Merv Griffin

Merv: BIOGRAPHY

"I'm a very lucky guy. My life is never boring. I treat my professional life the same way I do my personal life. And I measure success the same way – by how much fun I'm having, and by how much fun I'm creating around me." Merv Griffin

A thoroughly believable philosophy coming from Merv Griffin. And by all accounts it's exactly the way he lived. Alas, I can't say yea or nay. I had no brush with the Great Griffin.

Among the talk show legends, I managed direct brushes with Johnny Carson and Tom Snyder, plus a few brief hellos with Mike Douglas (though I haven't yet written about my mother's appearance on his show). Nor a few others which I also haven't shared. Yet.

I do have a Six Degrees connection to Griffin: my sister Judy was once a contestant on Jeopardy! and met the big fellow.

As nice as he appears, she reported. After the show's taping in which she ran a couple categories, then folded into third place, Merv consoled her, "It's not really the brain, it's all in the thumb." An inside tip: learning how to hit the button first is the real key to success.

Merv Griffin's key to success was less easy to spot. But he sure knew it when he saw it. It's abundantly clear he had fun making his mark. And he gave as good as he got.

Thanks, Merv. You brought us all a Lov-e-ly Bunch of Coconuts.