Wink Martindale, who thrived as a DJ, radio personality, game show presenter, and television producer, passed away in Rancho Mirage, California, on Tuesday (April 15). He was 91 years old.
Martindale was renowned for hosting Gambit from 1972 to 1976 (and again from 1980 to 1981), Tic-Tac-Dough from 1978 to 1985, High Rollers from 1987 to 1988, and Debt from 1996 to 1998.
He also had a brief endeavor as a recording artist. His spoken-word success “Deck of Cards” climbed to No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. The tune had previously reached No. 2 for “T” Texas Tyler in 1948 on Billboard’s Best-Selling Retail Folk Records chart, a precursor to Hot Country Songs.
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Martindale achieved just one additional Hot 100 hit, “Black Land Farmer,” which peaked at No. 85 in 1961.
The future media personality was born Winston Conrad Martindale in Jackson, Tennessee. He embarked on his career as a DJ at 17 at WPLI in Jackson, earning $25 weekly. After moving to WTJS, he was poached for double the pay by the only other local station, WDXI. He then hosted mornings at WHBQ in Memphis while pursuing studies at Memphis State University.
In 1959, he took on the morning role at KHJ in Los Angeles, moving a year later to KRLA’s morning show and finally to KFWB in 1962. He consistently appeared on Los Angeles radio through the 1990s. His tenure included long stretches at KGIL (AM) from 1968 to 1971, KKGO-FM/KJQI and Gene Autry‘s KMPC (now KSPN-AM) from 1971 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1987, a brief engagement on KABC during 1989, and KJQI from 1993 to 1994.
Martindale’s initial foray into television was at WHBQ-TV in Memphis, as the host of Mars Patrol, a children’s program. While at that station, Martindale also became the host of the TV series Teenage Dance Party, where Elvis Presley (who would become a friend) made an appearance in June 1956.
Martindale’s debut as a game show host was What’s This Song?, which he hosted for NBC (credited as “Win Martindale”) in 1964-65. In 1970-71, he hosted a similar song-identification game show, Words and Music, again on NBC.
Though Martindale’s primary recognition is as a game-show host, he occasionally returned to music broadcasting. Martin filled in as a guest host for Casey Kasem on American Top 40 in October 1975.
In the 2000s, Martindale had a daily three-hour program on the syndicated Music of Your Life format. In 2012, Martindale hosted the nationwide-syndicated The 100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time.
On June 6, 2021, Martindale commenced hosting the syndicated The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll, a two-hour weekend exploration of music from the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The production was developed by Martindale, producer/engineer Peter Jay Gould of The Intervale Group, and writer/producer Gary Theroux.
Martindale was featured as one of the hosts in the 2002 NBC special Most Outrageous Game Show Moments, alongside four other game show icons – Bob Eubanks, Jim Lange, Ben Stein, and Peter Marshall.
Martindale’s final program was the GSN original series Instant Recall, which debuted on March 4, 2010.
On June 2, 2006, Martindale was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is situated at 7018 Hollywood Boulevard, next to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel – the venue for the first Academy Awards ceremony. On October 13, 2007, Martindale was among the inaugural inductees into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.
Martindale wed Madelyn Leech in 1954, and together they had four children; the couple divorced in 1972. He later married his second spouse, Sandy (née Ferra), on August 2, 1975.
- Source: NEWHD MEDIA
