Chuck Woolery, former host of the game shows “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble,” has died at the age of 83.
Woolery died at his home in Texas in the presence of his wife, Kristen, his friend and podcast co-host Mark Young told The Associated Press. Along with his wife, Woolery is survived by his sons Michael and Sean and his daughter Melissa.
“Chuck Woolery was without a doubt the real deal. Our 7 years as the original host and hostess on Wheel of Fortune were like magic,” said Susan Stafford, who was Chuck Woolery’s co-host on “Chuck Woolery.” Wheel of Fortune,” in a statement to Fox News.
“Our deep friendship continued after our time on the show,” the statement continued. “He was an original. There was no one like Chuck. He had so much energy and was the same genuine, warm, caring person off stage. He was very spiritual and we shared a true love for God , which made it even more interesting . I’m so grateful to know I’ll see him again.
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Game show host Chuck Woolery attends the Meow Mix Think Like a Cat Game Show premiere on November 12, 2008 in Hollywood, California. (Getty Images)
Woolery was inducted into the American Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978.
In 1983, Woolery began hosting “Love Connection” for 11 years, during which time he coined the phrase “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds.” In 1984, he began hosting “Scrabble”, hosting both game shows simultaneously until 1990.
Other shows he hosted include “Lingo,” “Greed” and “The Chuck Woolery Show,” as well as the short-lived syndicated revival of “The Dating Game” from 1998 to 2000. In 1992, he starred himself in two episodes of “Melrose Place.”
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Chuck Woolery at the “Game Show Networks 2003 Winter TCA Tour” at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, California on Wednesday, January 8, 2003. (Getty Images)
Woolery was the subject of the Game Show Network’s first attempt at a reality show, “Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned”, which premiered in 2003 and ran for six episodes.
Woolery began his television career on “Wheel of Fortune,” which debuted on January 6, 1975, on NBC.
“Wheel of Fortune” began life as “Shopper’s Bazaar.” After Woolery appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” singing “Delta Dawn,” Griffin asked him to host the new show with Stafford.
NBC passed it first, but they changed it to “Wheel of Fortune” and was approved. After a few years, Woolery demanded a raise to $500,000 a year, the same amount as host Peter Marshall was making on “Hollywood Squares.” Griffin denied the request and replaced Woolery with Pat Sajak, who, along with Vanna White, is most commonly associated with the series.
Chuck Woolery performs at the “Game Show Networks 2003 Winter TCA Tour” at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, California, Wednesday, January 8, 2003. (Getty Images)
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Woolery, born in Ashland, Kentucky, served in the U.S. Navy before attending college. He played double bass in a folk trio before founding the psychedelic rock duo The Avant-Garde in 1967, while working as a truck driver to support himself as a musician.
After his television career, Woolery took up podcasting. He told the New York Times that he described himself as a gun rights activist, a conservative-libertarian and a constitutionalist, noting that he had not revealed his political views to liberal Hollywood for fear of reprisal.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
