Wink Martindale: Grief for the Quiz Legend

The American Quiz Master Wink Martindale (1933-2025) died at the age of 91. According to a press release, the legendary television presenter died “surrounded by his family and his beloved Mrs. Sandra Martindale, with whom he was married for 49 years” in his house in Rancho Mirage, California.

Wink Martindale was primarily known as the moderator of the quiz programs “Tic-Tac-Dough” and “Gambit”. At the age of 17, he started his career in the show business as a disc jockey in his hometown Jackson, Tennessee. He then worked for the radio station WHBQ in Memphis.

After his DJ colleague Dewey Phillips (1926-1965) had introduced Elvis Presleys (1935-1977) to the first record “That’s All Right” on the radio on July 10, 1954, Martindale called the mother of the legendary singer and asked Presley to visit the broadcaster. Then he came to the WHBQ and gave his first interview. “Wink was the last living witness of the ‘Presleymania’ and the birth of rock & roll,” it said in the press release.

Elvis was “so nervous” that his record was played on the radio that he went into the theater, “Wink Martindale recalled in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation of the legendary visit. “They found him sitting there alone and took him to the broadcaster. Dewey put him in front of a microphone and just started talking to him. That’s how I met Elvis that evening. He became my friend and stayed until his death.”

The world of the games show entered Wink Martindale with “What’s this song?”, Which ran from 1964 to 1965. He became a moderator of “Words and Music”, “Gambit” and “Tic-Tac-Dough”. He also moderated programs such as “High Rollers”, “The Last Word”, “The Great GetaWay Game”, “Trivial Pursuit”, “Debt” and “Instant Recall”. In addition to his work as a moderator, he also worked behind the scenes as a producer and founded the quiz programs “Bumper Stumpers” and “Headline Chasers”.

In an interview with the Television Academy Foundation, Martinndale reveals why the moderation gave him so much joy: “I like people and in the world of games shows you get to know so many different people. I enjoy finding out what moves people. When playing, you can see why some are more successful than others.”

His decades of career brought him a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. He was also one of the first to be included in the “American TV Game Show Hall of Fame”.

Wink Martindale leaves his wife Sandra, his daughters and “a large large family full of grandchildren and great -grandchildren, his son Eric and his beloved Chihuahua dude!”, As the press release says.