He grins or grimaces extravagantly. However, it returned years later and led to his death on 12th August 2007. 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. It taped in Los Angeles after initial reports that it would be produced at WMAQ-TV in Chicago. 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. Around the office, Mervs being gay was understood but rarely discussed (and certainly never with him). when actress Marlo Thomas . "We had a woman whose baby was taken back by the adoption agency. Brent Plott, who had been his employee, also accused him of harassment. They likely knew, but it was unspoken, and that allowed all involved to just rationalize things to say to themselves that, well, Merv, is not like those other people, and to always believe that maybe it wasnt true anyway, and that he was truly dating Eva Gabor. More than 8 1/2 million viewers in over 200 markets now watch him daily, eclipsing all other syndicated talk shows. In a December 1977 article, the actress recalled how Phil was a modern man and a single parent when they met. [6], Griffin and First Lady Nancy Reagan exchanged birthday greetings each July 6 for their shared birthday. He's not afraid to sound stupid, either. "We're talking about a medium that evaluates people according to the force with which they can communicate ideas," Donahue explains. ", Joel Swerdlow; Joel Swerdlow is the coauthor of "Remote Control: Television. NBC-owned and -operated stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas carried it, with many stations airing two episodes per day. Million Dollar Masters Tournament from 2002. (GSN, 1998, both for children); Rock & Roll Jeopardy! [51] He was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery, where his epitaph reads "I will not be right back after this message". Phil's wife said in marriage; you have to know the other person has your back and that her union was the safest place she could be, and the talk show host was her everything and life cushion. He started his professional life by joining the radio as well as by singing in collaboration with a big band. Sometime during the first two weeks -- Donahue can't remember when or why -- he walked into the audience and offered the microphone to a woman in the sixth row, who stood up and asked a question. AT SIMON & SCHUSTER, they were excited. Author Darwin Porters niche is posthumously outing celebrities. June 15, 2020 11:21 am ET. . Griffin was affiliated with the international fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. After 13 seasons as a daytime talk show host, Griffin retired from his talk show in 1986 to devote himself to producing his highly profitable game shows.Jeopardy! [15] He also had an uncredited role as a radio announcer in the horror/science fiction film The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). If they're slow, he takes telephone calls. Nonetheless, the elephant that was his sexual orientation never really stopped following Griffin from room to room. In a December 1977 article, the actress recalled how Phil was a modern man and a single parent when they met. He went to San Mateo High School and graduated in 1942. [18][19], That summer, Griffin became acquainted with music publisher Loring Buzzell. There is no wise-cracking sidekick, band, desk or ashtray. Merv Griffins Dangerous Closet, by The Gist, http://signorile2003.blogspot.com/2007/08/merv-griffins-dangerous-closet.html. He works live (most markets broadcast an unedited tape). Why is it so difficult to write? He bought his contract back from Warner Bros. and decided to devote his attention to a new medium: television. But each of the more than 200 "Donahue" stations -- including flagship WGN in Chicago -- buys it on his terms: If any station manager wants to pull the plug, fine. Griffin ventured into real estate, purchasing the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 1987. [37][38] Cashflow was about $70 million short of what was needed to service the Resorts' debt in 1989,[34] and Griffin sought bankruptcy court protection for Resorts on December 23, 1989.[39]. When guests verge on breakdowns or exhibitionism, Donahue becomes a combination parish priest and understanding neighbor. There was one major difference, though. [45] The article was later altered due to protests from his friends and business associates. Both ultimately were dismissed. "To say 'yes' to that question flatters me," he says, pausing to look at the wall as though hoping to see the proper answer. Whatever the goal of any particular program, Donahue is an emotional fellow traveler -- involved, sympathetic, respectful. He also hosted a primetime ABC game show, Keep Talking. Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. Griffin dedicated two shows, in 1975 and 1977, to Transcendental Meditation and its founder Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Griffin frequently chatted with audience members. [5] The family was Irish American. Merv Griffin spent decades as a beloved talk-show host but the gay game-show mogul was also a pioneer in Hollywood sexual-harassment cases! I can now reveal that The Mogul is Merv Griffin. Over the years, it made a record of winning 33 Emmy Awards. Merv Griffin reaches only 3.9 million viewers, Mike Douglas 3.7 and Dinah Shore 2.8 million. A pediatrician whom he accused of being too vain retorted, "When a child urinates on your tie at least once a week, it's hard to be too vain. The kiss was a first in Hollywood film history since the introduction of the Production Code in 1934. ", In perhaps the most unusual move, the "Today" show recently refused a Donahue report on new methods of treatment for impotent men. were produced: one on NBC that ran