When Merv Griffin died, I thought I remembered him seriously considering taking over as host of Wheel of Fortune in the late 80s. Was that true?
That rumor had a lot of traction in the media. Entertainment Tonight fueled it. Merv denied it in every interview but couldn’t stop the speculation. This was when Pat Sajak left daytime Wheel in order to do The Pat Sajak Show for CBS late-night. What we’ve been told actually happened: NBC approached Merv to take it over because the ratings for daytime Wheel were flagging and some of the network’s daytime executives felt he was more of a name to take over the show than anyone they could audition. Merv said no. He was nearing 65 at the time and was heavily into his hotel/casino interests and did not want to devote the time to host a daily game show (though we’ll guarantee he would have been superb). This was the transition that came down to a final two of then-ESPN sportscaster Tim Brando, who now works for CBS Sports and Sporting News Radio, and former San Diego Chargers kicker Rolf Benirschke. In our view, Brando—who was 33 at the time—would have been terrific (and he still would b
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