Celebrating the Iconic Career of Wink Martindale: Game Show Legend and Radio Icon

Wink Martindale, celebrated as a master of the television game show scene and remembered fondly as the host of classics like “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “Gambit,” and “High Rollers,” passed away on Tuesday in Rancho Mirage at the age of 91. His undeniable charm and charisma graced living rooms across America for decades.

A longtime Los Angeles radio personality who also found success with a surprise hit record in the late 1950s, Martindale spent his final moments surrounded by family. His wife of nearly 50 years, Sandra Martindale, was by his side, as confirmed in a release from his publicity team.

Throughout his storied journey in radio and TV, people frequently inquired about the origins of his unique name. As he shared, the name “Wink” was a playful modification of “Winston.” A young friend in Jackson, Tennessee, had struggled to pronounce his given name, leading to the nickname Winkie. It stuck, morphing into Wink when he ventured into radio — though not always.

When Martindale landed his first national TV game show in 1964, NBC’s daytime programming head thought “Wink” sounded too youthful. Therefore, “What’s This Song?” saw Win Martindale as its host for its nearly one-year tenure.

However, Martindale held no grudges over the slight change. As he jokingly remarked in a 2017 Television Academy Foundation interview, “Not really, because I loved those checks [from NBC]. They can call me anything they want to call me: Winkie-dinkie-doo, the Winkmeister, the Winkman, you name it.”

Before achieving national fame, the friendly and stylish host with the radiant smile had already made his mark with two local L.A. game shows, leading up to the launch of “What’s This Song?”

Over the span of his career, Martindale hosted or produced 21 game shows, according to his website, including “Words and Music,” “Trivial Pursuit,” “The Last Word,” and “Debt.”

“Tic-Tac-Dough,” arguably his most notable contribution to entertainment, resurrected from a late 1950s series, originally aired on CBS for a brief stint in 1978 before flourishing in syndication until 1986. Unlike the simple childhood game of tic-tac-toe, “Tic-Tac-Dough” challenged contestants to pick thematic categories like geography or music for each square, earning an X or O with every right answer.

Martindale departed “Tic-Tac-Dough” in 1985, a year prior to its conclusion, to pursue his own creation, “Headline Chasers,” which unfortunately only lasted a year.

Born as Winston Conrad Martindale on December 4, 1933, in Jackson, Tennessee, he was one of five siblings. His father worked as a lumber inspector while his mother managed the household.

Wink Martindale leaves behind his beloved wife Sandra, his sister Geraldine, his daughters Lisa, Lyn, and Laura, along with numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.