Wink Martindale, Host of ‘Tic-Tac-Dough,’ ‘Gambit,’ Among Other Game Shows, Dies at 91

The beloved game show host died on April 15 following a year-long battle with lymphoma.

Wink Martindale arrives on the red carpet for the 50th anniversary birthday bash for the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on Nov. 3, 2010. Mark Ralston/AFP via Getty Images

Veteran emcee Winston “Wink” Martindale, who hosted more than a dozen game shows throughout his decades-long career, including “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “Gambit,” and “High Rollers,” has died at the age of 91.

Martindale passed away on Tuesday, his publicist and longtime friend Brian Mayes confirmed in an online statement shortly after his death.

“Today we lost a legend,” Mayes wrote on Instagram. “We had some incredible adventures together… including two unforgettable trips to NYC, and just last year, when we were honored to accompany him to Memphis where he received a note on the Beale Street Walk of Fame.”

Recalling their friendship, Brian Mayes noted that he and his wife, Jessica Mayes, had spoken to Martindale almost daily for the past 10 years.

“To many, he was a radio and TV icon. To @jesmayes and I, he was family,” he penned. “We love you, Wink. We will miss you very, very much.”

Brian Mayes told The Associated Press that Martindale had been battling lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the lymphatic system, for a year.

The entrepreneur said the beloved game show host had been “doing pretty well” up until a couple of weeks ago, noting that he passed away at Eisenhower Health, a medical center in Rancho Mirage, California.

In a separate Instagram post, Jessica Mayes wrote that her “heart is broken.”

“I will miss this man dearly and I will cherish all of our memories forever,” she shared. “He will always remain one of my favorite people ever and it was an absolute honor to know him. He was truly one of a kind. I just love you so much, Wink. I can’t wait to see you again.”

Days in Show Business

Born on Dec. 4, 1933, in Jackson, Tennessee, Martindale’s interest in becoming an entertainer began at an early age.

“I always wanted to be in the forefront in show business, and when I was young, show business meant radio,” he said during a 2017 interview with the Television Academy Foundation.

“From the time I was seven or eight, I began listening to the radio. My Sunday school teacher, Chick Wingate, also happened to run the little 250-watt station, WPLI. I remember saying to him at Sunday school, ‘Chick, when are you going to give me a job? I want to work at the station.’ And he would put me off — until one night when I was 17, right out of high school.”

Martindale, who went by his childhood nickname “Wink,” began working as a disc jockey for the local radio station. He subsequently attended Memphis State, now known as the University of Memphis, earning his degree in 1957, according to his Hollywood Walk of Fame biography.

During his time in Memphis, Martindale began hosting the children’s television program “Mars Patrol,” later helming a show called “Teenage Dance Party,” where he interviewed Elvis Presley early on in his career. Martindale told the Television Academy Foundation that he and the “Hound Dog” singer, who passed away in August 1977 at the age of 42, hit it off.

“He became my friend, and he continued to be my friend until the day he died,” the radio personality said.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1959, Martindale began hosting a variety of morning radio shows before helming his first network game show, NBC’s “What’s This Song?”

That same year, he released a cover of the spoken-word song “Deck of Cards,” originally popularized by country singer T. Texas Tyler in 1948. Martindale’s version reached the No. 7 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 list in 1959, per Billboard.

The disc jockey went on to host an array of game shows, including “Dream Girl ‘67,” “How’s Your Mother-in-Law?,” “Gambit,” “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “High Rollers,” “Trivial Pursuit,” and “Debt.”

Martindale, who also founded his own production company, Wink Martindale Enterprises, chronicled his life in his 2000 memoir “Winking at Life.”

Speaking to the Television Academy Foundation, Martindale, whose career in broadcasting spanned more than 70 years, touched on what he enjoyed most about hosting game shows.

“I like people, and you get to meet so many different people in the world of game shows,” he said. “I enjoy finding out what makes people tick. As you play a game, you see why one person is more successful than another. But I just love working with people, and I love talking. I could sit here and talk all day.”

Martindale is survived by his wife of almost 50 years, Sandra, his three daughters, Lisa, Lyn, and Laura, and his sister, Geraldine.