Wink Martindale, the host of game shows like “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “Headline Chasers” and “High Rollers,” has died at 91.
He passed away Tuesday in Rancho Mirage, Calif. “surrounded by family and his beloved wife of 49 years, Sandra Martindale,” his family said in a statement.
No official cause of death was given, though his publicist said he’d been battling lymphoma for a year.
“He was doing pretty well up until a couple weeks ago,” publicist Brian Mayes told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
Winston Conrad Martindale was born on Dec. 4, 1933 in Jackson, Tenn., where he got his nickname from a friend with a speech impediment who struggled to pronounce Winston.
“‘Winston’ turned into ‘Winky,’ and then I got into the business and ‘Wink’ it was! It served me well,” Martindale told ABC News in 2014.
He got his first job as a DJ at a Jackson radio station during his senior year in high school in 1951. He went on to work at WHBQ in Memphis where, according to his family, a co-worker played Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right” on the radio for the very first time.
As the tune played repeatedly, Martindale phoned the singer’s mom to ask if the soon-to-be-King of Rock and Roll could come down to the station. “Elvis soon arrived at WHBQ for his first interview, and music was changed forever,” the family said.
Martindale later became the host of local TV show “Teenage Dance Party,” in which Elvis appeared on an episode in 1956.
He moved to Los Angeles in 1959 and became a morning host on several local radio stations. He also grew to host a number of syndicated radio shows, and found his own success as a recording artist with “Deck of Cards”, a spoken-word track that hit No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 1 million copies.
In 1964, Martindale became the host of the game show “What’s This Song?” followed by “Words and Music,” “Gambit” and “Tic-Tac-Dough.” He left the latter show after seven seasons to produce and host “Headline Chasers” in 1985.
He was also known for his support for a number of causes and telethons for cerebral palsy and St. Jude Children’s Hospital.
Martindale received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.
He’s survived by his wife, sister Geraldine, daughters Lisa, Lyn and Laura, his “honorary son” Eric, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
