The New York Times has an article about Merv.
No mention of the Maharishi.
May 26, 2005
In the Chatting Olympics, Look for Merv Griffin
By LOLA OGUNNAIKE
It was just days after Merv Griffin had been given a lifetime achievement award
at the
Daytime Emmys and just days before he was due to receive a similar award from
the
Museum of Radio and Television, so it was only natural that Mr. Griffin, a
daytime talk
show pioneer, was contemplating what his legacy would be.
"My greatest legacy is that I never asked an actor, 'How did you prepare for
the role?'
or 'Do you have any hobbies?' " Mr. Griffin said in an interview on Tuesday
morning.
"That's when you know that the interviewer is in terrible trouble."
As host of "The Merv Griffin Show" from 1963 to 1986, Mr. Griffin was not known
for
tough-hitting interrogations. Still, he is not a television figure to be
ignored. Having
invented the game-show juggernauts "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy!," he is
richer
than Croesus. And every time you hear the "Jeopardy!" jingle, Mr. Griffin hears
ka-
ching. It is as much for ingenuity as for anything he did with his sidekick
Arthur
Treacher that Mr. Griffin is being honored tonight at the Waldorf-Astoria by
the
Museum of Television and Radio.
"There really has been no one who has managed to have his type of success in
front
of and behind the camera," said Stuart N. Brotman, president of the Museum of
Television and Radio. "He is a one-man conglomerate, and I can't think of
anyone else
who has had that reach."
Dressed in white pants and a navy blue pullover, Mr. Griffin, 79, looked ready
to
spend an afternoon sailing. Instead, he sat at a table in his sprawling hotel
suite
overlooking Central Park and dusted off tender memories. There was the
90-minute
interview with Charles Schultz, the creator of the "Peanuts" comic strip, and
his chat
with Salvador Dal�, who brought along paintings to Mr. Griffin's show. "I said,
'Mr.
Dal�, I don't understand your work,' " he recalled, "and he said: 'Yes, that is
it! Dal� is
confusion!' " While interviewing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he said
he
thought, "Wow, this is the most peaceful man I've ever spoken to."
Dinner with Marlon Brando at Sardi's: "That's the only time Walter Winchell
ever said
hello to me." A cheesecake dessert with Elizabeth Taylor at Lindy's: "All the
women
that walked by on their way to the restroom bumped her so they could say, 'I
touched
Elizabeth Taylor.' " John Wayne, Lana Turner, Sophia Loren, Woody Allen.
Controversial characters like Bertrand Russell, Spiro Agnew and Richard Pryor.
Mr.
Griffin had stories about them all.
Of the estimated 25,000 people he has interviewed, Orson Welles was the most
fascinating, he said. "He allowed no pre-interview and no questions about his
past at
all." In 1985, Welles, once married to Rita Hayworth, approached Mr. Griffin
moments
before the show: "He said, 'You know all the wonderful gossipy things that
you've
always wanted to ask about my past?' And I said, 'Yes, but I'm not allowed to
ask
those.' And he said: 'Well, tonight you are. I'm feeling very expansive.' He
said, 'Ask
me anything,' and I did, and then he went home and died two hours later."
Imminent death wasn't the only way to make a guest feel "expansive." Apparently
cocktails worked, too. "If we knew they were stiffs, we'd get 'em a little
stiff," Mr.
Griffin said with a wink. "I remember a producer saying, 'Get her a shot,' and
it was
for Bette Davis, and boy did she go after that."
The bug-eating, wife-swapping, home-improving world of reality television does
little for Mr. Griffin. "Bachelors and spinsters and people collecting
uninteresting
people, I don't know what that stuff is," he said with a dismissive wave. It
comes as
little surprise that Mr. Griffin, who began playing the piano at 4, is a huge
fan of
"American Idol." "They have talent and they actually perform," he said. "I love
that
show."
He seemed amazed and a bit put off by the gift-giving hysteria that has swept
daytime television, with audiences now scoring everything from minivans and
luxury
getaways just for clapping on cue. "We never did that," Mr. Griffin said, as
his beloved
Shar-Pei, Charlie Chan, padded about. "We used to give 'em an Oreo cookie and
that
sufficed. But of course, there wasn't the same competition for studio audiences
that
there is today."
Upon ending his show, nearly 20 years ago, Mr. Griffin began making shrewd
moves
in the business world, creating television shows, acquiring race horses, real
estate
and hotels like the Beverly Hilton. In the late 80's he tangled with Donald
Trump and
triumphed, winning control of the Resorts Hotel (which he eventually sold).
Their
relationship is now "perfect," he said: "He doesn't see me and I don't see
him."
In 1986, he sold Merv Griffin Enterprises, which included "Jeopardy!" and
"Wheel of
Fortune," to Coca-Cola for $250 million. He still receives royalties from the
"Jeopardy!" theme, which he wrote in less than a minute. "That little 30
seconds has
made me a fortune, millions," he crowed. How much exactly? "You don't want to
know." Please, Mr. Griffin, do share. "Probably close to $70-80 million."
It has not been all highs for Mr. Griffin though. In 1991, Brent Plott, a
former
employee, sued him for $200 million in palimony, claiming that for years he was
Mr.
Griffin's lover and business consultant and therefore entitled to a sizable
chunk of his
empire. That same year, Deney Terrio, the host of "Dance Fever," Mr. Griffin's
popular
70's disco show, filed a $11.3 million sexual harassment suit against his boss.
While both cases were eventually dismissed, questions about Mr. Griffin's
sexuality
continue to swirl. Nevertheless, Mr. Griffin, a divorced father of one, who
used to
squire around Eva Gabor, is quite clear about who he is. "I tell everybody that
I'm a
quartre-sexual," he said with a sly grin. "I will do anything with anybody for
a
quarter."
Those close to Mr. Griffin are used to his ribald sense of humor. "He's got a
little bit
of the devil in him," said Tony Danza, who first appeared on "The Merv Griffin
Show"
in the 70's and has remained a friend.
Mr. Griffin was more than willing to play a game of word association, a device
he
often used on his show. Oprah? "She's on at working-man's hours, so I don't get
to
see her a lot. But it's quite extraordinary what she's done." Jerry Springer?
"It's like
watching somebody go to the toilet. Do you really want to see that?" David
Letterman?
"Edgy. Inventive. Sassy. Fun to be with." Donahue? Mr. Griffin paused. "Gone,"
he said
with a shrug. "I would argue with Phil that he should not have completely
exposed his
politics. It put people on the defensive coming on." Conan O'Brien? "Very late
at night,
catch him on occasion. He's cute. He's fun. He's tall." He reserved his highest
praise
for Ellen DeGeneres: "She's born for the medium."
A DVD compilation of Mr. Griffin's talk shows will be released in September.
Another
DVD set is scheduled to hit stores just in time for the holidays. He is also
working on
the Griffin Ranch, an equestrian complex in La Quinta, Calif.
In the last decade a number of Mr. Griffin's peers have gone on to that great
green
room in the sky. "At a certain age you just await your turn," he said
resignedly. "But
I've got great energy, and I've got all of my hair."
Ever the forward thinker, Mr. Griffin, who turns 80 in July, already knows
what his
tombstone epitaph will read. "I will not be right back after these messages,"
he said
chuckling.
c. 2005 The New York Times
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