R.I.P.: Wink Martindale, Iconic Radio Personality, TV Game Show Host

Wink Martindale (1934-2025)

Wink Martindale, the iconic television game show host known for “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “Gambit,” “High Rollers,” and numerous other programs that became household staples, passed away on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Rancho Mirage, California. 

He was 91. 

Martindale, a prominent Los Angeles radio personality and unexpected recording artist in the 1950s, died surrounded by family, including his wife of 49 years, Sandra Martindale, according to his publicity firm.

Born Winston Conrad Martindale on December 4, 1933, in Jackson, Tennessee, he earned his nickname “Wink” as a child when a friend mispronounced “Winston” as “Winkie.” The name stuck, though for his first national TV show, “What’s This Song?” (1964–1965), NBC briefly insisted on “Win” to sound more mature. Martindale, ever affable, didn’t mind, joking in a 2017 Television Academy Foundation interview, “They can call me anything—Winkie-dinkie-doo, the Winkmeister—as long as the checks clear.”

Martindale’s career spanned radio, television, and music. Starting at 17 as a DJ at WPLI in Jackson, he rose to host the morning show “Clockwatchers” at WHBQ in Memphis by 1953. There, he witnessed Elvis Presley’s breakthrough in 1954 when DJ Dewey Phillips played “That’s All Right,” sparking “Presley mania.” 

In 1959, he moved to Los Angeles to become the morning DJ on radio station KHJ. That same year, he scored a surprise hit in “Deck of Cards,” which reached No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and No. 11 on its Hot Country Songs chart. Martindale, who received a gold record for the recording, performed the piece on Ed Sullivan’s popular Sunday-night variety show. While working at KHJ Radio in 1959, he began hosting “The Wink Martindale Dance Party” on KHJ-TV on Saturdays. The popular show, broadcast from a studio, also began airing weekdays, live from Pacific Ocean Park in Santa Monica.

Martindale hosted Presley’s first radio interview and later interviewed him on his TV show “Top 10 Dance Party” in 1956. His own recording of “Deck of Cards” hit No. 7 on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1959, earning a gold record and an Ed Sullivan Show appearance.

Over the years, in addition to KHJ, Martindale worked at Los Angeles radio stations KRLA, KFWB, KMPC, and KGIL.

On television, Martindale hosted or produced 21 game shows, including “Words and Music,” “Trivial Pursuit,” and “Debt.” His most famous, “Tic-Tac-Dough” (1978–1986), peaked in 1980 with Navy pilot Thom McKee’s 88-game streak, winning $312,700 and setting a Guinness World Record. Martindale attributed the show’s appeal to its simplicity, noting that viewers felt, “I can play that game.” He left in 1985 to host his creation, “Headline Chasers,” which lasted less than a year, one of several “bombs between the hits,” he told The Los Angeles Times in 2010.

Martindale’s charm, polished appearance, and knack for engaging audiences made him a game show legend. He embraced the role, saying in 2017, “I never looked down on being branded a game show host—most people love games.” His contributions earned him a 2006 Hollywood Walk of Fame star and a 2007 induction into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame.