Chuck Woolery

{{Short description|American game show host (1941–2024)}}

{{Use American English|date=November 2024}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2024}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Chuck Woolery

| image = Chuck Woolery 2004 cropped.jpg

| caption = Woolery in 2004

| birth_name = Charles Herbert Woolery

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1941|03|16}}

| birth_place = Ashland, Kentucky, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2024|11|23|1941|03|16}}

| death_place = Horseshoe Bay, Texas, U.S.

| occupation = {{hlist|Television host|singer|actor}}

| years_active = 1963–2024

| credits = {{unbulleted list|{{Nowrap|Wheel of Fortune (1975–1981)}}|Scrabble (1984–1990, 1993)|Love Connection (1983–1994)}}

| party = Republican

| spouse = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Margaret Hayes|1961|1971|end=div}}|{{marriage|Jo Ann Pflug|1972|1980|end=div}}|{{marriage|Teri Nelson|1985|2004|end=div}}|{{marriage|Kim Barnes|2006|2016|end=div}}}}

| children = 5

| relatives = David Nelson (former-father-in-law)

| module = {{infobox musical artist

| embed = yes

| genre = {{hlist|Psychedelic pop|country}}

| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar}}

| label = {{hlist|Columbia|Warner|Epic}}

| past_member_of = The Avant-Garde

}}

}}

Charles Herbert Woolery (March 16, 1941 – November 23, 2024) was an American television host, actor, and musician. He had long-running tenures hosting several game shows. Woolery was the original host of the original daytime Wheel of Fortune from 1975 until 1981, when he was replaced by Pat Sajak. After leaving Wheel of Fortune, Woolery hosted a number of other game shows including Love Connection (1983–1994), Scrabble (1984–1990, 1993), Greed (1999–2000), and Lingo (2002–2007). Woolery's musical career includes several advertising jingles, a top-40 pop hit with the psychedelic pop duo The Avant-Garde, and a number of country music releases. In the 2010s, Woolery also hosted a political podcasting series.

Early life

Charles Herbert Woolery was born in Ashland, Kentucky, on March 16, 1941, the son of Katherine, a homemaker, and Dan Woolery, who owned a fountain supplies company.{{Cite web |title=Famous birthdays for March 16: Lauren Graham, Chuck Woolery - UPI.com |url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2022/03/16/Famous-birthdays-for-March-16-Lauren-Graham-Chuck-Woolery/8531647200796/ |access-date=March 3, 2024 |website=UPI |language=en}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VbrwCQAAQBAJ&dq=%22charles+herbert%22+%22chuck+woolery%22&pg=PA269 |title=Television Game Show Hosts: Biographies of 32 Stars |publisher=McFarland |author=David Baber |year=2015 |pages=269 |isbn=978-1-4766-0480-0}}{{Cite web |last=Barnes |first=Mike |date=November 24, 2024 |title=Chuck Woolery, Host of 'Wheel of Fortune' and 'Love Connection,' Dies at 83 |url=https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/chuck-woolery-host-wheel-fortune-052232692.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Yahoo! Entertainment}}

After high school, Woolery served two years in the U.S. Navy, aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65).[https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/woolery-chuck-1941 Woolery, Chuck 1941–] Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved May 23, 2024.[https://premierespeakers.com/chuck-woolery/bio Chuck Woolery: Legendary, Emmy Award-Winning Game Show Host] Premiere Speakers Bureau. Retrieved May 23, 2024. In 1963, Woolery worked as a wine consultant for Wasserstrom Wine and Import Company in Columbus, Ohio.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

Career

=Music career=

In the early 1960s, Woolery sang and played the double bass with a folk song trio called The Bordermen. He also sang in a duo called The Avant-Garde who were in the psychedelic pop genre. The other half of the duo was Bubba Fowler. They signed to Columbia Records and had a Top 40 hit with "Naturally Stoned" in 1968, bringing the duo one-hit wonder status.{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p183845|pure_url=yes}}|title=The Avant-Garde biography| last=Ankeny| first=Jason| work=Allmusic|access-date=August 1, 2009}} It reached #30 in Canada, October 21, 1968.{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/RPM/60s/1968/RPM-1968-10-21.pdf| title=RPM Magazine |date=October 21, 1968 |page=5}}

