Chuck Woolery, smooth-talking game show host of ‘Love Connection’ and ‘Scrabble,’ dies at 83

NEW YORK (AP) The friendly, easygoing host of Wheel of Fortune, Love Connection, and Scrabble, Chuck Woolery, has passed away. He was a right-wing podcaster who criticized liberals and accused the government of lying about COVID-19. He was eighty-three.

Woolery passed away at home in Texas with his wife, Kristen, by his side, according to an email received early Sunday by Woolery’s friend and podcast co-host, Mark Young. According to Young, life would not be the same without Chuck, who was a cherished brother and friend and a strong believer.

Woolery received a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978 and was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 for his matinee idol appearance, coiffed hair, and ease with clever humor.

During his 11-year tenure as presenter of TV’s Love Connection in 1983, Woolery created the two-fingered signature known as the “2 and 2”: “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds.” He presented TV’s Scrabble in 1984 and hosted two game shows concurrently until 1990.

The idea behind Love Connection, a show that aired long before dating apps, was that a single man or woman would watch the audition recordings of three possible partners before choosing one to go on a date with.

The guest would sit with Woolery in front of a studio audience a few weeks after the date and share the news with everyone. The three finalists would be chosen by the audience, and Love Connection would offer to cover the cost of a second date if the audience approved of the guest’s selection.

In 2003, Woolery revealed to The Philadelphia Inquirer that his favorite couple was an 87-year-old woman and a 91-year-old guy. She resembled a stolen Corvette because of the amount of eye makeup she was wearing. He remarked, “I remember wagon trains,” because he was so elderly. The poor fellow. He rode in a balloon with her.

Other highlights of her career included presenting the Chuck Woolery program, Lingo, and Greed. She also hosted an unsuccessful talk program in 1991 and the brief syndicated version of The Dating Game from 1998 to 2000. He portrayed himself in two Melrose Place TV episodes in 1992.

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Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned, the Game Show Network’s first effort at a reality show, focused on Woolery and debuted in 2003. In 1968, Woolery and his rock group, the Avant-Garde, released a pop song with the same title. Critics criticized the six-episode series.

Woolery’s TV career started with a show that has now become a staple. Although most people identify Wheel of Fortune with Pat Sajak and Vanna White, Woolery welcomed the audience and participants when the show began on NBC on January 6, 1975. Woolery, who was 33 at the time, was attempting to succeed as a singer in Nashville.

Originally known as Shopper’s Bazaar, Wheel of Fortune featured a roulette wheel and Hangman-style puzzles. Merv Griffin requested Woolery to host the new show with Susan Stafford after he sang Delta Dawn on The Merv Griffin Show.

In 2003, Woolery told The New York Times, “I had an interview that lasted fifteen to twenty minutes.” When Merv asked me if I wanted to do a game show after the program, I said, “Great,” thinking that I wanted to be a person who didn’t care what you had to say, had a lousy jacket, and had an equally bad mustache.

At first, NBC failed, but after redesigning it as Wheel of Fortune, they were approved. After a few years, Woolery asked for a raise to $500,000 annually, which is the same amount that Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall was earning. When Woolery objected, Griffin substituted weather reporter Pat Sajak.

Chuck and Susie both performed admirably, and Wheel did alright on NBC, albeit it never came close to Jeopardy’s level of popularity! accomplished in its prime, Griffin stated in his 2000s autobiography Merv: Making the Good Life Last, which he co-wrote with David Bender. As host, Woolery was nominated for an Emmy.

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Before going to college, Woolery, who was born in Ashland, Kentucky, served in the U.S. Navy. In order to support himself as a musician, he worked as a truck driver before forming the psychedelic rock duet The Avant-Garde in 1967. He had previously played double bass in a folk trio.

The Top 40 song “Naturally Stoned,” featuring Woolery singing, “When I put my mind on you alone/I can get a good sensation/Feel like I’m naturally stoned,” was performed by the Avant-Garde, who toured in a remodeled Cadillac hearse.

Woolery released his first solo single, “I’ve Been Wrong,” in 1969 following the breakup of the Avant-Garde. He went on to release multiple singles with Columbia before switching to country music in the 1970s. Forgive My Heart and Love Me, Love Me are two of his solo hits.

From Pat Boone to Tammy Wynette, Woolery penned or co-authored songs for himself and other people. Woolery penned the song “The Joys of Being a Woman” for Wynette’s 1971 album We Sure Can Love Each Other. The lyrics include “See our baby on the swing/Hear her laugh, hear her scream.”

Woolery started a podcast when his TV career ended. He referred to himself as a gun rights activist and identified as a conservative libertarian and constitutionalist in an interview with The New York Times. He claimed that he had kept his political views to himself in liberal Hollywood out of concern for reprisals.

In 2014, he co-founded the podcast Blunt Force Truth with Mark Young. He quickly shifted to supporting Donald Trump, claiming that minorities do not require civil rights and sparking a controversy when he tweeted an antisemitic remark that connected Soviet Communists to Judaism.

He stated that only he and his decreasing legion of anxiety-dog-hugging, juice-box-drinking, safe-space-hiding snowflakes could hope for President Obama’s popularity.

Woolery was also active on the internet, retweeting Conservative Brief articles, claiming that Democrats were attempting to impose a Marxist regime, and disseminating headlines like “Impeach him!” Joe Biden’s devastating photo releases.

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In the early days of the epidemic, Woolery first charged Democrats and medical professionals with fabricating information about the virus to harm the economy and Trump’s chances of winning reelection.

The lies concerning COVID-19 are the most ludicrous. Everyone is telling lies. We are told to trust the CDC, the media, Democrats, and our doctors—not all, but the majority. It’s all about the election, in my opinion, and preventing the economy from recovering. In July 2020, Woolery wrote, “I’m tired of it.”

Trump’s 83 million followers saw that post retweeted. Nearly 4.5 million Americans had contracted COVID-19 by the end of the month, and over 150,000 had lost their lives to the virus.

Days later, Woolery said that his son had been infected with COVID-19, changing his position. To put things in perspective, COVID-19 is real and present. Before his account was removed, Woolery said, “I feel for those suffering, especially those who have lost loved ones.” My son tested positive for the virus.

Later, Woolery clarified on his podcast that he never referred to COVID-19 as a hoax or claimed it wasn’t real, only that we had been misled. Woolery added that having your president RT your opinions and believe they are significant enough to do so is an honor.

According to Young, Woolery is survived by his wife, sons Michael and Sean, and daughter Melissa.

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