for five months in late 1978/early 1979, with Art Fleming returning as host; and the other airing in first-run syndication beginning September 10, 1984, starring Alex Trebek. He usually has only one guest and discusses only one topic. ", He feels he's let America see it all -- a homosexual in 1968, Jane Fonda in 1969, even a Nazi who said blacks and Jews should be deported. And yet, because he was closeted it is highly unlikely he ever made the connection for the Reagans (between himself and those who were suffering and dying), pointed out the government negligence, or even talked openly as a gay person. Meanwhile, his body is working fulltime. [48] In 2005 he accepted the degree of Doctor of Laws (honoris causa) from the National University of Ireland, Galway; and in 2008 was posthumously inducted into the Television Hall of Fame. "There's nothing too controversial for television," Donahue says. He started the game show Jeopardy! in 1964. Griffin did not get the part, but the screen test led to supporting roles in other musical films such as So This Is Love (also 1953),[14] which caused a minor controversy when Griffin shared an open-mouthed kiss with Kathryn Grayson. Another was '79 Wistful Vista.' Of Griffin, Porter says, We met in 59 when he sang for my senior prom and the student committee paid him $500. Peter Graves, Marlo Thomas, Barbara Eden, Della Reese, Roger Ray: With Merv Griffin, Barbara Eden, Peter Graves, Mort Lindsey. It was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and numerous Emmy Awards, out of which it won eleven. Donahue inherited not only the show, but a live studio audience whom he decided not to burden with yet another song-and-dance program. 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. Merv understood himself as a celebrity (or, at least, as a hanger-on) and would casually mention that he had played tennis with Errol Flynn, or had sublet. And a lot of us went out there, charging out into the world breathlessly getting married and then suddenly afterward finding that we were really paralyzed in our attempts to share real feelings. Having just hit bookstores, Porter is on a media tour a stop that includesCindy Adams column. 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. "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. From 1965 to 1986 he hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show. The pair "hung in there" despite the date setting them back to the starting stages of their relationship. He also used to earn money as an organist. The show was a humongous success and became the longest running game show with over 6000 episodes. The theme returned to the show in 2021 at the start of season 39. She returned to her native New Mexico, remarried and disappeared from public view -- until now, with publication of a "family" picture in Donahue's book. In 1991, Deney Terrio, host of the Griffin-created Dance Fever, sued Griffin, alleging sexual harassment, but the suit was dismissed. COPYRIGHT 2020 By TheLifeandTimesofHollywood.com, Stories From The Life and Times of Hollywood. In 2022, the star and her husband married for 42 years after giving their union a chance, and she nailed stepmotherhood! He used to tackle bold subjects and also invited controversial guests such as George Carlin, Richard Pryor and Bertrand Russell. (1980) Aug 16, 2020 - Phil Donahue & Marlo Thomas on their wedding day . LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Merv Griffin was gay. Helen Gene Ford Turner, loving wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother died peacefully at home on February 24, 2023 at the age of 96. Most of the folks Porter talks about and says Griffin was involved with are, like Griffin, dead. . As a result, this literally wiped out or greatly reduced the investments of the bondholders, so that Mr. Griffin could sue Trump and yet still retain a significant portion for himself. A staff of 15, mostly women, decides what gets on the show. Raised as a Catholic, Griffin started singing in his church choir as a boy, and by his teens was earning extra money as a church organist. He also produced Let's Play Post Office for NBC in 1965, Reach for the Stars for NBC in 1967, and One in a Million for ABC in 1967. After three years of marriage, they got married on May 21, 1980. Donahue denied the rumors by signing a six-year contract to continue independent production. He was commended for booking such guests, but also widely criticized for it. He retained the title of creator of both his game shows. and Wheel of Fortune through his production companies, Merv Griffin Enterprises and Merv Griffin Entertainment. Griffin began to sing at the age of 19 by making his appearance on San Francisco Sketchbook. She explained how she felt a union of two whole people could work compared to one of one and a half. From 1965 to 1986 Griffin hosted his own talk show, The Merv Griffin Show. He has little respect for "people who float a battleship of words around a rowboat of thought." The second time they went out was fine, and the duo phoned each other two or three times daily and saw each other on weekends because Phil was based in Chicago. It eventually went on to win eleven Emmy Awards. When he was fired a few months later, his new show began the following Monday, and ran until the mid-1980s. However, in 1997 she thought she still had a chance, but she and Phil never had any of their own. He feels akin to a large corporation. Then again, Merv carved his niche in the entertainment world at a time when being gay wasnt OK, when disclosure was unthinkable and the allegation alone could deep-six ones career. After Fonda's appearance some sponsors said they wouldn't "pay for a program that tears