Entertainer Merv Griffin Dead At 82

Sunday, August 12, 2007

08/12/2007 -- He was a singer, actor, television personality and one of the most influential talk show hosts in America's history. His birth name was Mervyn, but the world knew him as Merv Griffin.

The 82-year-old died Sunday after being hospitalized earlier in the week for a recurrence of prostate cancer.

Born in San Mateo, Calif., Griffin created two of the most popular game shows in syndicated history. "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!" remain in production more than two decades after they began.

Griffin's career lasted decades.

"I've been in the public eye for more than 50 years as Merv Griffin, not as somebody else's creation," he said, according to Internet Movie Database Web site. "I've never pretended to be someone I wasn't."

The 32-time Emmy nominee actually escorted 17 golden gals home for his work on "The Merv Griffin Show," according to the official Web site for Griffin's company, The Griffin Group.

During the shows 23 years on air, Griffin interviewed "more than 25,000 guests and hosted 5,500 shows," his site said.

Before his television career began, Griffin wrote songs, sang on local radio stations and toured with Freddy Martin and His Orchestra, according to imdb.com.

In 1950, he struck gold with "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts," when it reached the number one spot on the Hit Parade and sold three million copies, according to imdb.com.

His other hits included "Wilhelmina" and "Never Been Kissed." While continuing to record albums, Griffin began a silver-screen career. He appeared in hit movies with stars like Will Rogers and Kathryn Grayson.

"If there was anything really important that people didn't know about me by now, then I would have to be world's greatest actor," Griffin said, according to imdb.com. "Forget Brando, forget Hoffman, forget DeNiro. & I would have to be the best."

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