All quotes delayed a minimum of 15 minutes. Donahue has plenty of other markets. Griffins gay brothers his friends, his lovers, his people across America, around the world suffered and met horrific deaths. He criticizes the fake fame offered television celebrities and yet admits he accepts free pizzas and permits a teen-aged son to accept free car repairs. He gained massive popularity with Ive Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, which was a big hit in 1950. He was overweight as an adolescent and a young man, which disappointed some radio fans when they saw him in person. The result is staccato silence between phrases -- quite unlike his fast-moving, loquacious television image. All through his childhood, he turned out to be a brilliant pianist who became the main reason for his adoption of show business. . He married Julann Griffin, whom he divorced after some time. In addition, he served as a producer for several game shows such as Reach for the Stars and One in a Million. ", Donahue said, "Thank you, Walter," and promptly fired off audition tapes and glossies. 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. It was good television. There, she met the host, Phil Donahue, and became hopelessly in love with him from the start. On being wealthy, Griffin said, "when you walk down the street and everybody knows you're rich, they don't talk to you." Perhaps he figured it was preferable to remain the object of gossip rather than live openly as one of them.. He next appeared in the movie So This is Love in a main role. First off, Griffins closet kept him shockingly silent while he had access to the president of the United States as his own people were dying. Marlo revealed that even in 2020, she still wasn't sure she believed in marriage. That was Fibber and Mollie McGee's address. Griffin dedicated two shows, in 1975 and 1977, to Transcendental Meditation and its founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Plus Judy Garlands Meet Me in St. Louis boy next door, Tom Drake, who, by the way, ended up a used car salesman. Marlo was 40 when she married the talk show host, and it was her first marriage. I will do anything with anybody for a quarter. Merv Griffin accomplished a lot and is, in his death, being held up as a example of a stellar Hollywood businessman. Produced in association with Program Partners and the William Morris Agency, it began airing September 10, 2007. Can I put on Barry Goldwater, who thinks we ought to drop nuclear bombs? Profits from his highly successful game shows made him one of the world's wealthiest entertainers. In a December 1977 article, the actress recalled how Phil was a modern man and a single parent when they met. Merv Griffin reaches only 3.9 million viewers, Mike Douglas 3.7 and Dinah Shore 2.8 million. However, he soon became disillusioned with movies and bought his contract back from Warner Bros, after which he decided to focus on television. She recalled one of the questions he asked her, saying: "And he said to me, 'How come you've never married?' An avid fan of puzzles since childhood, Griffin first produced a successful game show in 1964, Jeopardy! He'd defeated them at their own game. 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. Aside from his game shows, he also ventured into real estate and purchased the Beverley Hilton Hotel and later the Resorts International. Marlo agreed, revealing she had planned never to get married, and like her character in "That Girl," she was focused on her career and not a husband. The actress said, "It was a very big thing for me to see that marriage could be a roomy enough place for my dream and his dream.". [9], Freddy Martin heard him on the radio show and asked him to tour with his orchestra,[1] which he did for four years. [18][19], That summer, Griffin became acquainted with music publisher Loring Buzzell. Brent Plott, who had been his employee, also accused him of harassment. His abilities as a pianist played a part in his early entry into show business. General Info. A staff of 15, mostly women, decides what gets on the show. "It's not important to me when we are on that I win. "Yes," finally emerges. Also, he founded two TV production organizations Merv Griffin Entertainment and Merv Griffin Enterprises. The couple divorced in 1976. 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. The Merv Griffin Show is an American television talk show starring Merv Griffin.The series ran on NBC from October 1, 1962 to March 29, 1963, in first-run syndication from May 10, 1965 to July 4, 1969, at 11:30 PM ET weeknights on CBS from August 18, 1969 to February 11, 1972, and again in first-run syndication from February 14, 1972 to September 5, 1986. Marlo Thomas . His performance on the radio was heard by American musician Freddy Martin, who asked him to tour with his orchestras, which he did for a few years. Menu. He also used to earn money as an organist. . Merv Griffin was in relationships with Eva Gabor (1985 - 1995), Natalie Trundy (1959) and May Wynn (1953). She explained how she felt a union of two whole people could work compared to one of one and a half. AT SIMON & SCHUSTER, they were excited. Most of the folks Porter talks about and says Griffin was involved with are, like Griffin, dead. Type. "To say 'yes' to that question flatters me," he says, pausing to look at the wall as though hoping to see the proper answer. He did it for Marlon Brandon. Merv Griffin had an encounter with Betty Kelly. To Donahue, danger comes not from sponsors or subscribing stations, but from his own instincts for self-preservation. On the other hand, Phil had been married before and welcomed five children, making his new wife a stepmother. 