America down." ", So, talking about marriage with Phil on his show wasn't easy for her. And if that wasnt scandalous enough: I write that friends who went to school with him in San Mateo say, when he was a young homosexual growing up, he was sexually molested by a priest. Similarly, he says he "showcases," rather than presents, issues and people. After talking without interruption for over two hours, he doesn't loosen his tie or roll up his sleeves. You and Me.She has received three Primetime Emmy Awards, a Daytime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Peabody Award for her work in television and has been inducted . There are his experiences at Liberaces all-male orgies. "controversy means it's important and it's something that people disagree on." During a May 2020 "Sunday Morning" interview, Marlo explained that the interview she had with Phil all those years back wasn't really one. He continued to appear in films like The Boy from Oklahoma and Phantom of the Rue Morgue. 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." Donahue says that as an adolescent he considered "dates always an occasion for sin." I had more than a passing acquaintance with him, having worked on The Merv Griffin Show as a talent coordinator/segment producer in 1985-86 as the show was winding down. "Donahue" is unlike any other talk show. He also filled in for a week for the vacationing Bill Cullen on The Price Is Right, and for Bud Collyer on To Tell the Truth. In 1990, Griffin had an ambitious but unsuccessful attempt at adapting the venerable board game Monopoly into a game show of the same name. After eight years he quit and tried his hand as a traveling salesman. They Were Wrong", "Griffin Wins Resorts in Deal with Trump", "Helicopter Service Shuttles Gamblers to Casinos", "Merv Griffin Becomes New Owner of Resorts International", "Merv Rolls the Dice: Griffin and his debt-ridden Resorts International hotel and casino face tough odds in upcoming meetings with bondholders", "Merv Griffin's Resorts Files for Bankruptcy as Refinancing Fails", "In the Chatting Olympics, Look for Merv Griffin", "Affable TV host built an empire on 2 hit game shows", "All About Eva: Zsa Zsa's Little Sister Says It Hasn't Always Been Easy Being the Other Gabor", "Griffin Never Revealed Man Behind the Curtain", "The 'Jeopardy' Creator: Who Was Merv Griffin? The star complained at the time that no one asked men if they wanted to be fathers of doctors, and she felt women's choices shouldn't be that linear either because she wanted it all. His performance on the radio was heard by American musician Freddy Martin, who asked him to tour with his orchestras, which he did for a few years. At that time, the transaction represented the largest acquisition of an entertainment company owned by a single individual. Also, he founded two TV production organizations Merv Griffin Entertainment and Merv Griffin Enterprises. 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. In 1991, he was sued by TV host Deney Terrio alleging sexual harassment. While it would seem everything has changed today, little actually has. He became increasingly popular with nightclub audiences and his fame soared among the general public when he struck gold in 1950 with "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts", which reached the number one spot on the Hit Parade and sold three million copies.Continuing to record hits, including "Wilhelmina" and "Never Been Kissed", Griffin made a foray into motion pictures after Doris Day saw his nightclub performance and arranged a screen test for him at Warner Bros. Studios. (He revealed the epitaph on The Late Late Show with Tom Snyder. And Mervs brush with tabloid scandal no doubt only drove him further into the closet. Although Griffin married and reportedly had affairs with several women, including Judy Garland, his On November 21, 2022, Marlo Thomas celebrated her birthday by turning 85! 24K views, 950 likes, 99 loves, 117 comments, 155 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Marlo Thomas: #TBT to this scene from That Girl. A biography of television legend Merv Griffin claims tgat when he died in 2007, he left behind a legacy that includedWheel Of Fortune,Jeopardy, hotels, side business ventures, and more than a billion dollars. ", Donahue can conceive of absolutely no topic that could hurt his career. for ABC), Griffin was one of the many guest hosts who presided over Tonight in the interim. It ran on all three networks, but primarily NBC. The well-attended service included Nancy Reagan; Arnold Schwarzenegger, who gave the eulogy with Tony Griffin; Maria Shriver; and various actors, television stars, employees, and friends, including Pat Sajak, Vanna White, Alex Trebek, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Klugman, Dick Van Patten, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, Ryan Seacrest, Johnny Mathis, Catherine Oxenberg and Casper Van Dien. Even though they divorced, they continued being good friends. At the time, it was the largest sale of an entertainment company owned by a single individual, and Forbes pronounced Griffin history's richest Hollywood performer. . He also got enrolled at San Mateo Junior College and subsequently the University of San Francisco. On May 14, 2003, Griffin was honored with the Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) President's Award at its annual Film and Television Awards ceremony, for creating some of America's best-known game show melodies.