Wink Martindale, a radio and television entertainer known to audiences as host of classic game shows including “Tic-Tac-Dough” and “Gambit,” has died. He was 91.
Martindale’s death was confirmed in a news release from his representative Brian Mayes, who also told CNN he was a family friend. Martindale died Tuesday in Rancho Mirage, California.
Born Winston Conrad Martindale in Jackson, Tennessee in 1933, he was transfixed from an early age by the family radio, eventually going on to succeed in the entertainment industry thanks to his talent, demeanor and that booming voice.
According to the news release, Martindale started his career as a disc jockey in Jackson at 17, but quickly ascended the ranks to eventually work at WHBQ in Memphis, where in July 1954 Elvis Presley’s first record “That’s All Right” was played on the radio for the very first time by a fellow DJ. Due to the immediate and overwhelming demand, the other DJ played the song again and again while Martindale telephoned Presley’s mother and asked if Presley could come down to the radio station. The music legend soon arrived at WHBQ for his first interview.
After this more than auspicious start, Martindale went on to a remarkable 74-year career, which included him finding gold-record success as a recording artist in his own right. His rendition of the spoken-word song “Deck of Cards” went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #5 on the UK Singles Chart, selling more than one million copies in 1959. That same year, Martindale became the morning DJ at KHJ in Los Angeles, moving again a year later to the morning show at KRLA and finally to KFWB in 1962. He enjoyed lengthy stays at many other radio stations, including Gene Autry’s KMPC from 1971-1979 and 1983-1987, the release said. Martindale is credited with having broken some of the biggest hits and artists of the 60s and 70s, spinning iconic songs for the first time on his radio shows.
Martindale’s additional radio credits include “Hit Parade Radio” and the syndicated programs “Music of Your Life,” “100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time,” “The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” and recent recurring appearances on “The Howard Stern Show.”
Alongside his radio and music pursuits, Martindale found success on television as well, ultimately becoming a perennial figure as a smiling and debonair game show host. His first break into TV was at WHBQ-TV in Memphis, as the host of “Mars Patrol,” a science-fiction themed children’s television series, and then as host of “Teenage Dance Party,” where his friend Presley made an appearance in June 1956. His first game-show hosting job came in the mid-1960’s, on NBC’s “What’s This Song?” followed by NBC’s “Words and Music,” CBS’ “Gambit,” and his biggest success, “Tic-Tac-Dough.”
Martindale also went on to host other popular game shows like “Headline Chasers,” “High Rollers,” “The Last Word,” “The Great Getaway Game,” “Trivial Pursuit,” “Debt,” “Instant Recall,” and many more. In recent years, he made appearances on programs including “Most Outrageous Game Show Moments,” “The Chase,” and “The Bold and the Beautiful.”
In 1985, Martindale became a producer with the launch of the TV game show “Headline Chasers,” produced in association with Merv Griffin and syndication giant King World.
An avid philanthropist, Martindale supported various causes and produced and hosted annual telethons for Cerebral Palsy and St. Jude Children’s Hospital, among many other charities.
In 2006, Martindale received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and in 2024, he was honored with a Beale Street Note on Memphis, Tennessee’s Beale Street Walk of Fame – not far from where in 2015, he was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award by his alma mater, the University of Memphis, according to the news release. Martindale was also one of the first inductees into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame.
At the time of his death, Martindale was surrounded by family and his wife of 49 years, Sandra Martindale, the release said.
Martindale is survived by his wife Sandra, sister Geraldine, his daughters Lisa, Lyn and Laura and a large extended family full of grandchildren and great grandchildren, his honorary son Eric and his beloved Chihuahua, Dude.
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