Wink Martindale (born Winston Conrad Martindale, December 4, 1934, Jackson, Tennessee) is a disc jockey and television game show host.
Martindale started his career as a disc jockey at age 17 at WPLI in Jackson, earning $25 a week. He was hired away by WTJS for double the salary. Jackson's only other station, WDXI, hired him away from WTJS. He next hosted mornings at WHBQ in Memphis. In 1959, he became morning man at KHJ in Los Angeles, California, moving a year later to the morning show at KRLA and finally to KFWB in 1962. He also had lengthy stays at KKGO/KJQI and Gene Autry's KMPC.
Martindale's first break into television was at WHBQ-TV in Memphis, as the host of Mars Patrol, a science-fiction themed children's television program. It was at his tenure with WHBQ that Martindale became the host of the tv show Dance Party where his close friend Elvis Presley stopped in to make a public appearance. Following Presley's sudden death in 1977, Martindale aired a nationwide tribute radio special in his honor.
Martindale has hosted numerous game shows, including What's This Song?, Debt, Gambit, High Rollers, The Last Word, Tic Tac Dough and Trivial Pursuit. In addition, he was the creator of Bumper Stumpers and he created and hosted Headline Chasers.
His rendition of the spoken-word song, "Deck Of Cards", went to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and sold over a million copies in 1959. It was followed by "Black Land Farmer."
He divorced his first wife, Madelyn, in 1971, married his second wife, Sandy Ferra, in 1975, and has four children and seven grandchildren.
He has appeared in various TV commercials and, until 2007, had a daily three-hour show on the syndicated Music Of Your Life format, which is heard on around 200 radio stations.
Martindale made an appearance (in two separate roles) in the Quiet Riot video for "The Wild and the Young" in 1986. As of 2005, Martindale has capitalized on his camp appeal by doing television commercials promoting Internet travel agency Orbitz.
On 2 June 2006, Martindale received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2007 Wink Martindale became a member of the nominating committee of the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.
In 2008, Wink appeared on GSN Live, a new program "wraparound" during the classic game shows that run from Noon to 3pm ET
He was a Disc Jockey on KFWB radio in los Angeles in the 50s.
Ranks third behind Bill Cullen (I) and Tom Kennedy (III) in the number of game shows hosted at 15.
Was a childhood friend of Elvis Presley.
Awarded a Bachelor of Science degree from Memphis State College (Memphis, Tennessee) in 1957.
Nicknamed "Wink" by a neighborhood buddy. Launched his career in radio as a teenage disc jockey for his Sunday school teacher's radio station in Jackson, Tennessee.
Received the 2,313th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame [June 2, 2006].
Had a hit record in the 1950s with the spoken-word country song, "Deck of Cards".