[28]. His Los Angeles Times obituary repeated a 1991 statement he had made regarding Plott's lawsuit: "This is a shameless attempt to extort money from me. In the business world, he was identified as the visionary chairman of The Griffin Group.Born in the San Francisco, California suburb of San Mateo, Griffin "came up through the ranks" in the classic sense, entering talent contests, writing songs, singing on local radio station KFRC-San Francisco, and later touring with Freddy Martin Orchestra. I began to realize that not much in the way we were raised encouraged that.". Griffin's prostate cancer, treated originally in 1996, returned and he was admitted to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where his condition deteriorated, leading to his death on August 12, 2007 at the age of 82. In Donahue's world the biggest sin is to be boring. On Monday, Nov. 6, 1967, his first guest was Madalyn Murray O'Hair, the woman whose lawsuit eliminated prayer from public schools. [8] During the Korean War several years later, he was examined and deemed healthy enough to serve, but by that time was above age 26 and exempt from the draft. Helen was married to Lionel G. Turner for 67 years. We knew nothing of his relationships because he guarded his privacy fiercely, and we didnt pry. Griffin himself was an enthusiastic meditator.[27]. The Modern Family star was previously married to her high school love Joe Gonzalez . "It's not important to me when we are on that I win. General Info. The new show featured live music with two singers while simulating a trip to various places in the world. He can't put a ribbon on them because, as media darlings, they can reveal as much or as little as they please. The resulting blurred image meant that Hoffman's voice emanated from a "jumble of lines". "Obviously it's complicated," Donahue says. Merv died aged 82, so would've been 96 today. Marlo Thomas . The "That Girl" star and her husband raised five children after the actress refused to be an evil fairy-tale-like stepmother. He was overweight as an adolescent and a young man, which disappointed some radio fans when they saw him in person. (1964) for NBC. He owned a ranch near La Quinta, California where he raised thoroughbred racehorses, and St. Clerans Manor, a boutique hotel in an eighteenth-century estate once owned by director John Huston, near Craughwell, in County Galway, Ireland. Stations rarely cancel his show and few refuse to air individual programs. Merv Griffin was married to Julann Griffin from 1959 to 1976. We can tell that you loved your daughter." Rumors about Griffin's sexuality followed him for much of his life. Griffin, in 1964, also introduced a game show Jeopardy which was a big success. he asks a dying child. ", "Controversy is not a dirty word," he says. They moan, gasp and applaud, and surround him with a chorus of questions and arguments. Griffin was not shy about tackling controversial subjects, especially the Vietnam War. His charges are ridiculous and untrue. He maintained a virtual male harem and a pimp who supplied porn stars, but I dont go into his pay-for-gay guys. ", Questions invariably come with the standard Donahue prefixes: "I don't want to be maudlin about this" or "It's hard to make this point without sounding a little patronizing." Among his private passions are his family, son Tony Griffin, daughter-in-law Tricia, and grandchildren Farah and Donovan Mervyn, his long-haired sharpei dog Charlie Chan, his La Quinta ranch near Carmel, where he raises thoroughbred racing horses, and his 135 foot, four-story high ocean going yacht, Griff. Griffin characterized both lawsuits as extortion. Eva Gabor and Merv Griffin were in a relationship for 10 years before Eva Gabor died aged 76.. About. He had short grey hair and brown eyes, his height was 5ft 9ins (1.75m) and he weighed around 175lbs (80kgs). His program is television's most consistent forum for provocative, controversial subject matter: lesbian couples adopting children; parents of homosexuals; breast-feeding mothers; unwed mothers; elderly people living together out of wedlock; victims of incest. In 2021, Marlo gave some advice on how to make a marriage last. An avid fan of puzzles since childhood, Griffin first produced a successful game show in 1964, Jeopardy! Merv Griffin. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. 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. Once, Donahue says, Walter Cronkite himself telephoned to say, "Phil, that was a goddamned good interview you sent us yesterday. From 1958 to 1962, Griffin hosted Play Your Hunch, a game show produced by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman. Such candor is not new to Donahue, but it usually comes from his guests and audience. "You've got to be hungry and ambitious," he says, explaining how he caters to his 85-percent-female audience: "Behavior issues are very big for us. They had a deep conversation about divorce, marriage, and children; they were both Catholic. 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. According to an obituary on August 24, 2007 in Entertainment Weekly, The Merv Griffin Show ran for 21 years and won eleven Emmy Awards. He certainly didnt owe us an explanation, but maybe he owed it to himself to remove the suffocating veil hed been forced to hide behind throughout his adult life. There is a story in Queer in America about a man identified as The Mogul who did just that. [35] He had used $325 million in junk bond financing at nearly 14% from Drexel Burnham Lambert's Michael Milken, but suspended interest payments in early 1989. The syndicated versions of both Jeopardy! . [35][36] After ten months of ownership, Griffin reported a loss of $46.6 million. He married Juliann Wright in 1958, and they divorced in 1973. His mother, Rita Elizabeth Griffin, was a homemaker and father, Mervyn Edward Griffin; Sr. was an insurance broker.
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