Wink Martindale Interview

INTERVIEW WITH WINK MARTINDALE FROM TheCelebrityCafe.com ARCHIVES

DM) How did you first get involved in game shows?

WM) I'd been in radio and television for a lot of years before I got into game shows. During the summer of '65, I became fairly addicted to Password. I enjoyed his work as a host and thought that this wasn't a bad way to make a living. You go to work, tape five shows in one day and then go home and play golf for the rest of the week and then start the week all over. I thought if something like that came along, I'd love to do that. I like games and I like to host these things. I was sent on an interview, I did a local show in L.A. called "What's this Song", which eventually got picked up on NBC, and that was my first game show in 1965. Now, 19 game shows later, I'm still doing it.

DM) When it comes to game shows, there's a portion of the game itself that's fun and there's a portion of the game show that's fun by nature of the host or the dynamics of the show. Of the 19 shows you've been involved with, which was the most fun?

WM) I had several that I really enjoyed hosting. Mostly I'm a people person so I enjoyed the interaction between the people I worked with and the game, if it was a good game it was a bonus. I think I'd have to name three shows that I really enjoyed. Most recently, I was doing a show for two years on Lifetime for Disney called Debt. As it happens, the producer of the same game was actually producing Millionaire with Regis. It was a show where people had the chance to clear their credit card debt. It was the number one show on Lifetime and it was really a lot of fun because it was all questions about pop culture, much like Millionaire. It brought a new audience to me because it was aimed at a younger audience as opposed to the usual middle-aged demographic for game shows.
And then of course the show Tic-Tac-Dough lasted 8 years. I loved doing that show because it was the show that most people remember me by. We gave away a lot of money... over 3 million during the period of time that I did the show.
And then I did one called High Rollers and that was a lot of fun. So I couldn't name just one! (laughs)

DM) Well, you've done a lot of them.

WM) Then I'd have to say Tic-Tac-Dough, simply because it gave me the longest term of employment! (laughs) I figure anything over 13 weeks in this business is pretty good.

DM) Now, speaking of the guests and the interaction, I always hear a lot of the hosts say things like, "Oh, I wish you won." How genuine is that?

WM) I think it's pretty genuine. When you look at Regis, he really and truly does feel for those people, and I feel like I've done it too. You're giving away somebody else's money so what do you care? It's not your money. I just love to see people win and I think people like to see people win. I think it's one of the attractions of the game show. People at home like to see people win... it's like Christmas. For me it's like being Santa Claus. I think it's genuine.
I had one contestant that stayed on for 48 consecutive days. He became quite a name around the water cooler. His name was Lt. Tom McKee. He just had a fabulous amount of trivial knowledge, the quintessential game show contestant. He was good looking, he wore the uniform of our country, his wife came to every taping, and she was real cute... she was pregnant. It was just one of those great situations. He stayed on 48 straight days; he won 317,000 dollars and eight cars. I remember he gave one to his brother who was a missionary in Africa. He took the other seven cars, which were Buicks, and he bought himself a Mercedes with the proceeds. He also got the personalized license plate saying, "Tic Tac."
I mention him because he was really more a part of the family; he was like a part of the set! You'd start the show every day and there's Tom McKee. So after being with somebody for any number of days like that, you can't help but feel for them. You can't help them, but you certainly can root for them.

DM) You mentioned Regis before. Have you spoken to Regis since Millionaire?

WM) I haven't talked to him since Millionaire last fall. I've talked about him a lot, and we've been in contact via email but not verbally.

DM) You and Regis email each other?

WM) Don't you email everybody! I used to never write letters simply because I never could sit down and write one, but email makes it so easy. I just love it.

DM) What would you have done differently if you were the host of Millionaire?

WM) Oh my god. I'm such a flag-waver, I don't know if I'd have done anything different. I was on Regis and Kathie Lee a few years ago and we were sort of making fun of Regis about the one show that he did host called, "In your Neighborhood". For a guy who never really hosted a game show, I think he's done a terrific job. He's done everything right.

DM) It's almost like he's revitalized the industry.

WM) Yeah, he has a great sense of humor. He's bright; he has a wonderful way with people. He obviously wants them to win. As you probably are aware, he had to beg for that job. He wasn't even on ABC's list of hosts. Michael Eisner, I was told, wanted Phil Donahue but he turned it down. So Regis heard about this and he wanted it so badly. He went to ABC and begged them to let him do this show. They kept saying no, so he finally said, "You know, people, I've never asked you for anything..." And he finally talked them into it and now it's the highest rated show in the country. In answer to your question, I think he handles that show beautifully. He brings comedy and levity in there when it's needed. He offers a sense of the dramatic. He keeps it moving. He just does a great job. I think the people like him too. Regis has a great rapport with the American public.

DM) How much of a show's success is based on the show and how much is based on the host?

WM) I've often talked about that, and I've been asked that a couple of times and my feeling are that if you have a good show, a bad host will not even hurt the show. If you have a bad show, you can have Regis Philbin and Bob Barker combined and they won't save the show. In answer to your question, probably 5 or 10 %, if that much. You have to have a good quality product to work with. You've seen movie stars, or television stars fail miserably because the script was bad. No difference from a game show.
I had a show called, ""How's Your Mother-in-law?" that I did which was the worst show I've ever hosted, but I guess at the time, I needed a job. But it was a flood concept, so the show didn't make it. It just wasn't a good idea. The idea for the show was basically bad.

DM) You must have gotten a lot of proposals for shows that you turned down. What's the worst one you've heard so far?

WM) The one that I feel fits those terms was "How's your mother in law?" That's the one that makes me look back and wonder why I did it. You only remember one that's bad if it goes to pilot and especially if it makes it on the air.

DM) Would you say your job is just like any "normal job" but more public, or is it unique?

WM) I think that it's unique in some senses. I love doing what I do. I have loved hosting over the years, simply because I love working with people. It's the perfect job. How are you going to beat being Santa Claus?

DM) In a way, it also sounds more normal and less celebrity in some sense. You go to work and you do the daily grind.

WM) When you knock out 6-10 shows a day, at the end of the day, you really have got to wind yourself up just to do those last shows. The people at home don't care what your problems are. They just know that you're doing that show and you're supposed to do the best you can do. It's not a 9-5 type of job. I've considered myself very lucky to do that kind of work.
Radio is the same way. Radio is immediate. I do the radio from home 5 days a week. I have a studio at home, and do 3 hours a day that way. I love the immediacy of radio. In television you can enter the studio and not know if it will ever be on the air.