Chuck Woolery
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| Chuck Woolery | |
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| Born | Charles Herbert Woolery March 16, 1941 Ashland, Kentucky, U.S. |
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| Occupation | Game show host (1975–present) |
| Spouse(s) | Kim Barnes (2006-present) |
| Children | 6 (5 living) |
| Website http://www.chuckwoolery.com/ |
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Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery (born March 16, 1941) is an American game show host. He has had long-running tenures hosting several different game shows. He was the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975-1981, the original incarnation of Love Connection from 1983-1994, and Scrabble from 1984-1990 (and during a brief revival in 1993). He also hosted Lingo on GSN from 2002-2007, and most recently hosted Think Like a Cat, which premiered on GSN on November 15, 2008. Woolery started out as a singer and has occasionally dabbled in other entertainment roles including acting and talk show hosting.
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[edit] Background
Woolery is a devout born again Christian and spends a great deal of time involved in volunteering in ministry.[1]
[edit] Career
While co-starring as Mr. Dingle on the hit children's series New Zoo Revue, Woolery's first appearance on a game show was on a 1974 episode of Tattletales alongside his wife Jo Ann Pflug. Starting as an enterprising folk/pop singer, Woolery was also seen on a 1974 episode of Your Hit Parade, and was soon recognized as having good master-of-ceremonies skills. At the urging of television host Merv Griffin, he accepted hosting duties for newly created game show Wheel of Fortune in 1975. Woolery eventually left Wheel of Fortune in a 1981 salary dispute with show producers, which he has admitted was a mistake on his part. According to an interview with Woolery after Griffin's death, he demanded a raise from $65,000 per year to $500,000. Griffin was only willing to pay $400,000.[2]
Woolery has regretted his departure from Wheel since he left, admitting that it was a big mistake and mentioning Wheel (by 1984 a mega-popular program in nighttime) on some of his later programs, most notably the 1990 finale of Scrabble[3] and two episodes of Greed.[4][5] Nearly all of Woolery episodes are believed to be lost forever, due to NBC's common practice of erasing and reusing videotapes to save money.
However, with his handsome looks, casual wit, and friendly charm Woolery has since become one of the most respected and well-liked game show hosts in the business. Woolery has hosted Wheel of Fortune (1975-1981), Love Connection (1983-1994), The Big Spin (1985), Scrabble (1984-1990, 1993), The Home and Family Show (1996-1998, co-host), The Dating Game (1997-1999), Greed (1999-2000) and Lingo (2002-2007). In addition, he was the subject of a reality show, Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned, and has been seen on television infomercials as a national spokesman for National Recreational Properties, promoting developing real estate communities such as Holiday Island in Arkansas. He even had his own television talk show called The Chuck Woolery Show, which lasted for only a few months in 1991. He has also hosted The Price Is Right Live! at Harrah's casinos. Woolery provided promotional voiceovers for GSN's daytime lineup schedule bumpers for a time from 2005-2007, which were gradually phased out over time as the schedule changed (superseding his voiceovers). His game show on GSN, Lingo, finished its sixth and final season in 2007; no new episodes are being produced and reruns continue to air on GSN.
Woolery often speaks enthusiastically about bass fishing and sells his own line of fishing products, including "MotoLure", a motorized lure that simulates the motions of a small fish. Woolery's passion for the outdoors has also enabled him to become the official outdoor spokesman on QVC where Woolery promotes many other signature products. Woolery has also played on the World Poker Tour Hollywood Home Game for the charity Safe Passage. He also appeared in the live stage show "$250,000 Game Show Spectacular" at the Las Vegas Hilton until the show ended in April 2008.[6]
[edit] "Two and two"
He is known for his trademark commercial outro of "We'll be back in two and two" along with a two-finger hand gesture, which he first started using on Love Connection. Woolery has explained that "two and two" means the amount of time a commercial break lasts (two minutes for the commercials, plus one second out and one second in).[7]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ "Chuck Woolery...still making love connections". AskMen.com. http://www.askmen.com/toys/interview_100/131_chuck_woolery_interview.html. Retrieved on 2007-10-20.
- ^ "Woolery Reveals 25-Year Rift With Merv Griffin on "The Strip"". eMediaWire. 2007-11-25. http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/11/emw571557.htm. Retrieved on 2007-11-28.
- ^ First segment of the "Scrabble" 1990 Finale (reference begins at 4:45)
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvZZJbnOsuQ
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHOge-2ysuY
- ^ "R.I.P. $250,000 Game Show Spectacular". http://thestrippodcast.blogspot.com/2008/04/rip-250000-game-show-spectacular.html. Retrieved on 2009-01-01.
- ^ "Chuck Woolery Trivia". http://www.tv.com/chuck-woolery/person/54747/trivia.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-24.
[edit] External links
- The Official Website of Chuck Woolery
- Internet Movie Database Biography
- Chuck Woolery at the Internet Movie Database
| Preceded by Edd Byrnes (1974 pilot) |
Host of Wheel of Fortune (daytime) January 6, 1975 – December 25, 1981 |
Succeeded by Pat Sajak (1981-1989) |
| Preceded by First host |
Host of Love Connection September 19, 1983 – June 30, 1995 |
Succeeded by Pat Bullard |
| Preceded by Ralph Andrews in 1988 |
Host of Lingo August 5, 2002 – June 6, 2007 |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Preceded by First host |
Host of The Big Spin September 14, 1985 – June 7, 1986 |
Succeeded by Geoff Edwards |
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