GSN Pays Tribute to Griffin

Zap2It.com | August 14, 2007

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Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin
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'Wheel,' 'Jeopardy!' marathons run this weekend

The man who built a game-show empire will receive a tribute this weekend on, appropriately enough, a network devoted to games.

GSN will celebrate the TV legacy of Merv Griffin with marathons of Griffin-produced shows, plus a couple of his vintage on-air appearances, this weekend. Griffin died Sunday of prostate cancer at age 82.

Although he produced other game shows, including a TV version of "Monopoly" and the 1970s nugget "Dance Fever," and he hosted a syndicated talk show for better than 20 years, Griffin's place in television history is tied to his game-show creations "Jeopardy!," which debuted in 1964, and "Wheel of Fortune," which followed in 1975.

The GSN marathons, airing at 10 a.m. ET Saturday and Sunday, will focus on those two shows. The "Wheel" retrospective will air Saturday and include an early episode hosted by Chuck Woolery and Vanna White's debut from 1982, among others. The "Jeopardy" marathon on Sunday will include episodes from the million-dollar "Masters Tournament of Champions."

Additionally, GSN will air two on-air Griffin appearances during its black-and-white programming block early Monday. At 3 a.m., the cable network will air the first nighttime episode of "Play Your Hunch," which was Griffin's first hosting gig. It will be followed by a 1961 episode of "To Tell the Truth" that featured Griffin as a fill-in for regular host Bud Collyer.
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