In the late 1970s, Woolery returned to his singing career. Woolery charted on Hot Country Songs with "Painted Lady" and "The Greatest Love Affair".{{cite web|title=Chuck Woolery Artist Biography |first=Jason |last=Ankeny |website=AllMusic |url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/chuck-woolery-mn0001266077/biography |access-date=October 4, 2014}} Between 1977 and 1980, Woolery recorded for Warner Bros. Records and Epic Records as a solo artist, with two low-charting singles on Hot Country Songs.{{cite book| last=Whitburn| first=Joel|title=Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008|publisher=Record Research, Inc.| year=2008| page=474|isbn=978-0-89820-177-2}} Woolery also co-wrote "The Joys of Being a Woman" on Tammy Wynette's 1971 album We Sure Can Love Each Other.{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/we-sure-can-love-each-other-mw0000880089 |title=Tammy Wynette − We Sure Can Love Each Other Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=AllMusic}}

=Acting and television show host=

As an actor, Woolery appeared with Stephen Boyd, Rosey Grier, and Cheryl Ladd in the mid-1970s film The Treasure of Jamaica Reef.{{cite news |title=Evil in the Deep (1974) {{!}} Alternate title: Treasure of Jamaica Reef |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/50873/Evil-in-the-Deep/cast |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006192023/http://www.nytimes.com/movies/movie/50873/Evil-in-the-Deep/cast |url-status=dead |archive-date=October 6, 2014 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=The New York Times |date=2014 |access-date=October 4, 2014}}

Woolery performed as Mr. Dingle on the children's television series New Zoo Revue in the early 1970s. During that time, he made his first game show appearance on an episode of Tattletales in 1974, alongside then-wife Jo Ann Pflug. Starting as a singer, Woolery appeared on an episode of Your Hit Parade. On January 6, 1975, he began hosting Wheel of Fortune at the suggestion of creator Merv Griffin, who had seen Woolery sing on The Tonight Show.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/24/arts/television/chuck-woolery-dead.html |title=Chuck Woolery, Host of 'Love Connection,' Dies at 83 |last=Lindner |first=Emmett |date=November 24, 2024 |access-date = November 24, 2024 |work=The New York Times |url-access=subscription}} Woolery hosted the show for six years, and in 1978 was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host or Hostess in a Game or Audience Participation Show. In 1981, he was involved in a salary dispute with the program's producers; he said in a 2007 interview that he demanded a raise from $65,000 a year to about $500,000 a year because the program was drawing a 44 viewership share at the time, and other hosts (such as Richard Dawson and Bob Barker) were making that much. Griffin offered Woolery $400,000 a year, and NBC offered to pay the additional $100,000, but after Griffin threatened to move the program to CBS, NBC withdrew the offer. Woolery's contract was not renewed and his final episode aired on December 25, 1981.{{cite web| title=Woolery Reveals 25-Year Rift With Merv Griffin on 'The Strip'| url=http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/11/emw571557.htm| publisher=eMediaWire| date=November 25, 2007| access-date=November 28, 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126033137/http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/11/emw571557.htm| archive-date=November 26, 2007}} Pat Sajak replaced him.

Woolery hosted Love Connection (1983–1994), The Big Spin (1985), Scrabble (1984–1990, 1993), Home & Family (1996–1998, co-host), The Dating Game (1997–1999), Greed (1999–2000), TV Land Ultimate Fan Search (1999–2000), and Lingo (2002–2007). In addition, he was the subject of a short-lived reality television, Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned (originally titled Chuck Woolery: Behind the Lingo) in 2003.{{cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/90640p-82428c.html |title=Woolery chucked into the reality mix |last=Petrozello |first=Donna |date=June 9, 2003 |website=New York Daily News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060209092725/http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/story/90640p-82428c.html |archive-date=February 9, 2006 |url-status=dead |access-date=February 13, 2012}} He also hosted his own talk show, The Chuck Woolery Show, which lasted for only a few months in 1991. He hosted The Price Is Right Live! at Harrah's Entertainment casinos, and appeared in the live stage show "$250,000 Game Show Spectacular" at the Westgate Las Vegas until April 2008.{{cite web|title=R.I.P. $250,000 Game Show Spectacular|date=April 30, 2008|url=http://thestrippodcast.blogspot.com/2008/04/rip-250000-game-show-spectacular.html| access-date=January 1, 2009}}

