Merv Griffin
Media Mogul + TV Tycoon
Long before streaming turned everyone and their mother into a “content creator,” and well before reality TV blurred the line between celebrity and spectacle, Merv Griffin—the television titan—lived boldly, even if not always loudly.
To the public, Mr. Griffin was the consummate entertainer: a former big band singer turned talk show host turned media mogul. He created two of the most successful game shows in history—Jeopardy! and Wheel Of Fortune—which continue to shape pop culture and bankroll estates.
But behind the scenes, Mr. Griffin was something more complex. Not just a media mogul, but a reluctant gay pioneer—though the word “closet” never quite fit his life.
I had the honor of briefly working with Mr. Griffin long ago, and, based on my limited experience, I would say he lived exactly like the gay billionaire playboy he was. Even his private jet was staffed with an all-male crew of dandies and eye candies.
And Mr. Griffin? What an entertainer in the old Hollywood sense. Suave, stylish, sharp-witted. The kind of person who could hold a room without trying, who had stories for days and always knew exactly when to drop a name—or drop the pretense.
He didn’t talk much about being gay. He didn’t have to. He was gay, and anyone who worked with him or moved in his orbit knew it.
There was no wife in sight, no elaborate PR smoke and mirrors. That I’m aware of anyway. Just Mr. Griffin being Mr. Griffin—laughing, storytelling, charming the pants off Hollywood, while quietly living a life that defied the suffocating norms of his era.
Was he a trailblazer in the activist sense? No. He didn’t march or make public declarations. But he wielded power and influence, and he did so as an openly closeted gay man in a time when most couldn’t afford to be either.
And that, in a complicated way, is what makes Mr. Griffin an important part of LGBTQ history. In my opinion anyway.
Mr. Griffin never framed himself as a gay icon. But in hindsight, his legacy belongs to us. Not because he carried a rainbow flag, but because he helped build the media empires that made room for so many of us to be seen. And because he showed—at least privately—that there was another way to live, even in a world that preferred its queer celebrities invisible.
He was a man who knew the price of privacy, but also the pleasure of power. And while he never came out in the traditional sense, he never really played it “straight” either. Merv Griffin left behind a legacy of longevity and laughter.
Not bad for a gay billionaire playboy with a game show empire and a jet full of gorgeous men.
Rest in power, Mr. Griffin. You fabulous man, you.
Keep calm and carry on!
Clint 🌈✌️
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ON THIS DAY = JULY 6
BIRTHDAYS
1873 = Ethel Sands = British painter and socialite 🌈
1887 = Marc Chagall = Belarusian-French painter and poet
1907 = Frida Kahlo = Mexican artist 🌈
1916 = Don R. Christensen = American animator, cartoonist, and illustrator
1921 = Nancy Reagan = American actor and 42nd FLOTUS
1925 = Merv Griffin = American tv host and media mogul 🌈
1927 = Janet Leigh = American actor and author
1931 = Della Reese = American actor and singer
1935 = Candy Barr = American model, dancer, and actor
1935 = Tenzin Gyatso = 14th Dalai Lama
1937 = Gene Chandler = American singer-songwriter
1937 = Ned Beatty = American actor
1943 = Leonard Matlovich = American veteran and activist 🌈
1945 = Burt Ward = American actor
1946 = Sylvester Stallone = American actor, director, and screenwriter
1949 = Phyllis Hyman = American singer-songwriter
1951 = Geoffrey Rush = Australian actor and producer
1954 = Allyce Beasley = American actor
1958 = Jennifer Saunders = English actor, comedian and screenwriter
1966 = Glenn Scarpelli = American actor and singer 🌈
EVENTS
1885 = Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
1933 = The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2.
1957 = John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.
1962 = The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.
1994 = Forrest Gump is released in theaters.
HOLIDAYS + OBSERVANCES
PORTRAIT + QUOTE OF THE DAY
“You know I really never get down. My philosophy is that you have to constantly be turning the page, which prevents me from getting caught up in any negativity. It's all about change for me. I just keep moving and enjoy the ride.”
Merv Griffin
Merv Griffin was married to a woman for about 20 years. He would mention her from time to time on his show
That's quite a lovely photograph of Merv Griffin in the striped shirt. Very attractive. Your perspective of him seems to fit and I liked the quote by him at the end of the list of birthdays.
Thanks Clint and take time to enjoy your day!