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. [8] He wrote years later in his autobiography that there was a deliberate effort to keep the public from finding out how he looked. The resulting blurred image meant that Hoffman's voice emanated from a "jumble of lines". Merv was looking at notes for a new game show, and Julann asked if it was one of the knowledge-based games she liked. CBS also pressured Griffin into sacking his long-term sidekick Arthur Treacher, who had been his television mentor, because he was too old. It ran for one summer. His mother, Rita Elizabeth Griffin, was a homemaker and father, Mervyn Edward Griffin; Sr. was an insurance broker. . They Were Wrong", "Griffin Wins Resorts in Deal with Trump", "Helicopter Service Shuttles Gamblers to Casinos", "Merv Griffin Becomes New Owner of Resorts International", "Merv Rolls the Dice: Griffin and his debt-ridden Resorts International hotel and casino face tough odds in upcoming meetings with bondholders", "Merv Griffin's Resorts Files for Bankruptcy as Refinancing Fails", "In the Chatting Olympics, Look for Merv Griffin", "Affable TV host built an empire on 2 hit game shows", "All About Eva: Zsa Zsa's Little Sister Says It Hasn't Always Been Easy Being the Other Gabor", "Griffin Never Revealed Man Behind the Curtain", "The 'Jeopardy' Creator: Who Was Merv Griffin? Griffin characterized both lawsuits as extortion. for ABC), Griffin was one of the many guest hosts who presided over Tonight in the interim. He rarely expects answers to questions: He wants only punchy responses. The well-attended service included Nancy Reagan; Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gave the eulogy with Tony Griffin; Maria Shriver; and various actors, television stars, employees, and friends, including Pat Sajak, Vanna White, Alex Trebek, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Klugman, Dick Van Patten, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Ryan Seacrest, Johnny Mathis, Catherine Oxenberg and Casper Van Dien. Phil's wife said in marriage; you have to know the other person has your back and that her union was the safest place she could be, and the talk show host was her everything and life cushion. None of this has to be true for him to get a book deal without worrying about getting sued. and Wheel of Fortune, is remembered as a television pioneer for his role developing the game show format. Some guests receive a silent, comforting pat on the hand. Studying business administration at Notre Dame brought maturity and a desire to serve a city "with two airports." Having just hit bookstores, Porter is on a media tour a stop that includesCindy Adams column. Top-rate talent rarely visited Dayton, Donahue says, and those who did would ask him, "What am I doing here?" Griffin disliked the censorship imposed by CBS and complained. Sometime during the first two weeks -- Donahue can't remember when or why -- he walked into the audience and offered the microphone to a woman in the sixth row, who stood up and asked a question. There is no wise-cracking sidekick, band, desk or ashtray. During a May 2020 "Sunday Morning" interview, Marlo explained that the interview she had with Phil all those years back wasn't really one. [5] The family was Irish American. That year, Brent Plott, a longtime employee who worked as a bodyguard, horse trainer and driver, filed a $200million palimony lawsuit, which was also dismissed. Round, which became the iconic melody of the theme for the syndicated version of the show hosted by Alex Trebek in 1984. As a result, NBC gave him his own hour-long daytime talk show program, The Merv Griffin Show (1962).Griffin's name and talk show career will always be seen in the light of that of Johnny Carson, the "King of late night TV", with whom Griffin directly competed on CBS from 1969 to 1972. Griffin was not shy about tackling controversial subjects, especially the Vietnam War. [37][38] Cashflow was about $70 million short of what was needed to service the Resorts' debt in 1989,[34] and Griffin sought bankruptcy court protection for Resorts on December 23, 1989.[39]. Mansfield had remembered Griffin from his singing in the Grace Moore picture So This Is Love, and for his hit song "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts." A post-burial reception was held at the Beverly Hilton, owned by Griffin from 1987 to 2003. If you get anything else you think we can use, call me personally. He was also close friends with Actress and former First Lady of the United States, Nancy Reagan, with who he shares the same birthdate, July 6. Merv Griffin was an example of how dangerous the closet can be and how the closet and power are a combustible combination that adversely affects so many other lives. Soon after, he released his first album Songs of Merv Griffin.