Wink Martindale, genial game-show host of Gambit and Tic-Tac-Dough, dead at 91

The Associated Press

· Posted: Apr 15, 2025 8:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 31 minutes ago

Wink Martindale, the genial big of specified deed crippled shows arsenic Gambit and Tic-Tac-Dough who besides did 1 of the archetypal recorded tv interviews with a young Elvis Presley, has died. He was 91.

Martindale died Tuesday astatine Eisenhower Health successful Rancho Mirage, according to his publicist Brian Mayes. Martindale had been battling lymphoma for a year.

"He was doing beauteous good up until a mates weeks ago," Mayes said by telephone from Nashville.

Gambit debuted connected the aforesaid time successful September 1972 arsenic The Price is Right with Bob Barker and The Joker's Wild with Jack Barry.

"From the time it deed the air, Gambit spelled winner, and it taught maine a basal tenant of immoderate genuinely palmy crippled show: KISS! Keep It Simple Stupid," Martindale wrote successful his 2000 memoir Winking astatine Life. "Like playing Old Maids arsenic a kid, everybody knows however to play 21, i.e. blackjack."

Gambit had been beating its contention connected NBC and ABC for implicit 2 years. But a caller amusement debuted successful 1975 connected NBC called Wheel of Fortune. By December 1976, Gambit was disconnected the aerial and Wheel of Fortune became an instauration that is inactive going beardown today.

Martindale bounced backmost successful 1978 with Tic-Tac-Dough, the classical Xs and Os crippled connected CBS that ran until 1985.

"Overnight I had gone from the outhouse to the penthouse," helium wrote.

He presided implicit the 88-game winning streak of navy Lt. Thom McKee, who earned implicit $300,000 US successful currency and prizes that included 8 cars, 3 sailboats and 16 abrogation trips. At the time, McKee's winnings were a grounds for a crippled amusement contestant.

"I emotion moving with contestants, interacting with the assemblage and to a degree, watching lives change," Martindale wrote. "Winning a batch of currency tin origin that to happen."

Martindale wrote that shaper Dan Enright erstwhile told him that successful the 7 years helium hosted Tic-Tac-Dough he gave distant implicit $7 million US successful currency and prizes.

Radio beginnings

Martindale said his galore years arsenic a vigor DJ were adjuvant to him arsenic a crippled amusement big due to the fact that vigor calls for changeless ad-libs and helium learned to grip astir immoderate concern successful the spur of the moment. He estimated that helium hosted astir 2 twelve crippled shows during his career.

Martindale wrote successful his memoir that the question helium got asked astir often was "Is Wink your existent name?" The 2nd was "How did you get into crippled shows?"

He got his nickname from a puerility friend. Martindale is nary narration to University of Michigan antiaircraft co-ordinator Don Martindale, whose assemblage teammates nicknamed him Wink due to the fact that of their shared past name.

Born Winston Conrad Martindale connected Dec. 4, 1933, successful Jackson, Tenn., helium loved vigor since puerility and astatine property 6 would work aloud the contents of advertisements successful Life magazine.

He began his vocation arsenic a disc jockey astatine property 17 astatine WPLI successful his hometown, earning $25 a week.

After moving to WTJS, helium was hired distant for treble the wage by Jackson's lone different station, WDXI. He adjacent hosted mornings astatine WHBQ successful Memphis portion attending Memphis State. He was joined and the begetter of 2 girls erstwhile helium graduated successful 1957.

Interview with Elvis

Martindale was successful the studio, though not moving on-air that night, erstwhile the archetypal Presley grounds That's All Right was played connected WHBQ connected July 8, 1954.

Martindale approached chap DJ Dewey Phillips, who had fixed Presley an aboriginal interruption by playing his song, to inquire him and Presley to bash a associated interrogation connected Martindale's TV amusement Top Ten Dance Party in 1956. By then, Presley had go a large prima and agreed to the appearance.

Martindale and Presley stayed successful interaction connected juncture done the years, and successful 1959 helium did a trans-Atlantic telephone interrogation with Presley, who was successful the Army successful Germany. Martindale's 2nd wife, Sandy, concisely dated Presley aft gathering him connected the acceptable of G.I. Blues in 1960.

In 1959, Martindale moved to Los Angeles to big a greeting amusement connected KHJ. That aforesaid twelvemonth helium reached No. 7 connected the Billboard Hot 100 illustration with a screen mentation of Deck of Cards, which sold implicit 1 cardinal copies. He performed the spoken connection wartime communicative with spiritual overtones connected The Ed Sullivan Show.

"I could easy person thought, 'Wow, this is easy! I travel retired here, spell connected vigor and TV, marque a grounds and everybody wants to bargain it!" helium wrote. "Even if I entertained specified thoughts, they soon dissipated. I learned successful owed clip that what had happened to maine was acold from the ordinary."

A twelvemonth aboriginal helium moved to the greeting amusement astatine KRLA and to KFWB successful 1962. Among his galore different vigor gigs were 2 abstracted stints astatine KMPC, owned by histrion Gene Autry.

His archetypal web hosting occupation was connected NBC's What's This Song? where helium was credited arsenic Win Martindale from 1964-65.

He aboriginal hosted 2 Chuck Barris-produced shows connected ABC: Dream Girl '67 and How's Your Mother-in-Law? The second lasted conscionable 13 weeks earlier being cancelled.

"I've jokingly said it came and went truthful fast, it seemed much similar 13 minutes!" Martindale wrote, explaining that it was the worst amusement of his career.

Martindale aboriginal hosted a Las Vegas-based revival of Gambit from 1980-81.

He formed his ain accumulation company, Wink Martindale Enterprises, to make and nutrient his ain crippled shows. His archetypal task was Headline Chasers, a co-production with Merv Griffin that debuted successful 1985 and was cancelled aft 1 season. His adjacent show, "Bumper Stumpers," ran connected U.S. and Canadian tv from 1987-1990.

He hosted Debt from 1996-98 connected Lifetime cablegram and Instant Recall on GSN successful 2010.

Martindale returned to his vigor roots successful 2012 arsenic big of the nationally syndicated The 100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time. In 2021, helium hosted syndicated programme The History of Rock `n' Roll.

In 2017, Martindale appeared successful a KFC advertisement run with histrion Rob Lowe.

He is survived by Sandy, his 2nd woman of 49 years, and children Lisa, Madelyn, Laura and Wink Jr. They are from his archetypal matrimony which ended successful divorcement successful 1972.