Wink Martindale Unveils Bold Defensive Blueprint to Propel Michigan's Playoff Run

Fans and colleagues across the entertainment world are mourning beloved American game-show host and radio personality Wink Martindale, who died in Rancho Mirage, California, on 15 April at age 91 after a year-long battle with lymphoma. Best known for presiding over hit series such as “Gambit,” “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “High Rollers” and the ’90s cult favorite “Debt,” Martindale’s smooth baritone, trademark tuxedo and easy rapport with contestants turned him into a staple of daytime television for more than four decades. Born Winston Conrad Martindale in Jackson, Tennessee, the future host launched his career as a teenage disc jockey before scoring a national Top 10 single in 1959 with the spoken-word hit “Deck of Cards.” Yet it was his move to television—beginning with NBC’s “What’s This Song?” in 1964—that cemented his legacy. When CBS debuted blackjack-inspired “Gambit” in 1972, the show quickly topped ratings, and Martindale’s “KISS—Keep It Simple, Stupid” philosophy for gameplay became an industry mantra. He reached peak popularity with the 1978–85 revival of “Tic-Tac-Dough,” overseeing Navy Lt. Thom McKee’s record-setting $300,000 win streak and giving away more than $7 million in cash and prizes during the show’s run. Even after network tastes shifted, Martindale reinvented himself, producing and hosting interactive cable formats and launching the YouTube channel “Wink’s Vault,” where classic game-show episodes drew a new generation of viewers. Tributes poured in from across Hollywood. “He made every contestant feel like the star,” wrote longtime friend and fellow host Bob Eubanks on X. Brooke Burns, who fronts the 2025 GSN reboot of “Tic-Tac-Dough,” thanked Martindale for “setting the gold standard for grace under pressure.” The Game Show Network announced a weekend marathon of Martindale classics, while SiriusXM will air a special edition of his syndicated radio countdown, “The History of Rock ’n’ Roll,” highlighting his 1950s roots in Memphis alongside Elvis Presley. Martindale is survived by his wife of 49 years, Sandy, three daughters, numerous grandchildren and legions of quiz-show fans who still recite his iconic sign-off: “If you have fun, you’ve already won.” Funeral services will be private; a public celebration of life is planned for later this spring in Los Angeles.