Legendary game show host Wink Martindale has died, Fox News Digital confirmed. He was 91.
Martindale, who was surrounded by family, including his wife Sandra, at the time of his death, had a 74-year career in Hollywood, hosting a number of game shows such as “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “High Rollers” and “Gambit.” Martindale was also a close friend of Elvis Presley.
In 2019, Martindale told Fox News Digital he “met Elvis Presley on a hot July night in 1954.” In 1956, Martindale was hosting “Teenage Dance Party” when Presley made an appearance.
Game show host Wink Martindale has died. He was 91. (Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)
The thing that surprised him most about Presley was that Presley was a giver.
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“Very few people knew that he gave away literally millions and millions of dollars to charitable organizations not only in this country but all over the world,” Martindale said.
“He was a great giver. If he was your friend, he was your friend until the day you died. I mean, he would always be your friend and do anything for you that you needed him to do. He was that kind of a person.”
Martindale, who was surrounded by family, including wife Sandra, at the time of his death, had a 74-year career in Hollywood, hosting a number of game shows. (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Martindale’s wife of 49 years, Sandra, dated Presley on and off, right before he married Priscilla in 1967.
Sandra, who married Wink in 1975, credited Presley for her marriage to the game show host.
“Elvis is responsible for me marrying Wink,” she said in a 2015 interview, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Wink Martindale hosting “How’s Your Mother-In-Law?” (ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
“When [Martindale] said he was from Tennessee, I said, ‘He must be a nice guy,’ because I loved the state. I loved all the guys. I loved everything in the state of Tennessee because Elvis was such a wonderful part of my life.”
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In 2014, Martindale spoke to ABC News about the meaning behind his interesting name.
Wink Martindale died in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Tuesday, April 15. (Patrick McMullan/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images)
“When I was a kid in Jackson, Tennessee, one of my playmates, Jimmy McCord, couldn’t say ‘Winston,’ which is my given name. He had a speech impediment, and it came out sounding like ‘Winky.’ So Winston turned into Winky, and then I got into the business and Wink it was! It served me well,” he said at the time.
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Martindale also hosted “The Last Word,” “The Great Getaway Game,” “Trivial Pursuit,” “Debt” and “Instant Recall,” during his career.
Martindale is survived by his daughters Lisa, Lyn and Laura, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, his “honorary” son Eric and his Chihuahua Dude.
