On July 6, 1925, a baby boy was born in San Mateo, California. He was christened Mervin Edward Griffin Jr., but was soon known as just plain Merv. Precocious as a child, he was "publishing" his own single-page newspaper as a seven-year-old.
The chunky Merv wanted to be a singer, and at the age of 19 was performing on a national radio show called San Francisco Sketchbook. However, his live appearances often prompted laughter by audience members who discovered that the silky-voiced singer was quite overweight. Griffin, stung by the jibes, lost 80 pounds.
The slimmer, trimmer Merv landed a singing gig with big band leader Freddy Martin.
Griffin's singing success and business acumen eventually led to his own recording label, Panda Records. He scored a hit in the 50's with I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts, hitting Number 1.
Doris Day spotted the handsome young singer and offered him a screen test. He ended up with quite a few film roles, including one where he delivered Hollywood's first open-mouthed kiss in 1953's So This Is Love.
But the multi-talented Griffin still hadn't found his perfect niche.
In 1958, Merv hosted a game show called Play Your Hunch. It lasted for four years. One day, Jack Paar stumbled onto the set accidentally during a live broadcast. Merv talked him into staying on for an impromptu interview. Paar complied, and was so impressed with the self-assured host that he offered him a substitute host gig on Paar's Tonight Show. He was a natural for the talk show host role.
In 1962, NBC launched The Merv Griffin Show, a daytime talk format. While initial ratings were strong, they soon fell. The show was gone within a year.
Undaunted, Griffin launched a syndicated version of a talk show featuring himself as host in 1965. It was picked up by stations in great numbers, and he was soon a familiar face on local stations at all hours of the day or night. It was a success that appeared more-or-less regularly until 1986.
Griffin wasn't averse to plying his guests with complimentary cocktails before their appearances. The lubricated, tongue-loosened guests were then interviewed by Griffin, with lots of laughs and spontaneous confessions to accompany.
Merv never forgot his game show roots, and talked NBC execs into trying an unconventional format which he had envisioned. A contestant would select a question with a dollar value attached. An answer would be read. The first contestant to buzz in would ask a question. And, if the wrong question was asked, they would be penalized the dollar amount!
Of course, you recognize the premise as that of Jeopardy!, still hugely popular well over thirty years since its debut. No slouch at game show creation, he also launched Wheel of Fortune in 1975, and it's still a big hit.
Griffin was a success in show business, in business in general, and as a nice person by account of friends and acquaintances. His estimated worth at his untimely death from prostate cancer on August 12, 2007, was over a billion dollars.
A good example of his business smarts: He decided Jeopardy! needed a little ditty to play while contestants scrawled out their Final Jeopardy answers. So he composed the familiar waiting tune sitting at a piano in about a half hour. He retained rights to the song, even after he sold the show. He estimated the song made him 70-80 million dollars.
Atta boy, Merv. Rest in peace, old friend.
Comments (5)
I always think of SCTV's
version of Merv saying
"We'll be right back"
reassuringly before the commercial breaks....
we had a post about lucy and desi recently,
and Merv was a one-man
version of the two.
He pioneered talk-show syndication long before Donohue and Mike Douglas, and seemed destined to change the airwaves in spite of himself. Per the origins
of "Wheel" and "Jeopardy", its amazing how many great ideas were scrawled on the backs of paper napkins during conversations in bars &
restaurants. Almost like writing a great idea down from a dream while waking up, alcohol
and good friends at a late night bull session
prob generated more ideas than one can believe.
Merv was an everyman of sorts...a good singer,
occasional songwriter,
great host, and a creative mind, her also was a great businessman,
who parlayed many of his ideas into reality
and riches. Almost a force unto himself, we
would have to look at Simon of IDOL fame to see anything of the sort
today, and last I heard,
he can't sing.
Thanks for the memories,
Merv...."We'll be right back" indeed!......and Vanna and Pat and Alex
thank you for a very long and great career as well!
Posted by scott | August 14, 2007 2:00 AM
Posted on August 14, 2007 02:00
When my grandmother first came to America from Europe, much of what she learned came from watching the original Jeopardy, hosted by Art Fleming.
Also, I read in some obituaries that the idea for Jeopardy to reverse the answers and questions came from his wife, Julann.
Posted by David S Paleg | August 14, 2007 6:49 AM
Posted on August 14, 2007 06:49
I always liked Merv Griffin in his talk-show host mode. Never knew he was so wealthy.
Posted by Rhea | August 14, 2007 10:45 AM
Posted on August 14, 2007 10:45
It wan't until I was an adult that I realized how many game shows Merv produced! He certainly had the knack for it! I remember his talk show too! RIP Merv!
Posted by Rivers End | June 30, 2009 3:16 PM
Posted on June 30, 2009 15:16
I remember many nights after dinner with mom and dad, laying on the floor watching his talk show that came on at 7pm 5 days a week in our town.
He had a variety of guests on, like the one that led me to this page. I was looking for the name of the guy, inventor, that claimed to have a new rubber that could take a great shock, and proving it with a raw egg and a hammer with his rubber between them.
Does anyone recall that inventor, he appeared on a few of Mervs shows in the mid 1970s.
Wasn't Merv considered one of thee richest men in America, competing with Trump on many deals?
Posted by Meatwad | September 3, 2010 3:45 AM
Posted on September 3, 2010 03:45