben Falcone Who Only Proposed 17 Years after They Met, Nicole Kidman's Phone Tapped & She Was Spied on before Split from Tom Cruise & Losing 2nd Baby, Book Claims, Kelly Clarkson Quit 'The Voice' to Enjoy More Time with Kids Whom She Rarely Shows, Barbra Streisand Amazed Grandkid on 4th Birthday She 'Never' Takes off 'Grandma' Bracelet after Her Birth, Valerie Bertinelli's Last Talk with Dying 'Soulmate' & Their Awaited Kid Helps Her after Cancer Took Him, Kenny Rogers Called Having Twins at 65 with 'Rare' Wife 'Wonderful Experience' One Son Was Praised for New Job, Marie Osmond Is 63 She 'Never Wanted' to Remarry after 2nd Divorce, Yet Later Wed Her First Husband Again. [citation needed], Griffin started as a singer on radio at age 19, appearing on San Francisco Sketchbook, a nationally syndicated program based at KFRC. Donahue has plenty of other markets. It was good television. That was not only focused on in the Denny Terrio lawsuit against Griffin but also was something that several Hollywood gay men told me about, offering first hand experience, while I was researching Queer in America back in the early 90s and some of this (though, for legal reasons not all) is reported on in the book. He used to tackle bold subjects and also invited controversial guests such as George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Bertrand Russell. In the business world, he was identified as the visionary chairman of The Griffin Group.Born in the San Francisco, California suburb of San Mateo, Griffin "came up through the ranks" in the classic sense, entering talent contests, writing songs, singing on local radio station KFRC-San Francisco, and later touring with Freddy Martin Orchestra. Though dismissed, the lawsuits put Griffin on the spot, and while he never denied being gay, he didnt own it either. He also hosted a primetime ABC game show, Keep Talking. Every comedian ends up, one day, taking a pie in the face. Involving slapstick stunts and a somewhat truncated version of his old Reach for the Stars, it initially aired locally in New York, with the intent of national syndication early the following year. Even though Marlo had never intended to marry, she once admitted that it was "awful" being away from her husband. The star said they connected "fantastically," but their first date was awkward, with them staring at each other! In Donahue's world the biggest sin is to be boring. As he recalls the past, Donahue stands again and begins to pace. [20] When they had their first child, Cynthia Leigh Buzzell, on September 11, 1955, Griffin was named her godfather. And I began to examine why, listen to some of the shrinks and people who do our show. [7], During World War II, Griffin was declared 4F after failing several military physical examinations due to a slight heart murmur. When he was fired a few months later, his new show began the following Monday, and ran until the mid-1980s. Griffin dedicated two shows, in 1975 and 1977, to Transcendental Meditation and its founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Griffin became the host of The Merv Griffin Show, which was his own talk show. He said that he did not know his actual worth because it "would keep me from sleeping at night". Mervs secret gay life was widely known throughout showbiz culture, if not the wider America. But he is Man-Child in Television Land, and viewers get to know him not as they know Walter Cronkite, but as they know Archie Bunker and Hawkeye Pierce. This. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and numerous Emmy Awards, out of which it won eleven. And for good reason: "In an attempt to be honest you pay a price," he said -- afraid that his popular image may self-destruct in the confessional heat of his first book, "Donahue: My Own Story. Griffin's first daytime talk show began on the same day Carson first hosted The Tonight Show (1962). Aug. 12, 2007 -- Merv Griffin, who parlayed a talent for talk and entertainment into a one-man business conglomerate, died of cancer early this morning. He also filled in for a week for the vacationing Bill Cullen on The Price Is Right, and for Bud Collyer on To Tell the Truth. [35] He had used $325 million in junk bond financing at nearly 14% from Drexel Burnham Lambert's Michael Milken, but suspended interest payments in early 1989. From that moment, "Donahue" became an audience-participation program. In his book Merv, written with David Bender in 2003, he stated that it would be "Stay Tuned".). That was Fibber and Mollie McGee's address. and 'Wheel of Fortune'), https://www.naukrinama.com/stressbuster/richest-male-actors-in-the-world/merv-griffin/, http://mervgriffinabc.blogspot.com/2009/05/game-show-creator-griffin-created-and.html, http://gameshows.wikia.com/wiki/Merv_Griffin, http://jeopardyhistory.wikia.com/wiki/Merv_Griffin. [17] He landed a job as the host of a new television show, CBS-TV's Summer Holiday, a summer replacement for Jane Froman's U.S.A. Canteen and Jo Stafford's The Jo Stafford Show, which he co-hosted with Betty Ann Grove. They had a deep conversation about divorce, marriage, and children; they were both Catholic. . Griffin began to sing at the age of 19 by making his appearance on San Francisco Sketchbook. Picking up a desk stapler to act as a surrogate microphone, he stands, flexes his shoulders and acts out his "dialogues" with them. Griffin, who died of prostate cancer Sunday at 82, stayed in the closet throughout his life. The pair "hung in there" despite the date setting them back to the starting stages of their relationship. Many well known and highly identifiable actresses have tried and failed to make the arduous crossover from fizzy TV sitcom star to mature, dramatic artist. (1964). Nonetheless, the elephant that was his sexual orientation never really stopped following Griffin from room to room. He considers many fellow journalists "professional gapers" who pursue rat-pack "me-too-ism." When he eventually decided to retire, he sold his production company Merv Griffin Enterprises to Columbia Pictures Television, after which he was named by Forbes as one of the richest Hollywood performers in history. "I have come to the point where I am at peace with my own imperfection in terms of understanding it, and I am enjoying the business of wondering.". Less than half an hour after that report would have been aired, WNBC in New York (owned by the network) broadcast an hour-long "Donahue" on the same subject. Having just hit bookstores, Porter is on a media tour a stop that includesCindy Adams column. His abilities as a pianist played a part in his early entry into show business. The theme returned to the show in 2021 at the start of season 39. ", "Palm Springs Walk of Stars by date dedicated", "Merv Griffin reported in grave condition", "Hundreds Pay Final Respects To Merv Griffin", "Merv Griffin Estate Sells for $7 Million", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Merv_Griffin&oldid=1142400827, "Banned in Boston" (#101, Pop Charts, 1961), "Changing Keys" (longtime theme music for, This page was last edited on 2 March 2023, at 05:10.