Merv Griffin biography

The CBS show was canceled in 1972 and Griffin returned to syndication, via Metromedia for the next fourteen years.

In 1975, when NBC canceled Jeopardy!, he was allowed to produce the show's successor, Wheel of Fortune. A modest hit on daytime television, it became a phenomenon in 1983 in the syndication market with Pat Sajak and Vanna White. A revival of Jeopardy! in 1984 was also a huge success,

making Griffin an extremely wealthy man.

The sale of Merv Griffin Productions to Columbia Pictures (then-owned by Coca-Cola) in 1986 netted him $250 million. He also became a real estate mogul, purchasing the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills and a ranch near Carmel, California,where he raises thoroughbred racing horses.

In March 2001, the Gold Label released his new CD, It's Like a Dream, for which he composed the title song.

Griffin received a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2005.

Griffin was married to Julann Elizabeth Wright in 1958 (divorced in 1976).They had a son, Tony, in 1959, and two grandchildren.

Griffin, who escorted actress Eva Gabor of "Green Acres" for nine years before her 1995 death, refrained from discussing his personal relationships in detail. In 1991, he was sued for $200 million by a former male employee, Brent Plott, on palimony charges, and for $11.5 million by former Dance Fever host Deney Terrio for sexual harassment. Both suits were ultimately dismissed.

In July 2007, he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a recurrence of the prostate cancer he had battled in 1996 was found during a routine examination. Merv Griffin, big band-era crooner, talk-show host and entertainment mogul, died of prostate cancer on August 12, 2007. He was 82.

Later Years

In March 2001, the Gold Label released his new CD, It's Like a Dream, for which he composed the title song.

Griffin received a Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy Award in 2005.

Griffin was married to Julann Elizabeth Wright in 1958 (divorced in 1976). They had a son, Tony, in 1959, and two grandchildren.

Griffin, who escorted actress Eva Gabor of "Green Acres" for nine years before her 1995 death, refrained from discussing his personal relationships in detail. In 1991, he was sued for $200 million by a former male employee, Brent Plott, on palimony charges, and for $11.5 million by former Dance Fever host Deney Terrio for sexual harassment. Both suits were ultimately dismissed.

In July 2007, he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after a recurrence of the prostate cancer he had battled in 1996 was found during a routine examination. Merv Griffin, big band-era crooner, talk-show host and entertainment mogul, died of prostate cancer on August 12, 2007. He was 82.

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