The man was a talk-show host and creator of two of the most iconic game shows of all time -- "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune." He began his career as a radio singer making $100 a week, and ended up being one of the richest men in America.
Griffin also was a television institution and, even if you're, like me, too young to remember "The Merv Griffin Show," you're aware of the impact he made. I mean, do you think "Deal or No Deal" or "Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader" will run for more than 40 years, as "Jeopardy!" has or 32 year, like "Wheel of Fortune?" It's doubtful.
And, if his obituaries are to believed, he made his name the old-fashioned way -- creativity and hard work. In this age of people who are famous just for being famous, Griffin earned his fame. Apparently, even when he was in the declining stages of the prostate cancer that eventually took his life, he was still working, on a new syndicated game show called "Merv Griffin's Crosswords."
Not only was he passionate and dedicated, he had a sense of humor. If you don't believe that, check out the Steve Martin sci-fi spoof "The Man With Two Brains." Griffin has a hilarious cameo at the end, in which he allows himself to be the punchline to one of the film's long-running jokes. It's one of the movie's funniest moments and it showed that Griffin wasn't afraid to laugh at himself.
Between that and his contributions to television, he'll be missed.