On April 21, 2023, it was announced that Woolery would be featured in an upcoming four-episode documentary by ABC News titled The Game Show Show, covering the history of game shows in America over the last eight decades. The four-part documentary premiered on May 10, 2023.{{Cite web |date=April 21, 2023 |title=ABC News Studios Sets The Game Show Show Special (Exclusive) |url=https://www.thewrap.com/abc-news-studios-the-game-show-show-exclusive/ |access-date=April 21, 2023 |language=en-US}} Woolery later hosted {{'}}80s Quiz Show, a game show based on trends and norms of the 1980s, which streamed on Fox Nation on June 7, 2024.{{Cite web |title=Watch '80s Quiz Show |url=https://nation.foxnews.com/80s-quiz-show-nation/ |access-date=July 7, 2024 |website=Watch '80s Quiz Show {{!}} Fox Nation |language=en}}

=Radio and podcast host=

From 2012 to 2014, Woolery hosted a nationally syndicated radio commentary show, Save Us Chuck Woolery, which grew out of his YouTube videos. In 2014, the show became a long-format podcast, and was retitled Blunt Force Truth. However, before his death the show could still be heard on about 60 radio stations across the country.{{Cite web |title=Two & Two Broadcasting |url=https://2and2broadcasting.com/ |access-date=April 21, 2023 |website=2and2broadcasting.com}} With co-host Mark Young, Woolery expanded on his conservative political ideals and current events, often inviting guest experts to join the conversation.{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |title=And Now, Here's Your Right-Wing Podcast Host: Chuck Woolery! |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/23/style/what-does-chuck-woolery-do-now.html |url-access=subscription |work=The New York Times |access-date=December 13, 2017 |date=February 23, 2017}}

Political views

Woolery spoke in favor of American conservatism. He was an active supporter of the Republican Party, and had mainly donated to Republican and conservative causes.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_2ZmoYwaH1s Chuck Woolery on Occupy Wall Street], youtube.com (Chuck Woolery statement against Occupy Wall Street); retrieved February 13, 2012Christopher, Tommy (February 9, 2012). [http://www.mediaite.com/online/cpac-2012-no-love-connection-for-chuck-woolery-and-president-obama/ Mediaite Interviews The Great Chuck Woolery At CPAC, He Is No Fan Of President Obama], Mediaite He was a gun rights activist.{{cite web|last=Woolery|first=Chuck|title=Lessons for Shove Guv Andrew Cuomo|url=http://saveuschuckwoolery.com/lessons-for-shove-guv-andrew-cuomo/|website=SaveUsChuckWoolery.com|access-date=March 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140307231020/http://saveuschuckwoolery.com/lessons-for-shove-guv-andrew-cuomo/|archive-date=March 7, 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=Chuck Woolery on Saving The Second Amendment|url=http://www.nranews.com/resources/video/chuck-woolery-on-saving-the-second-amendment/list/in-the-news|access-date=March 7, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308000829/http://www.nranews.com/resources/video/chuck-woolery-on-saving-the-second-amendment/list/in-the-news|archive-date=March 8, 2014|url-status=dead}}

Woolery was accused of antisemitism after a series of tweets in May 2017, including this message: "Believe it or not. Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin were both Jewish. I was shocked to find, most of the original Soviet Communists were Jewish."{{cite web|last1=Nazaryan|first1=Alexander|url=http://www.newsweek.com/chuck-woolery-anti-semitism-tweet-socialism-judaism-marx-lenin-617158|title=Former 'Wheel of Fortune' host Chuck Woolery has been accused of anti-Semitism after controversial tweets|date=May 30, 2017|website=Newsweek.com}} The claim that communism is Jewish in origin forms the core of the antisemitic trope called Judeo-Bolshevism. The tweet led to accusations of antisemitism against Woolery.{{Cite web |url=http://www.newsweek.com/chuck-woolery-anti-semitism-tweet-socialism-judaism-marx-lenin-617158 |title=Former 'Wheel of Fortune' host Chuck Woolery has been accused of anti-Semitism after controversial tweets |date=May 30, 2017 |website=Newsweek |language=en |access-date=January 5, 2018}} In response to the criticism, Woolery tweeted: "Amazing to me, I point out that Marx and Lenin were Jewish, Fact of history, and now I'm being called anti-Semitic? Why do people do this?"

