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GRIFFIN
By Valerie Ryan
Merv Griffin takes a look back
through his memorable interviews
PERFORMER, ENTREPRENEUR, real estate mogul, pidest question I’ve ever heard,’ and brought down
sportsman, philanthropist—Merv Griffin is all of the house.”
these and more. Some of the best interviews from the show have
By the time Griffin was 28, he had hit the tri- now been collected on a DVD set. More interviews
fecta: a hit single, “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coco- will be released in the future, Griffin says.
nuts,” which went to number one on the charts and What does he think of today’s interview shows?
sold 3 million records; a Warner Brothers film con- “I like them,” Griffin responds, “but they have a
tract; and a successful TV gig as emcee and guest star problem. They can’t do the extensive interviews that
on The Jack Paar Show and The Arthur Murray Show. we had the luxury of doing. The new regulations
Despite all his multimedia successes, however, regarding how many commercials can be shown in
PHOTOS COURTESY MERV GRIFFIN ENTERPRISES INC.
Griffin is perhaps best known for his game-show a half-hour show make it impossible to enjoy those
expertise. An avid fan of puzzles since childhood, long, unbroken conversations. Today, they might
Griffin first produced a successful game show for have to break every five or six minutes. We used to
NBC in 1964: Jeopardy! It remains the second-high- bunch commercials together, which gave us time for
est-rated game showintelevision syndication, while a leisurely interview. The new rules have chased
his other brainchild, Wheel of Fortune, continues away the storytellers.”
to be the longest-running game show to hold the Griffin attributes his success as an interviewer
number-one spot in TV syndication history. to being “the world’s greatest listener. I would listen
Griffin, now 80, got his start in radio in 1943, at and listen and then react; it’s a lot like acting. Listen
the age of 18. At that tender age, he was earning $1,100 and react, then pick up on what they skipped.”
a week, a fortune for the times. Always an innovator, These days, Gri ffin devotes his time to phil-he recorded “Songs by Merv Griffin” for his own anthropy and another passion: horse racing. Star gazer: (from top to bottom)
Panda Records; it entered the record books as the He was hoping that his Michael Caine, John Wayne,
first U.S. album produced on magnetic tape. horse, Stevie Wonder- Richard Burton and
Griffin went on to sub for Jack Paar so success- boy, would have a Sophia Loren were four
fully that he soon got his own show on NBC. Start- chance at winning the of many celebrities on
ing in 1965, Griffin began 23 years of broadcasting 2006 Kentucky Derby Merv Griffin’s guest list.
The Merv Griffin Show, winning 10 Emmys. His until the horse fractured
interviews were classic and memorable. an ankle in an early-
“Richard Burton, who never gave interviews, February workout. The Costco
confessed to being in trouble with Liz, who was His ambition used Connection
arriving that afternoon,” Griffin tells The Connection, to be to conduct a sym- A deluxe leather box set
“and Grace Kelly talked with me in Monaco at a ten- phony orchestra, which of Merv Griffin’s inter-
nis tournament.” They met on a hill overlooking he fulfilled by conduct- views, featuring three DVDs
the road where Grace would eventually suffer her ing the Boston Pops with more than five hours
fatal accident. eight or 10 years ago. of memorable television in-
Two of Griffin’s favorite interviewees were Jack Now, he says, “all I want terviews, will be available
Benny and Orson Welles. He remembers, “Jack is a horse that will win the this month at Costco and
said, ‘I am not funny; the people who surround me Kentucky Derby.” Based on all his suc- costco.com. Included are con-
are funny,’ and then the next minute would have cesses, the smart money is on Merv Griffin, one of versations with past presidents,
you screaming with laughter at something he said. the great hosts of all time. C Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks when
I asked him if he remembered his first laugh. He they were very young, Rose F.
gave me a completely disdainful look and sat there Valerie Ryan is happily ensconced on the north Kennedy, Jack Benny, Grace Kelly
saying nothing for the longest time. Then, with coast of Oregon, where she owns Cannon Beach and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
that impeccable timing, he said, ‘That is the stu- Book Company. with Harry Belafonte.
