Wink Martindale

Wink Martindale's career spans six decades. His first TV series was the WHBQ-TV children’s show Wink Martindale of the Mars Patrol. As a Memphis deejay and host of the TV show Teenage Dance Party, he is credited for giving Elvis Presley his first major break. He's best known as a game show host ("Tic Tac Dough", "Trivial Pursuit") and television producer (Vancouver-based "Second Honeymoon"). Wink and I met in Nashville in 2001 at Brenda Lee's induction into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. When the Red Robinson Show Theatre opened in 2006, Wink and his wife Sandy were honoured guests. That same year he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Wink and Sandy joined us at Vancouver's Pacific National Exhibition in 2008 for our annual Salute to Elvis. The PNE fairgoers appreciated Wink and so do I. He was kind enough to guest on my final radio show on CISL/Vancouver in 2017. He is a very special man. I recently told him "Wink, except for the outfit, you really haven't changed that much since the early days in Memphis." (Photo: Special Collections, University of Memphis Libraries) In this interview, Wink tells Terry where he got his unusual name; the success of "Tic Tac Dough", "Gambit" and other TV game shows; his foray into the restaurant business; why he hasn't pursued an acting career; the resurgence of "standards" on radio and the "Music Of Your Life" format on KMPC as contemporary artists cover the classics; what's new in his career. Recorded in 1984 in Los Angeles.