Merv Griffin Dies

Photo from Biography.com

Yeah, I can hear younger people saying, "who?" You know, the guy who created Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune. He also has a chain of resort hotels and casinos. For the rest of us, he was a talk show host who rivaled Mike Douglas (again the youngsters, "who?"), also deceased, and Johnny Carson (dead too, and if you don't know who he was, I'm really sad).

[Excerpt]

Entertainment mogul Merv Griffin dies at 82

By BOB THOMAS

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LOS ANGELES — A spokeswoman for Merv Griffin reports the entertainer and entrepreneur has died at age 82.

Griffin died of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his the family that was released by Marcia Newberger, spokeswoman for The Griffin Group/Merv Griffin Entertainment.

Griffin, who began his career as a $100-a-week radio singer in San Francisco, soon moved on to become the featured vocalist in Freddy Martin’s band.

That led to a brief film career, in which he appeared opposite Doris Day and Kathryn Grayson, and later to a successful TV career as host of “The Merv Griffin Show,” which aired for more than 20 years.

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