RIP Merv Griffin

August 13, 2007

Merv Griffin, the legendary entertainer and game show creator, died today at the age of 82:

Griffin died of prostate cancer, according to a statement from his family that was released by Marcia Newberger, spokeswoman for The Griffin Group/Merv Griffin Entertainment.

From his beginning as a $100-a-week San Francisco, California, radio singer, Griffin moved on as vocalist for Freddy Martin’s band, sometime film actor and TV game and talk show host. His “The Merv Griffin Show” lasted more than 20 years, and Griffin said his capacity to listen contributed to his success.

“If the host is sitting there thinking about his next joke, he isn’t listening,” Griffin reasoned in a recent interview.[…]

But his biggest break financially came from inventing and producing “Jeopardy” in the 1960s and “Wheel of Fortune” in the 1970s.

Merv Griffin may have made millions by creating hit game shows and made millions laugh while watching his talk show, but I think the funniest thing about his life is that he was the first person to have a celebrity feud with Donald Trump (way before Rosie O’Donnell):

Griffin bought the slightly passe hotel [the Beverly Hilton] for $100.2 million and completely refurbished it for $25 million. Then he made a move for control of Resorts International, which operated hotels and casinos from Atlantic City to the Caribbean.

That touched off a feud with real estate tycoon Donald Trump. Griffin eventually acquired Resorts for $240 million, netting a reported paper profit of $100 million.