Chuck Woolery
Template:Short description Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Charles Herbert Woolery (March 16, 1941 – November 23, 2024) was an American television host, actor, and musician. He had long-running tenures hosting several game shows. Woolery was the original host of the original daytime Wheel of Fortune from 1975 until 1981, when he was replaced by Pat Sajak. After leaving Wheel of Fortune, Woolery hosted a number of other game shows including Love Connection (1983–1994), Scrabble (1984–1990, 1993), Greed (1999–2000), and Lingo (2002–2007). Woolery's musical career includes several advertising jingles, a top-40 pop hit with the psychedelic pop duo The Avant-Garde, and a number of country music releases. In the 2010s, Woolery also hosted a political podcasting series.
Early lifeEdit
Charles Herbert Woolery was born in Ashland, Kentucky, on March 16, 1941, the son of Katherine, a homemaker, and Dan Woolery, who owned a fountain supplies company.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="baber">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
After high school, Woolery served two years in the U.S. Navy, aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65).<ref>Woolery, Chuck 1941– Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 23, 2024.</ref><ref>Chuck Woolery: Legendary, Emmy Award-Winning Game Show Host Premiere Speakers Bureau. Retrieved May 23, 2024.</ref> In 1963, Woolery worked as a wine consultant for Wasserstrom Wine and Import Company in Columbus, Ohio.Template:Citation needed
CareerEdit
Music careerEdit
In the early 1960s, Woolery sang and played the double bass with a folk song trio called The Bordermen. He also sang in a duo called The Avant-Garde who were in the psychedelic pop genre. The other half of the duo was Bubba Fowler. They signed to Columbia Records and had a Top 40 hit with "Naturally Stoned" in 1968, bringing the duo one-hit wonder status.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It reached #30 in Canada, October 21, 1968.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the late 1970s, Woolery returned to his singing career. Woolery charted on Hot Country Songs with "Painted Lady" and "The Greatest Love Affair".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Between 1977 and 1980, Woolery recorded for Warner Bros. Records and Epic Records as a solo artist, with two low-charting singles on Hot Country Songs.<ref name="whitburn">Template:Cite book</ref> Woolery also co-wrote "The Joys of Being a Woman" on Tammy Wynette's 1971 album We Sure Can Love Each Other.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Acting and television show hostEdit
As an actor, Woolery appeared with Stephen Boyd, Rosey Grier, and Cheryl Ladd in the mid-1970s film The Treasure of Jamaica Reef.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Woolery performed as Mr. Dingle on the children's television series New Zoo Revue in the early 1970s. During that time, he made his first game show appearance on an episode of Tattletales in 1974, alongside then-wife Jo Ann Pflug. Starting as a singer, Woolery appeared on an episode of Your Hit Parade. On January 6, 1975, he began hosting Wheel of Fortune at the suggestion of creator Merv Griffin, who had seen Woolery sing on The Tonight Show.<ref name = Lindner>Template:Cite news</ref> Woolery hosted the show for six years, and in 1978 was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Game or Audience Participation Show. In 1981, he was involved in a salary dispute with the program's producers; he said in a 2007 interview that he demanded a raise from $65,000 a year to about $500,000 a year because the program was drawing a 44 viewership share at the time, and other hosts (such as Richard Dawson and Bob Barker) were making that much. Griffin offered Woolery $400,000 a year, and NBC offered to pay the additional $100,000, but after Griffin threatened to move the program to CBS, NBC withdrew the offer. Woolery's contract was not renewed and his final episode aired on December 25, 1981.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Pat Sajak replaced him.<ref name = Lindner/>
Woolery hosted Love Connection (1983–1994), The Big Spin (1985), Scrabble (1984–1990, 1993), Home & Family (1996–1998, co-host), The Dating Game (1997–1999), Greed (1999–2000), TV Land Ultimate Fan Search (1999–2000), and Lingo (2002–2007). In addition, he was the subject of a short-lived reality television, Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned (originally titled Chuck Woolery: Behind the Lingo) in 2003.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also hosted his own talk show, The Chuck Woolery Show, which lasted for only a few months in 1991. He hosted The Price Is Right Live! at Harrah's Entertainment casinos, and appeared in the live stage show "$250,000 Game Show Spectacular" at the Westgate Las Vegas until April 2008.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
On April 21, 2023, it was announced that Woolery would be featured in an upcoming four-episode documentary by ABC News titled The Game Show Show, covering the history of game shows in America over the last eight decades. The four-part documentary premiered on May 10, 2023.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Woolery later hosted Template:'80s Quiz Show, a game show based on trends and norms of the 1980s, which streamed on Fox Nation on June 7, 2024.<ref name="Fox Nation">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Radio and podcast hostEdit
From 2012 to 2014, Woolery hosted a nationally syndicated radio commentary show, Save Us Chuck Woolery, which grew out of his YouTube videos. In 2014, the show became a long-format podcast, and was retitled Blunt Force Truth. However, before his death the show could still be heard on about 60 radio stations across the country.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> With co-host Mark Young, Woolery expanded on his conservative political ideals and current events, often inviting guest experts to join the conversation.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Political viewsEdit
