Recreation present host Wink Martindale, recognized for “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “High Rollers” and “Gambit,” has died, in response to his official Fb web page. He was 91.
“Wink was amazing, funny and talented,” the submit on his Fb web page reads. “Truly a LEGEND!”
The host, born Winston Martindale, had a 74-year profession, in response to Nashville Publicity Group, which additionally confirmed Martindale’s dying. A explanation for dying was not given.
“The entire Game Show Network family mourns the loss of Wink Martindale, the host of the original “Tic-Tac-Dough” and a real legend of tv recreation reveals,” the Recreation Present Community posted on social media. “His charm and presence lit up the screen for generations of viewers and he will never be forgotten.”
Martindale’s skilled profession started when he was simply 17, in response to his Hollywood Stroll of Fame biography. The Jackson, Tennessee, man labored as a disc jockey for a number of years and even had his rendition of the spoken-word track “Deck Of Cards” chart on the Billboard Scorching 100.
His tv profession started at WHBQ-TV because the host of “Mars Patrol,” a science-fiction program for teenagers, in response to the Hollywood Stroll of Fame, which Martindale earned a star on in 2006.
Whereas at WHBQ-TV, Martindale started internet hosting “Teenage Dance Party,” the place he was joined by Elvis Presley in a single look. The 2 had been long-time pals; Presley dated Martindale’s spouse, Sandy, earlier than they married.
ilver Display screen Assortment/Getty Photographs
In 1964, Martindale landed a job internet hosting NBC’s “What’s This Song.” Different internet hosting credit embody “Words and Music,” “Can You Stop This” and “Headline Chasers.” He hosted greater than a dozen recreation reveals, in response to his 2000 autobiography.
He hosted “Tic-Tac-Dough” on CBS from 1978 till 1985, in response to IMDB. Martindale hosted 185 episodes of NBC’s “High Rollers” between 1987 and 1988. His present “Gambit,” based mostly on blackjack, was produced by Heatter-Quigley Productions.
“I remember that they auditioned practically every possible host. It came down to Dick Clark and me, and this is one time I beat Dick Clark,” Martindale instructed the Tv Academy Basis in 2018.
He additionally instructed the Tv Academy Basis that he appreciated getting to fulfill so many alternative individuals whereas engaged on recreation reveals.
“I enjoy finding out what makes people tick,” he instructed the Tv Academy Basis. “As you play a game, you see why one person is more successful than another. But I just love working with people, and I love talking.”
Lately, Martindale made appearances on such packages as “Most Outrageous Game Show Moments,” “The Chase” and “The Bold and the Beautiful,” in response to his publicist. He additionally appeared in commercials for Orbitz and KFC.
Martindale is survived by his spouse, his daughters and his sister.