On July 12, 2020, Woolery tweeted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), doctors, the media, and the Democratic Party were lying about the COVID-19 pandemic. President Donald Trump retweeted Woolery's claims.{{cite news |last=Nolan |first=Emma |date=July 13, 2020 |title=Trump Retweets Chuck Woolery Saying 'Everyone is Lying' About Coronavirus |url=https://www.newsweek.com/trump-retweets-chuck-woolery-coronavirus-cdc-lies-schools-1517330 |url-status=live |work=Newsweek |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715091757/https://www.newsweek.com/trump-retweets-chuck-woolery-coronavirus-cdc-lies-schools-1517330 |archive-date=July 15, 2020 |access-date=July 16, 2020}}{{Cite web |url=https://theweek.com/speedreads/925168/trump-retweets-baseless-claim-that-cdc-doctors-are-lying-about-covid19-hurt-campaign |title=Trump retweets baseless claim that CDC, doctors are 'lying' about COVID-19 to hurt his campaign |website=The Week |date=July 13, 2020}} The following day, Woolery tweeted that his son had tested positive for the virus and that the "COVID-19 pandemic is real". His Twitter account was later made private before later being made public again.{{cite web |url=https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/chuck-woolery-son-covid-19/ |title=Did Chuck Woolery Say His Son Tested Positive for COVID-19? |last=Evon |first=Dan |date=July 15, 2020 |website=snopes.com |publisher=Snopes |access-date=July 16, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://twitter.com/chuckwoolery |title=Chuck Woolery (@chuckwoolery) |author=Chuck Woolery |website=Twitter |access-date=July 16, 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200713173354/https://twitter.com/chuckwoolery |archive-date=July 13, 2020}}

Personal life and death

Woolery was a Christian who volunteered in ministry.{{cite web |url=http://www.askmen.com/toys/interview_100/131_chuck_woolery_interview.html |title=Chuck Woolery ... still making love connections |publisher=AskMen.com |access-date=October 20, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408032317/http://www.askmen.com/toys/interview_100/131_chuck_woolery_interview.html |archive-date=April 8, 2008 |url-status=dead}} He was married five times and was the father of five children. Woolery and his first wife, Margaret Hays, had two children together, Katherine and Chad. Chad was killed in a motorcycle accident in January 1986.{{cite news |last=Castro |first=Peter |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20121708,00.html |title=The Mourning After| date=March 31, 1997| volume=47 |number=12}}{{cite news |date=July 20, 2006 |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1217236,00.html |title=A Love Connection for Chuck Woolery |work=People |access-date=July 7, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070525115637/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,1217236,00.html |archive-date=May 25, 2007 |url-status=dead}} In 1972, he married actress Jo Ann Pflug and had a daughter, Melissa. They divorced in 1980. With third wife Teri Nelson, who is the adopted daughter of actor David Nelson and granddaughter of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, he had two sons, Michael and Sean.{{cite news| date=June 15, 2003| url=http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,91956,00.html |title=Marriage Woes for Woolery| website=FoxNews.com| access-date=January 9, 2014}} In 2006, he married Kim Barnes. At the time of his death, it was reported that he was married to a woman named Kristen.{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Kennedy |title=Chuck Woolery, smooth-talking game show host of 'Love Connection' and 'Scrabble,' dies at 83 |work=Associated Press News |date=2024-11-24 |url=https://apnews.com/article/obituary-chuck-woolery-508f37c136ccbc4c8ad48a4fd582674b |access-date=2024-11-24 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241124224032/https://apnews.com/article/obituary-chuck-woolery-508f37c136ccbc4c8ad48a4fd582674b |archive-date=2024-11-24 |url-status=live}}

