He had an older sister, Barbara. And sometimes he's slapped down. Also, he founded two TV production organizations Merv Griffin Entertainment and Merv Griffin Enterprises. . But in a New York office recently, Donahue looked much more subdued that he does goes on television, his eyes more pale and penetrating. It became the first US Album to be recorded on a magnetic tape. He also stayed silent about the epidemic in the media ironic since he was a man very much at the center of the media industry and in shaping communications and television in this country when his voice would have made a huge difference. He next appeared in the movie So This is Love in a main role. He married his college sweetheart in 1958, right after graduation. Even though Marlo had never intended to marry, she once admitted that it was "awful" being away from her husband. This being an era when male actors felt homosexuality was a danger to their career, lawyers shot down that book fast.. This former bodyguard and horse trainer was paid $250 a week, lived in one of two apartments underneath my former house as part of his security function, and left my payroll six or seven years ago. He married Juliann Wright in 1958, and they divorced in 1973. Eva Gabor and Merv Griffin were in a relationship for 10 years before Eva Gabor died aged 76.. About. Griffin and Grove were brought together by Byron Paul, producer of U.S.A. Canteen, and Irving Mansfield, Summer Holiday's creator. The show was a huge success and earned immense popularity. he asks a dying child. Day arranged for a screen test at the Warner Bros. Studios for a role in By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). Griffin created and produced the successful television game show Jeopardy! "Milestones of Motoring (1954)" sponsored by Standard Oil of Ohio, Hagley Library Digital Archive. Marlo Thomas, 2018 | Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas, 2022 | Source: Instagram.com/marlothomas | Getty Images. His abilities as a pianist played a part in his early entry into show business. Helen Gene Ford Turner, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother died peacefully at home on February 24, 2023 at the age of 96. When he eventually decided to retire, he sold his production company Merv Griffin Enterprises to Columbia Pictures Television, after which he was named by Forbes as one of the richest Hollywood performers in history. ACTRESS, Marlo Thomas, has been married to former daytime talk show host, Phil Donahue, for over 40 years. Can I put on Barry Goldwater, who thinks we ought to drop nuclear bombs? Arnold Schwarzenegger, later 38th governor of California, made his U.S. talk show debut on Griffin's show in 1974 after emigrating from Austria. To a tearful father whose teenaged daughter died he says, "You must know that she wants you to be happy. I said, I just don't believe it's for me.". Stations rarely cancel his show and few refuse to air individual programs. Over the past 16 years of his life, however, Griffin deflected the sexuality questions with a quip, determining that his private life remained nobodys business. Aug. 12, 2007 -- Merv Griffin, who parlayed a talent for talk and entertainment into a one-man business conglomerate, died of cancer early this morning. Even though they divorced, they continued being good friends. I like someone to love me," Thomas replied. Merv Griffin had an encounter with Betty Kelly. Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue during the Iris Awards Banquet on March 4, 1978, in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images. The kiss was a first in Hollywood film history since the introduction of the Production Code in 1934. [5] The family was Irish American. The show became a phenomenon when, on September 19, 1983, a nighttime version hit the syndication market with Pat Sajak and Vanna White as host and hostess. He was overweight as an adolescent and a young man, which disappointed some radio fans when they saw him in person. Of course, Porter has one thing working for him: almost no threat of litigation. More than 8 1/2 million viewers in over 200 markets now watch him daily, eclipsing all other syndicated talk shows. To Donahue, danger comes not from sponsors or subscribing stations, but from his own instincts for self-preservation. What he made then was a far cry from the billionaire he was at the end., But what about the sex? [9], Freddy Martin heard him on the radio show and asked him to tour with his orchestra,[1] which he did for four years. In 1977, Thomas was a guest on the daytime TV television show called Donahue. She further elaborated, "I had to meet the right kind of man, and the world had to change a lot, and I had to change a lot." Merv Griffin is a television host and media tycoon of America. In 2021, Marlo gave some advice on how to make a marriage last. That fall he became a radio reporter in Adrian, Mich. [15] He also had an uncredited role as a radio announcer in the horror/science fiction film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). A post-burial reception was held at the Beverly Hilton, owned by Griffin from 1987 to 2003. Griffin was affiliated with the international fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. "In 1965, I'm called a traitor by the press for presenting Bertrand Russell, and, four years later, we are hard-pressed to find anybody to speak in favor of the Vietnam War".In March 