“It felt like I was walking forever.”
A year later he moved to the morning show at KRLA and to KFWB in 1962. Among his many other radio gigs were two separate stints at KMPC, owned by actor Gene Autry.His first network hosting job was on NBC’s “What’s This Song?” where he was credited as Win Martindale from 1964-65.
He later hosted two Chuck Barris-produced shows on ABC: “Dream Girl ’67” and “How’s Your Mother-in-Law?” The latter lasted just 13 weeks before being canceled.“I’ve jokingly said it came and went so fast, it seemed more like 13 minutes!” Martindale wrote, explaining that it was the worst show of his career.Martindale later hosted a Las Vegas-based revival of “Gambit” from 1980-81.
He formed his own production company, Wink Martindale Enterprises, to develop and produce his own game shows. His first venture was “Headline Chasers,” a coproduction with Merv Griffin that debuted in 1985 and was canceled after one season. His next show, “Bumper Stumpers,” ran on U.S. and Canadian television from 1987-1990.He hosted “Debt” from 1996-98 on Lifetime cable and “Instant Recall” on GSN in 2010.
Martindale returned to his radio roots in 2012 as host of the nationally syndicated “The 100 Greatest Christmas Hits of All Time.” In 2021, he hosted syndicated program “The History of Rock ‘n’ Roll.”
In 2017, Martindale appeared in a KFC ad campaign with actor Rob Lowe.— Following up his Oscar-winning performance in “Oppenheimer,”
stars in and produced “Small Things Like These,” an adaptation of. In the film (streaming now on Hulu), Murphy plays an Irish coal merchant and father of five daughters in 1985. Directed by Tim Mielants (who worked with Murphy on “Peaky Blinders”) and co-starring Emma Watson, “Small Things Like These” digs into the brutal traumas of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries. A short story by Keegan also served as the source material for another small gem, 2022’s
(also streaming on Hulu).gives a cuddly documentary portrait to the relationship between humans and animal companions. The film begins streaming Friday on Disney+.