What Was Wink Martindale’s Net Worth? Inside the Late Game Show Host’s Fortune

If you ever spent even a small amount of time at home during the day from the '70s until the 2000s, you likely were entertained with a game show or two and there’s a high possibility that they were hosted by Wink Martindale. Following the late host’s death, fans are clamoring to find out more about him, including his impressive net worth.

Wink began his famed career back in the '50s in the world of radio, however, it was when he transitioned to television, specifically hosting numerous game shows spanning decades, that he became an icon of the genre.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Wink Martindale was worth an estimated $20 million at the time of his death. The bulk of his wealth is from his decades-spanning television career, which was highlighted by a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006.

Not only was Wink the host of multiple game shows throughout his career, but he was also a producer on various game shows. This obviously increased his net worth significantly.

On Tuesday, April 15, it was announced that Wink passed away surrounded by his loved ones at the age of 91 in Rancho Mirage, Calif., according to Deadline. At this time, no cause of death has been given, but his passing was confirmed by a Martindale family spokesperson.

Wink is survived by his wife of 49 years, Sandra Martindale, his three daughters, Lisa, Lyn, and Laura, and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, per the outlet.

Born Winston Conrad Martindale, the late game show host went by the moniker Wink for the bulk of his career. But how exactly did he get the name? In a 2014 interview with ABC News, he explained how the catchy name came to be.

“When I was a kid in Jackson, Tennessee, one of my playmates, Jimmy McCord, couldn’t say ‘Winston,’ which is my given name. He had a speech impediment, and it came out sounding like ‘Winky,’” he said. “So Winston turned into Winky, and then I got into the business and Wink it was! It served me well.”

Wink facilitated one of Elvis’s first introductions to the media when he released his first single. While working at radio station WHBQ in Memphis, on July 10, 1954, DJ Dewey Phillips played Elvis’s debut single "That's All Right," for the first time, and continued to play it repeatedly at listeners request, according to a press release.

Wink then decided to call Elvis’s mother and ask her if the singer could come to the radio station for an interview with Dewey, to which he agreed. Shortly after, Elvis arrived at WHBQ for his very first interview, thanks to Wink, per the release, which also described Wink as “the last living witness to ‘Presleymania’ and the birth of Rock & Roll.”

In addition to his Hollywood Walk of Fame star, Wink was also inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007.