1970, CBS censors pixilated antiwar activist Abbie Hoffman because he was wearing a shirt that resembled an American flag. Author Darwin Porters niche is posthumously outing celebrities. We'd lose the audience." Rumors about Griffin being gay aren't new, and they weren't helped by two lawsuits (a palimony claim, and a sexual harassment charge) by two dudes in the 90s. The actress was so private but called the host's telecast when her father, Danny Thomas, noted a hilarious observation. . He served as Executive Producer of "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" (2000).After his retirement from daytime chat, Merv became a real estate baron, acquiring the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, which is now the venue of choice for virtually all of the Tinseltown's most high profile events such as The Golden Globe Awards, The Soap Opera Digest Awards, and The American Film Institute's Lifetime Achievement Awards. His second show featured single men discussing what they liked in women. So, is Phil Donahue Everyman? It aired in a variety of time slots throughout North America; many stations ran it in the daytime, others aired it in primetime, and a few broadcast it opposite Johnny Carson's The Tonight Show. Helen was married to Lionel G. Turner for 67 years. Griffin also hosted a game show Play Your Hunch in 1958 whose producers were Bill Todman and Mark Goodson. The show, originally titled What's the Question?, premiered on NBC on March 30, 1964, hosted by Art Fleming, and ran for 11 years. Robert (Bob) Murphy, Griffin's best friend since sixth grade, was the producer of The Merv Griffin Show, and eventually became president of Merv Griffin Enterprises. He married radio comic . Griffin was introduced to the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1974. [16] He decided to spend the summer of 1954 in New York City. . The pair "hung in there" despite the date setting them back to the starting stages of their relationship. Marlo agreed, revealing she had planned never to get married, and like her character in "That Girl," she was focused on her career and not a husband. Why are we still so jittery even about raising the issue in purportedly liberal-minded Hollywood, in 2007? His last game show was a wild show called Ruckus, which emanated from the Resorts International Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, which he owned at the time. [49][50], Funeral services were held on August 17, 2007 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. National audiences eventually got a look at it via reruns that aired on GSN. I will do anything with anybody for a quarter. When political activist Abbie Hoffman was his guest in April 1970, CBS blurred the video of Hoffman so viewers at home would not see his trademark American flag pattern shirt, even though other guests had worn the same shirt in the past, uncensored. In 1954, Griffin appeared in several Cincraft Productions sponsored films including a musical, Milestones of Motoring with Joe E. Brown and Rita Farrell. His funeral was held at the Church of Good Shepherd in Beverley Hills which was attended by several celebrities such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jack Klugman and Catherine Oxenberg. Aren't you?" While Carson's style was indebted to his long apprenticeship in Los Angeles in the 1950s, Griffin was based in New York, where he socialized with New York's theater and caf crowds. And not everybody who's a good television persona necessarily knows what they're talking about.". Over the years, it made a record of winning 33 Emmy Awards. His best years, he fears, may already be behind him: "The most creative, innovative ideas come from people with the least power and the least to lose." [citation needed], He attended San Mateo High School, graduating in 1942, and continued to aid in financing the school. He was stuck in southwestern Ohio, where his Dayton journalistic high points included the moment in 1960 when he asked Pat Nixon if she were proud of her husband and spat in her eye on the "p.". Griffin later claimed in interviews that he was best man at their wedding, but was in fact one of the four ushers. So it doesnt matter if he calls James Dean a glorified prostitute, or Griffin a pimp. Marlo Thomas . GSN honored Griffin by airing ten-episode marathons of Wheel and Jeopardy! In 1965, Griffin launched a syndicated talk show for Group W (Westinghouse Broadcasting) titled The Merv Griffin Show. One regular attendee, Lillian Miller, became a fixture on the show throughout its run. Marlo was 40 when she married the talk show host, and it was her first marriage. The "Today" show signed him, as rumors spread that he'd soon jump to the networks. In 1965, Griffin was criticized as a "traitor" when he aired a special from London in which Nobel Prize-winning philosopher Bertrand Russell denounced the Vietnam War.Despite his success on daytime television, it was late night that was The Holy Grail for talk show hosts. From 1958 to 1962, Griffin hosted a game show called Play Your Hunch which was produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. [29], In 1988, he purchased Resorts International and two of their hotels, one in Atlantic City, New Jersey; and another on Paradise Island in the Bahamas, from Donald Trump and other investors. ", Joel Swerdlow; Joel Swerdlow is the coauthor of "Remote Control: Television. On the other hand, Phil had been