1. Merv Griffin began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway.
46 Facts About Merv Griffin
1. 2.
Merv Griffin began singing in his church choir as a child.
3.
Merv Griffin graduated from San Mateo High School in 1942 and later contributed financially to the school.
4.
Merv Griffin attended San Mateo Junior College and then the University of San Francisco.
5.
Merv Griffin was a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
6.
Merv Griffin started as a singer on radio at age 19, appearing on San Francisco Sketchbook, a nationally syndicated program based at KFRC.
7.
Merv Griffin was overweight as an adolescent and a young man, which led to some disappointment among fans who met him in person.
8.
In 1947, Merv Griffin had a 15-minute weekday singing program on KFRC.
9.
Merv Griffin gained widespread popularity through his radio performances and nightclub appearances.
10.
Merv Griffin did not get the part, but was cast in supporting roles in other musical films, including So This Is Love.
11.
Merv Griffin played minor roles in The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms The Boy from Oklahoma and Phantom of the Rue Morgue.
12.
Dissatisfied with the film industry, Merv Griffin bought out his Warner Bros.
13.
In 1954, Griffin appeared in Cinecraft Productions sponsored films, including a musical, Milestones of Motoring, with Joe E Brown.
14.
Merv Griffin initially stayed with Loring Buzzell upon arriving in New York and became friends with him and his fiancee, Lu Ann Simms.
15.
Merv Griffin later claimed in interviews that he was best man at their wedding in July 1954, but was in fact one of four ushers.
16.
When Buzzell and Simms had their first child, Cynthia Leigh Buzzell, on September 11,1955, Merv Griffin was named her godfather.
17.
From 1958 to 1962, Merv Griffin hosted Play Your Hunch, a game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman.
18.
Merv Griffin filled as a temporary host for Bill Cullen on The Price Is Right and Bud Collyer on To Tell the Truth.
19.
Merv Griffin went on to produce additional game shows, including Let's Play Post Office for NBC in 1965, Reach for the Stars for NBC in 1967, and One in a Million for ABC in 1967.
20.
Merv Griffin gained attention when Tonight Show host Jack Paar accidentally walked onto the set of Play Your Hunch during a live broadcast.
21.
Merv Griffin was regarded as the most successful of the guest hosts and, as a result, was given his own daytime talk show on NBC in 1962.
22.
In 1965, Griffin launched a syndicated talk show titled The Merv Griffin Show through Westinghouse Broadcasting.
23.
Arthur Treacher, Merv Griffin's mentor, served as the show's announcer and sidekick until 1970.
24.
In 1975 and 1977, Merv Griffin dedicated two episodes to Transcendental Meditation and its founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
25.
In 1969, Merv Griffin moved from syndication to CBS, which launched a late-night talk show hosted by Merv Griffin to compete with The Tonight Show.
26.
Frustrated with these restrictions and anticipating his departure from CBS, Merv Griffin signed a deal with Metromedia for a syndicated daytime talk show to begin immediately if his CBS program was canceled.
27.
Robert "Bob" Murphy, Griffin's best friend since sixth grade, was the producer of The Merv Griffin Show, and eventually became president of Merv Griffin Enterprises.
28.
Merv Griffin fired a couple of answers to me: '5,280' and the question of course was how many feet in a mile.
29.
Wheel of Fortune, another game show created by Merv Griffin, premiered the following Monday.
30.
Around this period, Merv Griffin composed the show's theme song, "Changing Keys," which was used in various forms until 2000 and returned in 2021.
31.
In 1990, Merv Griffin attempted to adapt the board game Monopoly into a game show, which was cancelled after 12 episodes.
32.
Merv Griffin retained the title of creator for his game shows.
33.
From 2007 to 2008, Merv Griffin Entertainment produced the syndicated game show Merv Griffin's Crosswords.
34.
On May 14,2003, Merv Griffin received the Broadcast Music, Inc President's Award at the annual Film and Television Awards for his contributions to game show music.
35.
Merv Griffin expanded into real estate by purchasing The Beverly Hilton in 1987.
36.
In 1988, Merv Griffin purchased Resorts International and two of its properties: one in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and another on Paradise Island in The Bahamas, from Donald Trump and other investors.
37.
On December 23,1989, Merv Griffin sought bankruptcy court protection for Resorts International.
38.
Merv Griffin was married to Julann Elizabeth Wright, a comedian and a founder of First Women's Bank of California, from 1958 to 1976.
39.
The couple had one son, Anthony Patrick "Tony" Merv Griffin, born in 1959, who later had two children of his own.
40.
Merv Griffin maintained a close friendship with Eva Gabor from the mid-1980s until her death in 1995.
41.
Merv Griffin claimed to not know his exact worth, stating it might cause unnecessary stress.
42.
In 1974, Merv Griffin was inducted to the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
43.
In 2005, Merv Griffin accepted an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the National University of Ireland, Galway.
44.
In 2008, Merv Griffin was posthumously inducted into the Television Hall of Fame.
45.
Merv Griffin was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where his condition deteriorated.
46.
Merv Griffin was buried at Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Memorial Park, His epitaph reads, "I will not be right back after this message," an idea he had shared on The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder.