Merv Griffin

Merv Griffin passed away on August 12, 2007 at the age of 82 from prostate cancer. He was best known for producing a series of game show television shows including, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune.

Merv was born July 6, 1925 in San Mateo, California. He started his entertainment career as a singer on the radio. However, he was overweight and his fans were very disappointed when meeting him. He vowed to lose weight and lost 80 pounds. He toured with a big band orchestra for four years and formed his own record album. During on of his nightclub acts he was discovered by Doris Day and landed a screen test at Warner Bros. He starred in the film So This is Love in 1953 with Kathryn Grayson.

Griffin hosted a game show and then was a guest host for The Tonight Show. This parlayed into his own show - The Merv Griffin Show in 1965. The show continued until 1986.

Griffin was a wise investor and invested in real estate, including buying the Beverly Hilton Hotel and Resorts Hotel and Casino. Merv has one son from a marriage to Julann Wright and two grandchildren. He shares the same birthday (July 6) with Nancy Reagan and they always exchanged birthday greetings each year. He was a pallbearer at Ronald Reagan’s funeral.