{"id":3373,"date":"2025-04-30T18:32:12","date_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:32:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/?p=3373"},"modified":"2025-04-30T18:32:12","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T18:32:12","slug":"legendary-game-show-host-wink-martindale-dies-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/?p=3373","title":{"rendered":"Legendary game show host Wink Martindale dies"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"\" data-start=\"99\" data-end=\"154\"><strong data-start=\"99\" data-end=\"154\">Wink Martindale, Beloved Game Show Host, Dies at 91<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"156\" data-end=\"402\">Wink Martindale, the charismatic host of classic game shows like <em data-start=\"221\" data-end=\"236\">Tic-Tac-Dough<\/em>, <em data-start=\"238\" data-end=\"246\">Gambit<\/em>, and <em data-start=\"252\" data-end=\"270\">Headline Chasers<\/em>, has died at 91 from lymphoma. Known for his warm charm and iconic presence, Martindale brought joy to generations of TV audiences.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"404\" data-end=\"597\">Born Winston Conrad Martindale on December 4, 1933, in Jackson, Tennessee, he began his career as a teenage DJ. His nickname \u201cWink\u201d came from a childhood friend\u2019s mispronunciation of \u201cWinston.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"599\" data-end=\"791\">Martindale made his TV debut on <em data-start=\"631\" data-end=\"644\">Mars Patrol<\/em> and found lasting fame in 1972 with <em data-start=\"681\" data-end=\"689\">Gambit<\/em>. Beyond game shows, he hosted the radio series <em data-start=\"737\" data-end=\"767\">The History of Rock \u2018n\u2019 Roll<\/em> well into his late 80s.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"793\" data-end=\"1022\">Wink also played a part in music history. In 1954, he helped get Elvis Presley on air for the first time, kickstarting the singer\u2019s career. The two shared a deep friendship, and Martindale often spoke of Elvis\u2019s quiet generosity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1024\" data-end=\"1192\">Wink\u2019s wife Sandra, whom he married in 1975, had once dated Elvis. She credited the singer for leading her to Wink, saying, \u201cElvis is responsible for me marrying Wink.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1194\" data-end=\"1408\">Martindale passed away on April 15, 2025, in Rancho Mirage, California. He is survived by his wife Sandra, daughters Lisa, Lyn, and Laura, his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and his beloved Chihuahua, Dude.<\/p>\n<p class=\"\" data-start=\"1410\" data-end=\"1506\">Wink\u2019s legacy lives on in the memories he created and the joy he brought into millions of homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wink Martindale, Beloved Game Show Host, Dies at 91 Wink Martindale, the charismatic host of classic game shows like Tic-Tac-Dough, Gambit, and Headline Chasers, has died at 91 from lymphoma. Known for his warm charm and iconic presence, Martindale brought joy to generations of TV audiences. Born Winston Conrad Martindale on December 4, 1933, in&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><a href=\"https:\/\/albotips.com\/?p=3373\" class=\"more-link\">Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &ldquo;Legendary game show host Wink Martindale dies&rdquo;<\/span> &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3373"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3374,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3373\/revisions\/3374"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/albotips.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}