Singing Griffin started as a singer on radio at age 19, appearing on
San Francisco Sketchbook, a nationally
syndicated program based at
KFRC. He was overweight as an adolescent and a young man, which led to some disappointment among fans who met him in person.
Freddy Martin heard Griffin on the radio and invited him to tour with his
orchestra, which he did for four years. By 1945, Griffin was able to form his own record label, Panda Records, which produced
Songs by Merv Griffin, the first U.S. album recorded on
magnetic tape. In 1947, Griffin had a 15-minute weekday singing program on KFRC. Griffin gained widespread popularity through his radio performances and nightclub appearances. In 1949, his recording of "
I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" performed with Freddy Martin and his Orchestra, sold three million copies. During a nightclub performance, Griffin was discovered by
Doris Day, who arranged a screen test at
Warner Bros. for a role in
By the Light of the Silvery Moon (1953). Griffin did not get the part, but was subsequently cast in supporting roles in other
musical films, including
So This Is Love (1953). The film featured a scene with an open-mouthed
kiss between Griffin and
Kathryn Grayson, which attracted attention for being the first such kiss in a Hollywood film since the implementation of the
Hays Code in 1934. Griffin also played minor roles in
The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953),
The Boy from Oklahoma (1954), and
Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954). Dissatisfied with the film industry, Griffin bought out his Warner Bros. contract and shifted his focus to television. In 1954, Griffin appeared in
Cinécraft Productions sponsored films, including a musical,
Milestones of Motoring, with
Joe E. Brown. While moving to New York City that summer, Griffin and
Betty Ann Grove co-hosted
Summer Holiday on
CBS. The show featured live music with the hosts while simulating a trip to various places in the world. Griffin initially stayed with
Loring Buzzell upon arriving in New York and became friends with him and his fiancée,
Lu Ann Simms. Griffin later claimed in interviews that he was best man at their wedding in July 1954, but was in fact one of four ushers. When Buzzell and Simms had their first child, Cynthia Leigh Buzzell, on September 11, 1955, Griffin was named her godfather.
Game show host From 1958 to 1962, Griffin hosted
Play Your Hunch, a game show produced by
Mark Goodson and
Bill Todman. Griffin also hosted the primetime
ABC game show
Keep Talking. He also filled as a temporary host for
Bill Cullen on
The Price Is Right and
Bud Collyer on
To Tell the Truth. In 1963, NBC offered Griffin the role of host for a new game show,
Word for Word, which he also produced. He went on to produce additional game shows, including ''Let's Play Post Office
for NBC in 1965, Reach for the Stars
for NBC in 1967, and One in a Million'' for ABC in 1967.
Talk show host in 1969 Griffin gained attention when
Tonight Show host
Jack Paar accidentally walked onto the set of
Play Your Hunch during a live broadcast. Griffin persuaded Paar to stay for a spontaneous interview. At the time, both shows shared Studio 6B at
Rockefeller Center, with
Play Your Hunch airing live in the morning and
The Tonight Show taping later in the day. After Paar departed from
The Tonight Show and before
Johnny Carson assumed the role, Griffin served as one of several guest hosts during the interim period. He was regarded as the most successful of the guest hosts and, as a result, was given his own daytime talk show on NBC in 1962. The live 55-minute program was not successful and was canceled in 1963. and First Lady
Nancy Reagan in 1983 In 1965, Griffin launched a syndicated talk show titled
The Merv Griffin Show through
Westinghouse Broadcasting. The program aired in various time slots across North America, with some stations broadcasting it during the daytime, others in primetime, and a few placing it opposite
The Tonight Show. The
CBS stations placing the show in the late night slot were not only competing with Johnny Carson and
The Tonight Show on NBC but
Joey Bishop and the
Joey Bishop Show on
ABC-TV as well.
Arthur Treacher, Griffin's mentor, served as the show's announcer and sidekick until 1970. After Treacher's departure, Griffin took over the announcing role, entering the stage with the phrase, "And now...here I come!" According to Griffin's obituary in
Entertainment Weekly,
The Merv Griffin Show won 11
Emmy Awards. The show covered a range of topics, often addressing controversial issues such as the
Vietnam War. Guests included a mix of entertainers, authors, politicians, and public figures like
Zsa Zsa Gabor, as well as controversial figures including
George Carlin,
Dick Gregory,
Richard Pryor,
Norman Mailer, and
Bertrand Russell. In 1974,
Arnold Schwarzenegger made his American talk show debut on
The Merv Griffin Show. In 1975 and 1977, Griffin dedicated two episodes to
Transcendental Meditation and its founder
Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The 1977 episode was aired as a standalone special in some regions, including Canada. Griffin was an enthusiastic practitioner of meditation. In 1969, Griffin moved from syndication to CBS, which launched a late-night talk show hosted by Griffin to compete with
The Tonight Show. His three-year tenure at CBS was contentious, as the network frequently objected to his choice of guests, particularly those critical of the Vietnam War and other sensitive topics. In April 1970, when
Abbie Hoffman appeared as a guest, CBS blurred the video of Hoffman to obscure his American flag-patterned shirt, despite the fact that other guests had worn similar attire uncensored. Griffin expressed frustration with CBS's censorship policies. Frustrated with these restrictions and anticipating his departure from CBS, Griffin signed a deal with
Metromedia for a syndicated daytime talk show to begin immediately if his CBS program was canceled. When CBS terminated his show in February 1972, Griffin's new program debuted the following month and ran until 1986. By then, profits from his successful game shows had made Griffin one of the wealthiest entertainers in the world. A hallmark of the show was Griffin's interaction with audience members. One regular attendee,
Lillian Miller, became a recurring presence on the program throughout its run. Robert "Bob" Murphy, Griffin's best friend since sixth grade, was the producer of
The Merv Griffin Show, and eventually became president of Merv Griffin Enterprises. ==Game show creator==