Television impresario Merv Griffin, who died Sunday in Los Angeles, was notoriously evasive about his sexual orientation, preferring to answer questions about it with a self-deprecating joke rather than an honest answer. (Photo by Matt Sayles/AP)
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JOEY DIGUGLIELMO
Friday, August 17, 2007
“Jeopardy!,” one of the most popular game shows in television history is, of course, famous for shooting off rapid-fire answers at its contestants but there was one answer its creator, television impresario Merv Griffin, would never offer himself — whether he was gay, bi or straight.
Griffin, who died of prostate cancer in Los Angeles Sunday at age 82, became a television legend for creating “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” and for hosting the talk show “The Merv Griffin Show” from 1962 to 1986. He amassed an astounding 17 Emmys and became a multi-millionaire through his syndicated game shows and a plethora of other business deals, not all of which were in television.
But when grilled by interviewers about his sexual orientation, Griffin preferred to deflect the question with a joke rather than give a definitive answer. He famously told the New York Times in 2005 that he was a “quarter-sexual,” explaining that, “I will do anything with anybody for a quarter.” In a Rolling Stone interview last year, Griffin said, “You’re asking an 80-year-old man about his sexuality right now? Get a life.” He also mentioned his long-standing relationship with actress Eva Gabor, who died in 1995, but some have suggested the relationship was platonic, as was his close friendship with Nancy Reagan.
Griffin was married to Julann Elizabeth Wright from 1958 to 1976 but she merited only passing mention — three pages — in his 2003 autobiography “Merv: Making the Good Life Last.” They had one child together, a son named Tony. The aforementioned Rolling Stone article said Griffin was “startled” when Julann demanded a divorce in 1973 but said the split was amicable and the two remained friends.
Griffin was sued for palimony by a former employee, Brent Plott, in 1991. Plott claimed to have been Griffin’s longtime live-in lover. Denny Terrio, host of TV’s “Dance Fever” sued Griffin for sexual harassment the same year. Both cases were dismissed and Griffin claimed the men were merely after a piece of his vast fortune.
Radio host Michelangelo Signorile blogged Sunday and said Griffin’s homosexuality “became widely known in Hollywood” and that Gabor was “his beard.” Signorile said Griffin led a quiet gay life.
As a teen, Griffin, who had studied piano since age 4, became the organist at his church. He told Rolling Stone at age 10 he fell in love with Judy Garland and saw all her movies.
Griffin was a conservative Republican and supported the Reagans and the current president.
He did occasionally handle gay-related topics on his talk show. Transgender pioneer Christine Jorgensen, who died in 1989, was one of his early guests.
Lesbian talk show host Rosie O’Donnell also blogged about Griffin, whom she knew personally, this week but didn’t mention his sexual orientation.
JOEY DiGUGLIELMO
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