Woolery spoke in favor of American conservatism. He was an active supporter of the Republican Party, and had mainly donated to Republican and conservative causes.<ref>Chuck Woolery on Occupy Wall Street, youtube.com (Chuck Woolery statement against Occupy Wall Street); retrieved February 13, 2012</ref><ref>Christopher, Tommy (February 9, 2012). Mediaite Interviews The Great Chuck Woolery At CPAC, He Is No Fan Of President Obama, Mediaite</ref> He was a gun rights activist.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Woolery was accused of antisemitism after a series of tweets in May 2017, including this message: "Believe it or not. Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin were both Jewish. I was shocked to find, most of the original Soviet Communists were Jewish."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The claim that communism is Jewish in origin forms the core of the antisemitic trope called Judeo-Bolshevism. The tweet led to accusations of antisemitism against Woolery.<ref name="newsweek.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In response to the criticism, Woolery tweeted: "Amazing to me, I point out that Marx and Lenin were Jewish, Fact of history, and now I'm being called anti-Semitic? Why do people do this?"<ref name="newsweek.com"/>
On July 12, 2020, Woolery tweeted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), doctors, the media, and the Democratic Party were lying about the COVID-19 pandemic. President Donald Trump retweeted Woolery's claims.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The following day, Woolery tweeted that his son had tested positive for the virus and that the "COVID-19 pandemic is real". His Twitter account was later made private before later being made public again.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Personal life and deathEdit
Woolery was a Christian who volunteered in ministry.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was married five times and was the father of five children. Woolery and his first wife, Margaret Hays, had two children together, Katherine and Chad. Chad was killed in a motorcycle accident in January 1986.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=2006mar>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1972, he married actress Jo Ann Pflug<ref name=2006mar /> and had a daughter, Melissa. They divorced in 1980.<ref name=2006mar /> With third wife Teri Nelson, who is the adopted daughter of actor David Nelson and granddaughter of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, he had two sons, Michael and Sean.<ref name=2006mar /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 2006, he married Kim Barnes.<ref name=2006mar /> At the time of his death, it was reported that he was married to a woman named Kristen.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
In Woolery's later years, he lived in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, and died at home on November 23, 2024, at the age of 83.<ref name = Lindner/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
FilmographyEdit
Source:<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>Template:Additional citation needed
ActingEdit
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | New Zoo Revue | Mr. Dingle | |
| 1973 | Love, American Style | Mr. Thompson | 1 episode, segment: "Love and the Cozy Comrades" |
| 1973 | ABC Saturday Morning Cartoons | Superman | For full preview special Sneak Peek |
| 1974 | Sonic Boom | Pilot Rogers | Short film |
| 1975 | The Treasure of Jamaica Reef | Detective | a.k.a. Evil in the Deep |
| 1978 | A Guide for the Married Woman | Tennis Pro | Television film |
| 1979 | $weepstake$ | Tyler | Episode 4 |
| 1982 | Romance Theatre | "Marisol" Parts 1–5 | |
| 1982 | Six Pack | TV Commentator #2 | |
| 1989 | 227 | Himself | Episode: "A Date to Remember" |
| 1989 | Cold Feet | Himself | Love Connection host on TV |
| 1997 | Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees | Chuck | Cameo as the nightclub owner |
| 2004 | Scrubs | Himself | Season 4 Episode 6 |
Television/radioEdit
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1975–1981 | Wheel of Fortune | Replaced by Pat Sajak |
| 1983–1994 | Love Connection | Host |
| 1984–1990, 1993 | Scrabble | Host |
| 1991 | The Chuck Woolery Show | 65 episodes |
| 1996 | Home & Family | Co-host with Cristina Ferrare |
| 1997–1999 | The Dating Game | Host |
| 1999–2000 | Greed | Host, 44 episodes |
| 1999–2000 | TV Land Ultimate Fan Search | |
| 1999 | Biography | Episode: Bob Barker: Master of Ceremonies |
| 2002–2007 | Lingo | succeeded by Bill Engvall in 2011 |
| 2008 | Think Like a Cat | Host |
| 2012–2014 | Save Us Chuck Woolery (radio show) | Host |
| 2014–2024 | Blunt Force Truth (podcast) | Co-host with Mark Young |
| 2023 | The Game Show Show | Game show documentary |
| 2024 | Template:'80s Quiz Show | Host<ref name="Fox Nation"/> |
DiscographyEdit
SinglesEdit
| Year | Single | Peak positions | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Country Songs <ref name="whitburn" /> | |||||||||
| 1977 | "Painted Lady" | 78 | |||||||
| "Take 'Er Down, Boys"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
}}</ref> |
— | |||||||
| 1980 | "The Greatest Love Affair" | 94 | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart | |||||||||
See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
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- Political podcast co-hosted by Chuck Woolery
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