JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Who Was Wink Martindale? Beloved Game Show Host of Tic-Tac-Dough and Radio Legend Dies at 91
Wink Martindale, the iconic host of Tic-Tac-Dough and radio pioneer, has passed away at 91. Here's everything you need to know about him.
Trigger Warning: This article contains references to an individual's death.
Television personality Wink Martindale, best known for hosting game shows like Tic-Tac-Dough and Gambit, has died at the age of 91. According to a press release, he passed away on April 15 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, surrounded by his wife Sandra Martindale and family. He had been married to Sandra for 49 years.
Ana Martinez from the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce confirmed that “memorial flowers for Walk of Famer Wink Martindale will be placed on his star today at 5 pm at 7018 Hollywood Blvd.” She added, “The Hollywood community extends its sympathy to the Martindale family.”
Born in Jackson, Tennessee, Martindale began his career as a radio disc jockey at just 17 years old. He later worked at WHBQ in Memphis, where he played a part in music history. When Elvis Presley’s debut record That’s All Right aired for the first time on July 10, 1954, Martindale called Presley’s mother to invite him to the station for an interview as per PEOPLE.
“He was so nervous about his record being played on the air that he’d gone to the theater,” Martindale said in a 2018 interview with the Television Academy Foundation. “They found him sitting there by himself and brought him to the station.”
Martindale said he met Elvis that night and the two became lifelong friends. The press release described Martindale as the last living witness to ‘Presleymania’ and the birth of Rock & Roll.
Martindale transitioned to television hosting shows like Mars Patrol and Teenage Dance Party, where Elvis appeared again in 1956. His game show career began with NBC’s What’s This Song? in 1964 and later included Words and Music, Gambit, and Tic-Tac-Dough. He also hosted High Rollers, The Last Word, Debt, Instant Recall, Trivial Pursuit, and more.
He produced several shows, including Headline Chasers, and often spoke about how much he enjoyed interacting with contestants. In a 2018 interview, he shared that he liked meeting different people through game shows and mentioned that he could sit and talk all day.
Aside from TV, Martindale found success in music with his 1959 spoken-word single Deck of Cards, which sold over a million copies and reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100. In recent years, he made guest appearances on The Chase, The Bold and the Beautiful, and in commercials for Orbitz and KFC.
He earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006 and was honored last year with a Beale Street Note in Memphis. He also received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Memphis and was among the first inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame.
Martindale supported several charities, including annual telethons for Cerebral Palsy and St. Jude Children’s Hospital. He is survived by his wife Sandra, sister Geraldine, daughters Lisa, Lyn, and Laura, a large extended family of grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his honorary son Eric, and his Chihuahua, Dude.
ALSO READ: Who Was Danny Dearden? All About X Factor Star, Vocalist and Songwriter Amid His Tragic Demise at 34
Latest Articles
