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Creator of Wheel of Fortune dies | Creator of Wheel of Fortune dies |
(20 minutes later) | |
Merv Griffin, the US entertainer who created the game shows Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, has died aged 82. | |
He had been diagnosed with prostate cancer earlier this year. | |
Griffin was known for his self-titled TV series, which ran for more than 5,500 editions in the 23 years to 1986, and had spells as an actor and singer. | |
But the quiz shows secured his financial future, after he sold the rights to Columbia Pictures and kept a share of the profits. | |
Jeopardy was first broadcast on US television in 1964, while Wheel of Fortune made its debut 11 years later. | |
Griffin bought a hotel when he tired of trying to invest his money, having been "so bored" spreading his fortune across bonds and stocks. | |
"I said, 'I'm not going to sit around and clip coupons for the rest of my life'," he recalled in an interview in 1989. | |
The Merv Griffin Show made its debut on US television in 1962"That's when Barron Hilton said, 'Merv, do you want to buy the Beverly Hilton?' I couldn't believe it." | |
But Griffin did acquire the property, spending $100m (£49m) and then spending millions more dollars completely refurbishing it. | |
Further profits were made following the purchase of Resorts International, which ran casinos and hotels from Atlantic City to the Caribbean. | |
He told Life magazine 19 years ago that the "gamesmanship" in such business deals "parallels the game shows I've been involved in". | |
Born on 6 July 1925 in San Francisco, Griffin's first job was as a singer on the radio programme San Francisco Sketchbook. | |
According to his website, within two days the programme was renamed The Merv Griffin Show, and soon afterwards he was earning in excess of $1,000 (£490) a week. | |
He became the featured vocalist in Freddy Martin's big band, before topping the US chart with a version of I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts in 1950. |