Chuck Woolery, ‘Love Connection,’ ‘Wheel’ game show host, dies at 83

Chuck Woolery, the affable, smooth-talking crippled amusement big of Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection and Scrabble who aboriginal became a right-wing podcaster, skewering liberals and accusing the authorities of lying astir COVID-19, has died. He was 83.

Mark Young, Woolery’s podcast co-host and friend, said successful an email aboriginal Sunday that Woolery died astatine his location successful Texas with his wife, Kristen, present. “Chuck was a beloved person and member and a tremendous antheral of faith, beingness volition not beryllium the aforesaid without him,” Young wrote.

Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hairsbreadth and easiness with witty banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame successful 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy information successful 1978.

In 1983, Woolery began an 11-year tally arsenic big of TV’s Love Connection, for which helium coined the phrase, “We’ll beryllium backmost successful 2 minutes and 2 seconds,” a two-fingered signature dubbed the “2 and 2.” In 1984, helium hosted TV’s Scrabble, simultaneously hosting 2 crippled shows connected TV until 1990.

Love Connection, which aired agelong earlier the dawn of dating apps, had a premise that featured either a azygous antheral oregon azygous pistillate who would ticker audition tapes of 3 imaginable mates and past prime 1 for a date.

A mates of weeks aft the date, the impermanent would beryllium with Woolery successful beforehand of a workplace assemblage and archer everybody astir the date. The assemblage would ballot connected the 3 contestants, and if the assemblage agreed with the guest’s choice, Love Connection would connection to wage for a 2nd date.

Woolery told The Philadelphia Inquirer successful 2003 that his favourite acceptable of lovebirds was a antheral aged 91 and a pistillate aged 87. “She had truthful overmuch oculus constitution on, she looked similar a stolen Corvette. He was truthful aged helium said, ‘I retrieve wagon trains.’ The mediocre guy. She took him connected a balloon ride.”

Other vocation highlights included hosting the shows Lingo, Greed and The Chuck Woolery Show, arsenic good arsenic hosting the short-lived syndicated revival of The Dating Game from 1998 to 2000 and an ill-fated 1991 speech show. In 1992, helium played himself successful 2 episodes of TV’s Melrose Place.

Woolery became the taxable of the Game Show Network’s archetypal effort astatine a world show, Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned, which premiered successful 2003. It shared the rubric of the popular opus successful 1968 by Woolery and his stone group, the Avant-Garde. It lasted six occurrence and was panned by critics.

Woolery began his TV vocation astatine a amusement that has go a mainstay. Although astir associated with Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Wheel of Fortune debuted Jan. 6, 1975, connected NBC with Woolery welcoming contestants and the audience. Woolery, past 33, was trying to marque it successful Nashville arsenic a singer.

Wheel of Fortune started beingness arsenic Shopper’s Bazaar, incorporating Hangman-style puzzles and a roulette wheel. After Woolery appeared connected The Merv Griffin Show singing Delta Dawn, Merv Griffin asked him to big the caller amusement with Susan Stafford.

“I had an interrogation that stretched to 15, 20 minutes,” Woolery told The New York Times successful 2003. “After the show, erstwhile Merv asked if I wanted to bash a crippled show, I thought, ‘Great, a feline with a atrocious overgarment and an arsenic atrocious moustache who doesn’t attraction what you person to accidental — that’s the feline I privation to be.’”

NBC initially passed, but they retooled it arsenic Wheel of Fortune and got the greenish light. After a fewer years, Woolery demanded a rise to $500,000 a year, oregon what big Peter Marshall was making connected Hollywood Squares. Griffin balked and replaced Woolery with upwind newsman Pat Sajak.

“Both Chuck and Susie did a good job, and ‘Wheel’ did good capable connected NBC, though it ne'er approached the benignant of ratings occurrence that ‘Jeopardy!’ achieved successful its heyday,” Griffin said successful Merv: Making the Good Life Last, an autobiography from the 2000s co-written by David Bender. Woolery earned an Emmy motion arsenic host.

Born successful Ashland, Kentucky, Woolery served successful the U.S. Navy earlier attending college. He played treble bass successful a people trio, past formed the psychedelic stone duo The Avant-Garde successful 1967 portion moving arsenic a motortruck operator to enactment himself arsenic a musician.

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The Avant-Garde, which tourbed successful a refitted Cadillac hearse, had the Top 40 deed Naturally Stoned, with Woolery singing, “When I enactment my caput connected you alone/I tin get a bully sensation/Feel similar I’m people stoned.”

After The Avant-Garde broke up, Woolery released his debut solo azygous I’ve Been Wrong successful 1969 and respective much singles with Columbia earlier transitioning to state euphony by the 1970s. He released 2 solo singles, Forgive My Heart and Love Me, Love Me.

Woolery wrote oregon co-wrote songs for himself and everyone from Pat Boone to Tammy Wynette. On Wynette’s 1971 medium We Sure Can Love Each Other, Woolery wrote The Joys of Being a Woman with lyrics including “See our babe connected the swing/Hear her laugh, perceive her scream.”

After his TV vocation ended, Woolery went into podcasting. In an interrogation with The New York Times, helium called himself a gun-rights activistic and described himself arsenic a blimpish libertarian and constitutionalist. He said helium hadn’t revealed his authorities successful wide Hollywood for fearfulness of retribution.

He teamed up with Mark Young successful 2014 for the podcast Blunt Force Truth and soon became a afloat protagonist of Donald Trump portion arguing minorities don’t request civilian rights and causing a firestorm by tweeting an antisemitic remark linking Soviet Communists to Judaism.

“President Obama’s popularity is simply a phantasy lone held by him and his dwindling legion of juice-box-drinking, anxiety-dog-hugging, safe-space-hiding snowflakes,” helium said.

Woolery besides was progressive online, retweeting articles from Conservative Brief, insisting Democrats were trying to instal a strategy of Marxism and spreading headlines specified arsenic “Impeach him! Devastating photograph of Joe Biden leaks.”

During the aboriginal stages of the pandemic, Woolery initially accused aesculapian professionals and Democrats of lying astir the microorganism successful an effort to wounded the system and Trump’s chances for reelection to the presidency.

“The astir outrageous lies are the ones astir COVID-19. Everyone is lying. The CDC, media, Democrats, our doctors, not each but most, that we are told to trust. I deliberation it’s each astir the predetermination and keeping the system from coming back, which is astir the election. I’m sick of it,” Woolery wrote successful July 2020.

Trump retweeted that station to his 83 cardinal followers. By the extremity of the month, astir 4.5 cardinal Americans had been infected with COVID-19 and much than 150,000 had died.

Just days later, Woolery changed his stance, announcing his lad had contracted COVID-19. “To further clarify and adhd perspective, COVID-19 is existent and it is here. My lad tested affirmative for the virus, and I consciousness for of those suffering and particularly for those who person mislaid loved ones,” Woolery posted earlier his relationship was deleted.

Woolery aboriginal explained connected his podcast that helium ne'er called COVID-19 “a hoax” oregon said “it’s not real,” conscionable that “we’ve been lied to.” Woolery besides said it was “an honour to person your president retweet what your thoughts are and deliberation it’s important capable to bash that.”

In summation to his wife, Woolery is survived by his sons Michael and Sean and his girl Melissa, Young said.

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