married before and welcomed five children, making his new wife a stepmother. There is no wise-cracking sidekick, band, desk or ashtray. "Yes," finally emerges. She is most remembered for Lisa Douglas on Green Acres. Merv Griffin died at age 82 of prostate cancer in Los Angeles, California on August 12, 2007. He next hosted the game show Keep Talking and also temporarily The Price is Right and To Tell the Truth. This song remained a huge hit by selling 3 million copies. The couple had one son. "It's no mystery to me why they are so conservative," Donahue says. His 12-year-old granddaughter Farah gave a reading. He maintained a virtual male harem and a pimp who supplied porn stars, but I dont go into his pay-for-gay guys. Perhaps he figured it was preferable to remain the object of gossip rather than live openly as "one of. Griffin never acknowledged he was gay, though it became widely known in Hollywood, even as Eva Gabor played his beard. He gave hog prices on the radio at 5:30 a.m., and his hand appeared twice on film used on the CBS Evening News. In 1974, under intense pressure to "put some glitter in the show," he moved to Chicago, hoping to attract better guests and big-city flair. Perhaps he figured it was preferable to remain the object of gossip rather than live openly as one of them.. The "That Girl" actress first met Marlo when she was on his talk show as a guest in 1977. Griffin, who died of prostate cancer Sunday at 82, stayed in the closet throughout his life. His 7-year-old grandson Donovan Mervyn was an honorary pallbearer, as was Nancy Reagan. It lasted only one season, with its last episode on May 16, 2008, but has had reruns on various channels. The background to this was on November 12, when Resorts reached a tentative agreement with certain bondholders, several bondholders petitioned the United States Bankruptcy Court in Camden, New Jersey, to put the company into involuntary bankruptcy to protect legal claims they might have against Trump, the real estate investor Griffin outbid for Resorts the prior year. All through his lifespan, he was renowned as an entertainment business mogul. His voice becomes soft, "We have a lot to lose now. Secondly, Griffins closet had him engaging in workplace sexual harassment, something that, as I showed in my 1993 book Queer in America, is common among closeted powerful men, who often are simply seeking outlets for sex. and Wheel of Fortune, is remembered as a television pioneer for his role developing the game show format. The actress continued explaining her reasoning: "It seems like it's only a place for one-and-a-half persons, you know, the person that has the dream and the other person who supports the dream." "What's important is the manner in which it is presented." Open homosexuality is a threat to the closeted, and powerful people in the closet like Merv Griffin will often do whatever it takes to squash those who are open and who might advocate that all among the powerful should come out. Marlo Thomas and her husband Phil Donahue in New York, circa 1970 | Source: Getty Images. The Wheel marathon included two episodes with cameo appearances by Griffin: Sajak's departure from the daytime version in 1989 and a 199293 episode that ended with Griffin, his band "The MervTones," and White singing at a dinner club in Orlando, Florida. Donahue feels his success has given other talk shows "more courage" and that the public will soon see fewer entertainers talking about "how long it took to make their last movie." Griffin scored a coup when Tonight Show host Jack Paar accidentally emerged onto the set of Play Your Hunch during a live broadcast, and Griffin got him to stay for a spontaneous interview. Griffin was married to the former Julann Wright from 1958 to 1976; they remained friends after their divorce. Donahue denied the rumors by signing a six-year contract to continue independent production. Donahue asked her on the air. (See review in today's Book World section.). After Griffin's death, The Hollywood Reporter published a report stating that he had been a closeted gay man. Marlo was 40 when she married the talk show host, and it was her first marriage. . in 1964. He eventually started his own show The Merv Griffin Show in 1962 which proved to be a huge success. Mervyn Edward Merv Griffin Jr. was born on July 6, 1925, in San Mateo, California. and Wheel of Fortune, and a wealthy media mogul. Merv died aged 82, so would've been 96 today. "We also get an awful lot of phone calls and letters from people asking us to be on. He did it for Marlon Brandon. Then he continued his higher education at the University of San Francisco. It eventually went on to win eleven Emmy Awards. He was also close friends with Actress and former First Lady of the United States, Nancy Reagan, with who he shares the same birthdate, July 6. "They see in me a way to produce some income. 