In Woolery's later years, he lived in Horseshoe Bay, Texas, and died at home on November 23, 2024, at the age of 83.{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/chuck-woolery-dead-wheel-fortune-love-connection-1236070165/ |title=Chuck Woolery, Host of 'Wheel of Fortune' and 'Love Connection,' Dies at 83 |first=Mike |last=Barnes |magazine=The Hollywood Reporter |date=November 23, 2024 |access-date=November 24, 2024}}{{cite news |url=https://www.expressnews.com/business/real-estate/article/Chuck-Woolery-horseshoe-bay-home-16800284.php |url-access=subscription |title='Love Connection' host Chuck Woolery buys one Horseshoe Bay home before selling another |last=Goldsborough |first=Bob |date=January 24, 2022 |access-date=November 24, 2024 |newspaper=San Antonio Express-News}}

Filmography

Source:{{cite web |title=Chuck Woolery |url=https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/chuck-woolery/credits/3000423472/ |website=TVGuide.com |access-date=November 24, 2024}}{{Additional citation needed|date=November 2024}}

=Acting=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

! Role

!class="unsortable" |Notes

1972

| New Zoo Revue

| Mr. Dingle

|

1973

| Love, American Style

| Mr. Thompson

| 1 episode, segment: "Love and the Cozy Comrades"

1973

| ABC Saturday Morning Cartoons

| Superman

| For full preview special Sneak Peek

1974

| Sonic Boom

| Pilot Rogers

| Short film

1975

| The Treasure of Jamaica Reef

| Detective

| a.k.a. Evil in the Deep

1978

| A Guide for the Married Woman

| Tennis Pro

| Television film

1979

| $weepstake$

| Tyler

| Episode 4

1982

| Romance Theatre

|

| "Marisol" Parts 1–5

1982

| Six Pack

| TV Commentator #2

|

1989

| 227

| Himself

| Episode: "A Date to Remember"

1989

| Cold Feet

| Himself

| Love Connection host on TV

1997

| Hey, Hey, It's the Monkees

| Chuck

| Cameo as the nightclub owner

2004

| Scrubs

| Himself

| Season 4 Episode 6

=Television/radio=

class="wikitable sortable"
Year

! Title

!class="unsortable" |Notes

1975–1981

| Wheel of Fortune

|Replaced by Pat Sajak

1983–1994

| Love Connection

|Host

1984–1990, 1993

| Scrabble

|Host

1991

| The Chuck Woolery Show

| 65 episodes

1996

| Home & Family

| Co-host with Cristina Ferrare

1997–1999

| The Dating Game

| Host

1999–2000

| Greed

| Host, 44 episodes

1999–2000

| TV Land Ultimate Fan Search

|

1999

| Biography

| Episode: Bob Barker: Master of Ceremonies

2002–2007

| Lingo

| succeeded by Bill Engvall in 2011

2008

| Think Like a Cat

|Host

2012–2014

| Save Us Chuck Woolery (radio show)

|Host

2014–2024

| Blunt Force Truth (podcast)

| Co-host with Mark Young

2023

|The Game Show Show

|Game show documentary

2024

|{{'}}80s Quiz Show

|Host

Discography

=Singles=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
rowspan="2"| Year

! rowspan="2" style="width:14em;"| Single

!| Peak positions

style="font-size:smaller;"

! style="width:60px;"| Hot Country Songs

rowspan="2"| 1977

! scope="row"| "Painted Lady"

| 78

scope="row"| "Take 'Er Down, Boys"{{Cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/5-psychedelic-rock-and-country-songs-written-by-iconic-game-show-host-chuck-woolery/|title=5 Psychedelic Rock and Country Songs Written by Iconic Game Show Host Chuck Woolery|first=Tina|last=Benitez-Eves|date=January 20, 2024|website=American Songwriter}}

| —

1980

! scope="row"| "The Greatest Love Affair"

| 94

colspan="10" style="font-size:8pt"| "—" denotes releases that did not chart

See also

References

{{reflist}}