RIP Wink Martindale

[Matt1735]

Game show legend

Wink Martindale Dies: Game Show Host Of ‘Tic-Tac-Dough’, ‘Gambit’ And ‘High Rollers’ Was 91

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Wink's 1959 Billboard hit:

 

[HanSenSE]

And like so many game show hosts in that era, a popular disc jockey in LA as well.

 

[DanOregon]

He seemed to be the least "genuine" of the MCs of his era. He SEEMED like a game show host. The name, the hair, very smooth. Give me someone like Tom Kennedy any day. That he was a big time Trumper didn't help.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

And like so many game show hosts in that era, a popular disc jockey in LA as well.

According to Wikipedia, he was a DJ in Memphis when Elvis released his first record.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

According to Wikipedia, he was a DJ in Memphis when Elvis released his first record.

The NBC report showed his interview with Elvis when he hosted an American Bandstand style TV show in Memphis. The only game show host to have a defensive coordinator steal his nickname

 

[Corky Ramirez up on 94th St.]

Loved Tic Tac Dough. That was a must-watch when home on sick days.

 

[Shelbyville Manhattan]

I think it was more that people just called Don Martindale "Wink" as a joke because the game-show host was the only Martindale most people had heard of and then the moniker stuck. Kind of like how the late-1990s/early-2000s NFL wide receiver/punt returner Karl Williams got nicknamed "The Truth" because of a similarly-named boxer with that nickname from a few years earlier.

The NBC report showed his interview with Elvis when he hosted an American Bandstand style TV show in Memphis. The only game show host to have a defensive coordinator steal his nickname

 

[Shropshire Slasher]

He seemed to be the least "genuine" of the MCs of his era. He SEEMED like a game show host. The name, the hair, very smooth. Give me someone like Tom Kennedy any day. That he was a big time Trumper didn't help.

You might be thinking of Chuck Woolery, who was MAGA AF, but I don't know what Wink's Pauly tiQz were.

 

[BurnsWhenIPee]

Loved Tic Tac Dough. That was a must-watch when home on sick days.

Caught the premiere of the "remake" on Game Show Network the other night. Felt pretty "meh," even with Brooke Burns at the controls.

 

[Shelbyville Manhattan]

Martindale was the opening act at one of Trump's Klan rallies during his first presidential campaign. He certainly wasn't as visible about as Chuck Woolery but he was MAGA.

You might be thinking of Chuck Woolery, who was MAGA AF, but I don't know what Wink's Pauly tiQz were.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

For reasons that only make sense to me, I used to sing “wink wink martindale” as opposed to “sing sweet nightingale” when my daughter was into Cinderella.

 

[mpcincal]

I would watch Tic Tac Dough and one of the independent SoCal stations, and Wink always seemed like how an actor would play a game-show host on a sitcom, like he was central casting for that. Always seemed like a decent guy (despite the eventual MAGA-ness), though.

One other thing I remember about TTD is that Wink would give a trivia question, and the question would contain so many details that the contestant had to be a moron to not get it. Like "This baseball legend, nicknamed the Yankee Clipper, who wore No. 5, had a record 56-game hitting streak, retired in 1951, and then was know for his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe and appearing in commercials for Mr. Coffee."

 

[MileHigh]

I would watch Tic Tac Dough and one of the independent SoCal stations, and Wink always seemed like how an actor would play a game-show host on a sitcom, like he was central casting for that. Always seemed like a decent guy (despite the eventual MAGA-ness), though.

One other thing I remember about TTD is that Wink would give a trivia question, and the question would contain so many details that the contestant had to be a moron to not get it. Like "This baseball legend, nicknamed the Yankee Clipper, who wore No. 5, had a record 56-game hitting streak, retired in 1951, and then was know for his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe and appearing in commercials for Mr. Coffee."

Want to say Channel 9, with Joker's Wild at the top of the hour then TTD.

 

[mpcincal]

Want to say Channel 9, with Joker's Wild at the top of the hour then TTD.

I think you got that right; if not Channel 9, then probably Channel 13, KCOP

 

[terrier]

But was he related to Character Actress Margo Martindale?

 

[da man]

I think it was more that people just called Don Martindale "Wink" as a joke because the game-show host was the only Martindale most people had heard of and then the moniker stuck. Kind of like how the late-1990s/early-2000s NFL wide receiver/punt returner Karl Williams got nicknamed "The Truth" because of a similarly-named boxer with that nickname from a few years earlier.

To me, “The Truth” will always be Walter Berry.

 

[Chef2]

Caught the premiere of the "remake" on Game Show Network the other night. Felt pretty "meh," even with Brooke Burns at the controls.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm. She is quite delightful.