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The competition is tough -- young, energetic hosts are constantly clawing for national access, and even the long-popular Mike Douglas was recently canceled. In yet another stunner, the book claims Griffin - who died in 2007 at age 82 - carried on a longtime affair with Hollywood heavyweight Marlon Brando. He rarely expects answers to questions: He wants only punchy responses. After 17 years, his wife left him. You can count on the fingers of one hand, or at most two, the number of high-powered stars, executives and public figures who have come out. (1984), which are watched by hundreds of millions of people all over the world. National magazines ran complimentary stories. Griffin disliked the censorship imposed by CBS and complained. Griffin's announcer/sidekick was veteran British character actor Arthur Treacher, who had been his mentor. In 1969 "Donahue" (until 1974 called "The Phil Donahue Show") entered national syndication, but half a decade later his salesman quit because the show was stuck at around 40 markets and "just couldn't sell." . What a powerful message Griffin might have sent had he squired his male companions around town rather than Eva Gabor, his longtime good friend and platonic public pal. He works live (most markets broadcast an unedited tape). [citation needed], Griffin started as a singer on radio at age 19, appearing on San Francisco Sketchbook, a nationally syndicated program based at KFRC. If you do not know, We have prepared this article about details of Merv Griffins short biography-wiki, career, professional life, personal life, todays net worth, age, height, weight, and more facts. Aside from his game shows, he also ventured into real estate and purchased the Beverley Hilton Hotel and later the Resorts International. Paul had already signed Grove for the show and was looking for a male co-host. Griffin frequently chatted with audience members. Merv Griffin was married to Julann Griffin from 1959 to 1976. Ten months later he moved to a CBS radio-television affiliate in Dayton, Ohio. 10k followers . I began to realize that not much in the way we were raised encouraged that.". Merv Griffin is a television host and media tycoon of America. At that time, the transaction represented the largest acquisition of an entertainment company owned by a single individual. lagunitas hop water; matt beleskey retired; was merv griffin married to marlo thomas; June 22, 2022 . "How important is love?" As of March 2023, Griffin has an estimated net worth of $1 billion. The deal was signed in secret as a penalty clause in his CBS contract gave him $1 million in the event of his being fired. After Fonda's appearance some sponsors said they wouldn't "pay for a program that tears America down." Merv Griffin was a singer and band leader, movie actor, television personality and media mogul who in his time hosting The Merv Griffin Show (1962) was second in fame and influence as a talk show host only to Johnny Carson. He lost his virginity, to a female, that is, when Judy Garland seduced him. and Wheel of Fortune through his production companies, Merv Griffin Enterprises and Merv Griffin Entertainment. Neither Cronkite nor CBS responded, a silence echoed by everyone else to whom the ambitious Donahue mailed resumes. Dont let your closet compromise you to the point where you are actively harming your own people, even though you have the power to do so much good.. He is the only son of Merv Griffin and Julann Wright. Subsequently, a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars was devoted to him in 1998. LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Merv Griffin was gay. "We read a lot of magazines. Although Griffin married and reportedly had affairs with several women, including Judy Garland, his In 2022, Marlo Thomas turned 85, and the other milestone she reached was celebrating 42 years of marriage after her husband, Phil Donahue changed her mind about marriage. Mervs secret gay life was widely known throughout showbiz culture, if not the wider America. When Treacher left the show in 1970, Griffin did the announcing himself, and walked on stage with the phrase "And now here I come!" It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and numerous Emmy Awards, out of which it won eleven. (1964). Fingers point. [25] After Paar left The Tonight Show, but before Johnny Carson took over (Carson was still hosting Who Do You Trust? Now, someone else is doing it for him. While under contract at Warner Bros., he appeared in a number of hit movies, including So This Is Love (1953) with Kathryn Grayson and The Boy from Oklahoma (1954) with Will Rogers Jr., and Lon Chaney Jr..Television then discovered him. At the time of Merv's death, his net worth was estimated at more than $1 billion. In 1969, CBS hired Griffin to directly compete with Carson in the 11:30 PM to 1:00 AM time slot that had proven a grave yard for other personalities. But it was in 1962 that his career took its most dramatic turn. "We're talking about a medium that evaluates people according to the force with which they can communicate ideas," Donahue explains. At 72, onetime crooner Merv Grifn has parlayed the $250 million sale of his game shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune in 1986 into a billion-dollar empire that encompasses two production . Merv Griffin, the creator of Jeopardy! The star said they connected "fantastically," but their first date was awkward, with them staring at each other! Her zodiac sign is Aquarius. Born in Kansas City, MO, Menorah Hospital to Helen Hollenbeck Ford and Fred C. Ford. "In a network situation," Donahue says, "one guy can end your career while he's shaving." Donahue says that as an adolescent he considered "dates always an occasion for sin." [41] In an interview with The New York Times published on May 26, 2005, Griffin recalled a quip he frequently used when asked about his private life: "I tell everybody that I'm a quarter-sexual.