‘Tic-Tac-Dough’ Game Show Host Was 91

Wink Martindale, one among TV’s most beloved recreation present hosts whose identify grew to become nearly synonymous with the career, died immediately in Rancho Mirage, CA. He was 91.

His loss of life was introduced by a spokesperson for Martindale’s household. No trigger was given, however the assertion stated the host of such traditional recreation exhibits as Tic-Tac-Dough, Excessive Rollers and Gambit was “surrounded by family and his beloved wife of 49 years, Sandra Martindale.”

Over a 74-year profession in radio and tv, Winston Conrad “Wink” Martindale was born in Jackson, Tennessee on December 4, 1933. He launched his profession as a disc jockey in Jackson on the age of 17, then rising by means of the ranks at Memphis’ WHBQ, the place, in response to his household, on the night of July 10, 1954, fellow DJ Dewey Phillips performed Elvis Presley’s very first document, “That’s All Right,” on the radio for the very first time — enjoying the tune repeatedly whereas Martindale phoned Presley’s mom and requested if Elvis may come right down to the radio station.

“Elvis soon arrived at WHBQ for his first interview, and music was changed forever,” the household assertion reads.

Martindale additionally discovered his personal success as a recording artist, performing the spoken-word tune “Deck of Cards” in 1959, a observe that went to No. 7 on the Billboard Scorching 100 chart and No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart and offered over 1,000,000 copies.

Later that yr, Martindale moved to Los Angeles because the morning host of pre-“Boss Jock” KHJ-AM. The next yr he joined the morning crew at archrival KRLA and eventually moved to KFWB in 1962, changing future Snicker-In announcer Gary Owens. He additionally had stints at KGIL-AM from 1968-71, KKGO-FM/KJQI and Gene Autry’s KMPC from 1971-79 and 1983-87, KABC in 1989 and KJQI from 1993-94.

His further radio credit embody Hit Parade Radio and the syndicated packages Music of Your Life, 100 Biggest Christmas Hits of All Time, The Historical past of Rock ‘n’ Roll, and up to date recurring appearances on The Howard Stern Present.

Whereas he first discovered success in radio, the good-looking Martindale discovered wider, nationwide fame on tv. Earlier in Memphis, he’d hosted a science fiction-themed children sequence referred to as Mars Patrol, after which hosted Teenage Dance Celebration, the place his new pal Presley made an look on June 16, 1956.

But it surely wasn’t till 1964, when he landed his first game-show internet hosting job on NBC’s What’s This Track?, that Martindale discovered his area of interest. He adopted the musical-contest present with NBC’s Phrases and Music, CBS’ Gambit, and his largest success Tic-Tac-Dough. Martindale hosted the favored and long-running Tic-Tac-Dough for its first seven seasons, leaving in 1985 to host Headline Chasers, which was the primary present he produced (in affiliation with Merv Griffin and syndication large King World).

Martindale additionally went on to host such common recreation exhibits as Excessive Rollers, The Final Phrase, The Nice Getaway Sport, Trivial Pursuit, Debt, Immediate Recall, and extra. Together with his broad grin and bubbly air, Martindale moderately personified the sport hosts – and have become a frequent goal of The Tonight Present host Johnny Carson, who loved skewering the style and its well-known faces.

“A good host is a person who loves people,” Martindale stated in a 2017 interview with the Tv Academy Basis. “If you’re a people person, you’re naturally going to be attracted to contestants, and it’s easy for you to be able to interact with those people.”

Lately, Martindale made appearances on such packages as Most Outrageous Sport Present Moments, The Chase, and The Daring and the Stunning, and appeared in commercials for Orbitz, KFC (alongside Rob Lowe) and extra.

By 1970, Martindale was recognizable as a DJ and recreation present host that he merited a Cheech & Chong parody on the duo’s debut comedy album. Cheech Marin took on the position of “Wink Dickerson,” a smooth-talking however nerdy DJ at AM radio station KRUT. Tommy Chong is the stoned emcee of a multi-act live performance who’s tasked with introducing him – however can’t fairly get the identify proper, saying, “I’m really not into AM, man.” When Chong’s character hits the stage, he calls him “Dink Winkerson from KRUD radio.” “Dink” proceeds to drop a bunch of interval slang in an effort to ingratiate himself to the booing younger crowd as he brings on the following act, Blind Melon Chitlin’. The LP reached the Prime 30 and went gold, launching Cheech & Chong’s lengthy profession and cementing Martindale as one of many quintessential, best-known recreation present hosts of his technology.

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Martindale additionally supported quite a few causes and produced and hosted annual telethons for Cerebral Palsy and St. Jude Youngsters’s Hospital, amongst different charities.

In 2006, he acquired a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame, and in 2024, he was honored with a Beale Avenue Observe on Memphis, Tennessee’s Beale Avenue Stroll of Fame – not removed from the place in 2015, he was offered with the Distinguished Alumni Award by his alma mater, the College of Memphis. He was additionally one of many first inductees into the American TV Sport Present Corridor of Fame.

Along with his spouse, Martindale is survived by sister Geraldine, daughters Lisa, Lyn and Laura and a big prolonged household of grandchildren and nice grandchildren, and his “honorary son” Eric.