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Wink Martindale, game show host and broadcasting personality, passed away at age 91 on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. He was reportedly at the Eisenhower Health in Rancho Mirage, California, when he passed. The news was shared by Brian Mayes, his publicist, to NPR. The genial TV host's passing came after a year of battling lymphoma.
Conrad "Wink" Martindale is a television personality. He is best known for hosting game shows like Gambit and Tic-Tac-Dough. He also hosted Teenage Dance Party in 1956 when Elvis Presley made an appearance. In the press release announcing his passing, Martindale was called "the last living witness to 'Presleymania.'
Besides being a game show host, Martindale ventured into acting in TV shows and movies, singing, writing, and launching his own game show.
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Wink Martindale was "a true legend of television game shows"
As Hollywood mourns Wink Martindale's death, the Game Show Network posted a tribute on Instagram on April 16, 2025, remembering him as "a true legend" in TV game shows. The network wrote in the caption:
"The entire Game Show Network mourns the loss of Wink Martindale, the host of the original 'Tic-Tac-Dough" and a true legend of television game shows. His charm and presence lit up the screen for generations of viewers and he will never be forgotten."
While Martindale rose to prominence on TV in the '80s and '90s as a host for several syndicated game shows, he first started his hosting career in 1964 on NBC's What's This Song? and Words of Music. Besides Tic-Tac-Dough, arguably his biggest success, he was also the host for Debt, High Rollers, Gambit, Trivial Pursuit, and many more.
He made appearances in several TV programs later in his career. He can be seen in The Bold and the Beautiful, The Chase, and Most Outrageous Game Show Moments, per the recent press release announcing his death.
Wink Martindale added the titles of actor, writer, producer, and recording artist to his resume
Besides the title of host, Wink Martindale extended his repertoire into acting, writing, and producing various projects on TV. He has over a dozen acting credits on his IMDb page, starting with his debut in a 1955 episode of the sci-fi children's TV series Mars Patrol. He then appeared as himself in the 1958 film Let's Rock and voiced Sphinx Martindale in Hercules.
His last acting credit was playing Pastor Simon Matthews for 15 episodes of the Pureflix drama series Hilton Head Island between 2017 and 2018. Wink Martindale wrote and served as an executive producer of his own family game show, Headline Chasers, which ran for 139 episodes from 1985 to 1986. He also appeared in the movies Gridlock and Safety Patrol.
Outside of the small and the big screens, Martindale found success as a singer. He recorded the spoken-word song Deck of Cards in 1959. The track sold over a million copies, according to People magazine, and reached No.7 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
The TV host was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. He was honored with a Beale Street Note on the Beale Street Walk of Fame in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2024.
Wink Martindale is survived by his wife, Sandra. They have been married for 49 years. He is also survived by his sister, Geraldine, and his three daughters, Lisa, Lyn, and Laura.
