When late-night host Merv Griffin was developing "Wheel of Fortune," he was no stranger to game shows, having already created Jeopardy in 1964. Griffin enlisted Chuck Woolery — a wannabe Nashville singer — as host after hearing him perform on his show.
After a few years, however, the relationship between Griffin and Woolery soured. When Woolery's contract was up after seven years, the "Wheel of Fortune" host wanted a pay increase to $500,000 a year. NBC agreed, but Griffin threatened to move the series to CBS if they went through with the raise. "I made them an offer that they could refuse," Woolery later joked on "Donahue" in 1989, "and guess what?" In 1981, Sajak took over.
Woolery landed on his feet. In the years since he left "Wheel of Fortune," Woolery has become a career game show host, helming "Love Connection," "The Big Spin," "Scrabble," "The Dating Game," "Greed," and "Lingo," to name a few. He also hosted a number of live stage shows. In 2023, Woolery appeared in two episodes of the ABC documentary series "The Game Show Show."
For Woolery, hosting is a skill that taps into his inherently personable disposition. "What people liked about me on television is that I was natural and myself," he told The Hill in 2012. "I've learned to be at ease, whether I'm doing an interview, on radio or television, and it's easier for me to come across as myself, and people believe me because it's from the heart."
