We knew nothing of his relationships because he guarded his privacy fiercely, and we didnt pry. He was Lifetime Honorary Festival Chairman of La Quinta Arts Festival and recently donated his Wickenburg Inn and Dude Ranch to Childhelp USA.In March 2001, the Gold Label released his new CD, "It's Like a Dream", for which he composed the title song. "Just your picture. "Since 'The $64,000 Question,' the network won't let you do those . LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Merv Griffin was gay. Winner of 15 Emmy Awards, Griffin was presented an Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show Emmy for 1993-1994 as executive producer of Jeopardy! At that time, the transaction represented the largest acquisition of an entertainment company owned by a single individual. [9], Freddy Martin heard him on the radio show and asked him to tour with his orchestra,[1] which he did for four years. The pair "hung in there" despite the date setting them back to the starting stages of their relationship. It eventually went on to win eleven Emmy Awards. A post-burial reception was held at the Beverly Hilton, owned by Griffin from 1987 to 2003. He bought his contract back from Warner Bros. and decided to devote his attention to a new medium: television. But how tremendously sad it is that a man of Mervs renown, of his gregarious nature and social dexterity, would feel compelled to endure such a stealthy double life even as the gay communitys clout, and its levels of acceptance and equality, rose steadily from the ashes of ignorance. Its disheartening that Merv had to die to shake it for good. In the 1980s, Griffin purchased the Paradise Island Resort and Casino in the Bahamas for $400million from Trump, but later sold it for just $125million. Griffin became the host of The Merv Griffin Show, which was his own talk show. After 13 seasons as a daytime talk show host, Griffin retired from his talk show in 1986 to devote himself to producing his highly profitable game shows.Jeopardy! The audience is small and compact, practically sitting in the guest's lap. Subsequently, a Golden Palm Star on the Walk of Stars was devoted to him in 1998. Studying business administration at Notre Dame brought maturity and a desire to serve a city "with two airports." Merv Griffin Biography - Facts, Childhood, Family Life & Achievements In the business world, he was identified as the visionary chairman of The Griffin Group.Born in the San Francisco, California suburb of San Mateo, Griffin "came up through the ranks" in the classic sense, entering talent contests, writing songs, singing on local radio station KFRC-San Francisco, and later touring with Freddy Martin Orchestra. 24K views, 950 likes, 99 loves, 117 comments, 155 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Marlo Thomas: #TBT to this scene from That Girl. Then again, Merv carved his niche in the entertainment world at a time when being gay wasnt OK, when disclosure was unthinkable and the allegation alone could deep-six ones career. He was a famous but unsuccesssful single until 1977, when actress Marlo Thomas made her second appearance on his program. He was stuck in southwestern Ohio, where his Dayton journalistic high points included the moment in 1960 when he asked Pat Nixon if she were proud of her husband and spat in her eye on the "p.". So far, in the the rest of the obits on Griffin (Reuters, Associated Press) Ive seen nothing about his homosexuality. Griffin never acknowledged he was gay, though it became widely known in Hollywood, even as Eva Gabor played his beard. NBC-owned and -operated stations in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco and Dallas carried it, with many stations airing two episodes per day.