The fact that one of the most popular game shows in television history began in the back seat of a car has a subtle poetic quality. Not in an executive brainstorming session driven by ratings data and cold coffee in a Hollywood boardroom, but rather between two kids, passing the miles on a road trip by guessing letters. During family vacations throughout California, Merv Griffin and his sister Barbara played hangman.
That same straightforward game would later evolve into Wheel of Fortune, a program that has been on the air continuously since January 6, 1975, and continues to draw millions of viewers each night.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. |
| Born | July 6, 1925 — San Mateo, California |
| Died | August 12, 2007 |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Television Host, Producer, Media Mogul, Singer |
| Known For | Creating Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! |
| Production Companies | Merv Griffin Enterprises, Merv Griffin Entertainment |
| Talk Show | The Merv Griffin Show (1962–1986) |
| Reference Website | Biography.com — Merv Griffin |
On July 6, 1925, Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. was born in San Mateo, California. His dad worked as a stockbroker. The house was maintained by his mother. The family was Catholic and Irish-American, and Merv had a passion for music from a young age. As a boy, he sang in church choirs, and before he was even an adult, he quietly made money as a church organist. It’s possible that no one in his immediate vicinity anticipated that he would eventually transform American entertainment. Most likely, he didn’t either.
His career path to television was not at all straightforward. At the age of 19, Griffin began performing on the radio. Freddy Martin’s orchestra picked him up after Martin heard him perform. After being unexpectedly discovered by Doris Day during a nightclub performance, he went on tour for four years, established a small record label called Panda Records, and even briefly made it to Hollywood to appear in musical films.
He received a contract from Warner Bros. He bought himself out of it. There was something wrong with the film industry. It turned out that television would.
Griffin’s talk show, The Merv Griffin Show, debuted in 1962 and ran for almost 25 years. However, making game shows seemed to appeal to him in a different way—as a puzzle, as a form. Before he started building his own, he had hosted a number of them. He returned to that road trip game after that. The idea of the hangman stuck with him. Solve the puzzle, guess a letter, and spin a wheel. basic mechanics. Watchable indefinitely.
Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford hosted the first episode of Wheel of Fortune on NBC on January 6, 1975. By today’s standards, the early version was modest, a daytime network program just starting out. However, the appeal of the show was almost instinctive; instead of just watching, viewers participated by shouting letters at the screen while lounging on their couches. When Woolery left the show in 1981 and Pat Sajak took over as host, it was already headed toward greater things.
A year later, Vanna White joined as co-host, and all of a sudden, everything fell into place. An iconic pair that, in retrospect, seems almost inevitable, even though nothing about television ever truly is.
On September 19, 1983, the syndicated nighttime version debuted and went on to become a phenomenon. Every night in fifty states, Vanna White turns letters while the familiar wheel spins in the warm studio light. In a way that very few television moments do, phrases like “I’d like to buy a vowel” became part of popular culture. It’s difficult to ignore how uncommon it is for a game show to create a catchphrase that lasts beyond its own decade.
Griffin’s realization that people want to feel intelligent was his genius, if that term can be applied without sounding too formal. He also invented Jeopardy!, a game that rewards knowledge. The little electrifying thrill of seeing a word take shape before you can quite name it is rewarded by Wheel’s pattern recognition. Viewers are flattered by both programs in different ways. Both have been broadcast for many years. It’s not a coincidence.
At the age of 81, Merv Griffin passed away on August 12, 2007. By mid-2024, more than 8,000 episodes had been recorded and broadcast, with 60 international adaptations, spin-offs, celebrity versions, and the distinction of being the longest-running syndicated game show in American history. By then, his creation had grown to be something he could hardly have imagined on those road trips through California.
In 2018, Pat Sajak surpassed Bob Barker to become the longest-running host of any game show after hosting the nighttime version for more than 40 years. In June 2024, Sajak finally announced his retirement. Ryan Seacrest and the still-present Vanna White took over in September of that same year.
The show never stops spinning. It has outlived the network it debuted on, the time period in which it originated, the host who best embodied it, and the man who created it. Watching it now on a Tuesday night, with the wheel catching the studio light as it always has, gives me the impression that Griffin stumbled upon something more resilient than he realized. A child and his sister are playing a guessing game in the back seat. It’s a good starting point for a legend.