Wink Martindale, the charming host behind classic game shows like Gambit and Tic-Tac-Dough, has passed away at the age of 91. He died Tuesday at Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, California, following a year-long battle with lymphoma, according to his publicist Brian Mayes.
“He was doing pretty well until just a couple weeks ago,” Mayes said from Nashville.
Martindale became a familiar face to millions through hit shows, including Gambit, which debuted in September 1972 alongside Bob Barker’s The Price is Right and The Joker’s Wild. In his 2000 memoir Winking at Life, Martindale attributed the show’s success to its simplicity: “KISS! Keep It Simple Stupid,” he wrote, noting that the blackjack-style game felt familiar to audiences.
Gambit remained a ratings winner until it was eventually overtaken by Wheel of Fortune, which premiered in 1975 and became a mainstay on NBC. By the end of 1976, Gambit was canceled, but Martindale soon found success again.
In 1978, he launched Tic-Tac-Dough on CBS, which ran until 1985 and featured legendary moments like Navy Lt. Thom McKee’s 88-game winning streak. McKee won over $300,000 in cash and prizes, including multiple cars, boats, and vacations — a record at the time.
“I love working with contestants, interacting with the audience and watching lives change,” Martindale wrote. Over seven years on Tic-Tac-Dough, producer Dan Enright estimated that Martindale gave away more than $7 million in prizes.
Martindale credited his background in radio with preparing him for live TV, where quick thinking and improvisation are essential. Over his career, he hosted nearly two dozen game shows.
Born Winston Conrad Martindale on December 4, 1933, in Jackson, Tennessee, he developed a love for radio at an early age. At six, he would read ads aloud from Life magazine. He began working as a DJ at 17, earning $25 a week at WPLI. Eventually, he moved through several stations, including WTJS and WDXI, where his salary doubled.
While working at WHBQ in Memphis during college, he witnessed the rise of Elvis Presley firsthand. On July 8, 1954, Presley’s debut record, “That’s All Right,” was played for the first time at WHBQ. Martindale later invited Presley for a TV interview on his show Top Ten Dance Party in 1956, when Elvis had already become a national sensation. The two stayed in touch over the years, and in 1959 Martindale interviewed Elvis via phone while he was serving in Germany. Interestingly, Martindale’s second wife, Sandy, once dated Presley after meeting him on the set of G.I. Blues.
In 1959, Martindale moved to Los Angeles to host a morning radio show on KHJ and soon found music success with a spoken-word recording of Deck of Cards, which reached No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over a million copies. He performed it on The Ed Sullivan Show.
Martindale went on to work at major stations like KRLA, KFWB, and KMPC. His first network game show was NBC’s What’s This Song? (1964–65), where he was credited as “Win Martindale.” He later hosted Chuck Barris shows like Dream Girl ’67 and How’s Your Mother-in-Law? — the latter lasting just 13 weeks, which he jokingly described as feeling like “13 minutes.”
In the 1980s, Martindale revived Gambit in Las Vegas and eventually founded his own company, Wink Martindale Enterprises, to produce game shows. Among his projects were Headline Chasers (1985) and Bumper Stumpers (1987–1990), the latter airing in both the U.S. and Canada.
In the late ’90s, he hosted Debt on Lifetime and in 2010 returned to TV with Instant Recall on GSN. Martindale stayed active in broadcasting well into his later years. In 2012, he hosted the nationally syndicated 100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time, and in 2021 he helmed The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll.
He even appeared in a KFC commercial in 2017 alongside Rob Lowe.
Wink Martindale is survived by his wife Sandy, whom he married 49 years ago, and daughters Lisa, Madelyn, and Laura. He also leaves behind many grandchildren. His son, Wink Jr., preceded him in death. Martindale’s children were from his first marriage, which ended in 1972.
