Chuck Woolery, the smooth-talking game show host of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble” amongst others who later became a popular right-wing political podcaster, has died. He was 83.
Born in Ashland, Kentucky, on March 6, 1941, Woolery would go on to serve two years in the U.S. Navy aboard the USS Enterprise before seeking a career in his first true love – entertainment.
Donald Trump-supporting Woolery may have enjoyed a renaissance skewering liberals and their hypocrisy while accusing the government of lying about coronavirus but his iconic name was very much a part of television game show hosting.
Actress Jo Ann Pflug, Shirley Freeman and game show host Chuck Woolery attend Avon Tennis Tournament Reception on March 2, 1981 at the Forum in Los Angeles, California. (Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
AP reports Woolery, with his matinee idol looks, coiffed hair and easy banter, was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978.
In 1983, Woolery began an 11-year run as host of TV’s “Love Connection,” for which he coined the phrase, “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds,” a two-fingered signature dubbed the “2 and 2.” In 1984, he hosted TV’s “Scrabble,” simultaneously fronting two game shows on TV until 1990. The AP report notes:
Woolery told The Philadelphia Inquirer in 2003 that his favorite set of lovebirds was a man aged 91 and a woman aged 87. “She had so much eye makeup on, she looked like a stolen Corvette. He was so old he said, ‘I remember wagon trains.’ The poor guy. She took him on a balloon ride.”
Other career highlights included hosting the shows “Lingo,” “Greed” and “The Chuck Woolery Show,” as well as hosting the short-lived syndicated revival of “The Dating Game” from 1998 to 2000 and an ill-fated 1991 talk show. In 1992, he played himself in two episodes of TV’s “Melrose Place.”
The AP reports further notes after his TV career ended, Woolery went into podcasting. In an interview with the New York Times, he happily called himself a gun-rights activist and described himself as a conservative libertarian and constitutionalist.
He said he hadn’t revealed his politics in liberal Hollywood for fear of retribution.
Woolery teamed up with Mark Young in 2014 for the podcast “Blunt Force Truth” and soon became a full supporter of Donald Trump.
“President Obama’s popularity is a fantasy only held by him and his dwindling legion of juice-box-drinking, anxiety-dog-hugging, safe-space-hiding snowflakes,” he said.
Host Chuck Woolery (C) and co-host Stacey Hayes (4th from L) pose for a photo with Playboy Playmates who were contestants on the gameshow “Lingo” October 17, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. “Lingo” is the highest original program on the Game Show Network. (Carlo Allegri/Getty Images for Game Show Network)
Woolery also was active online, retweeting articles from Conservative Brief while insisting Democrats were trying to install a system of Marxism.
During the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, Woolery was publicly sceptical about its origins and its spread.
He was married four times and was the father of five children.
Woolery is survived by his wife Kim and his children, Katherine, Melissa, Michael and Sean. He also had a son Chad who died in a motorcycle accident in 1986.