"Smooth as old satin"

Jay Leno, Della Reese, Mike Douglas, Miles Davis, Betty White and others on their impressions of Merv Griffin, the late talk show host, game show producer and mogul.

By Dana Cook

Read more: Arts & Entertainment, Arts & Entertainment Features

Aug. 13, 2007 | Mike Douglas, talk show host: "Brother"

The first time I heard of a young fellow named Merv Griffin, I was singing with Kay Kyser's band. I heard a song called "Lovely Bunch of Coconuts" with Merv featured as a vocalist. He was of Irish descent, about my age, some say he even looked a bit like me, and he was singing with a big band. Like me...

I think the world of Merv Griffin. He's about as likable as people get, his show was a class act, and I like to think we were brothers in the Exalted Order of Pioneer Daytime TV Hosts... (Chicago, early 1950s)

From "I'll Be Right Back: Memories of TV's Greatest Talk Show," by Mike Douglas with Thomas Kelly and Michael Heaton (Simon & Schuster, 2000)

Charles Templeton, evangelist and broadcaster: "Expanding his opportunities"

I did the show ["Look Up and Live" on CBS] for three years. In my last season I was joined by Merv Griffin as co-host. Merv was at the time a band singer who wanted to expand his opportunities and add to his versatility. He was easy to work with, amiable, no camera hog, and quickly became a witty and skillful interviewer. My most vivid memory is of the two of us perched on high stools bantering until we broke up in laughter -- neither of us able to remember the name of the guest we were supposed to introduce. (New York, 1956)

From "An Anecdotal Memoir," by Charles Templeton (McClelland and Stewart, 1983)

Della Reese, gospel and jazz singer: "On his couch"

I had done his radio show where we formed a warm, professional bond. One of Merv's regular bits was to do the weather report to music. So the night I was on the show he did the weather to "And That Reminds Me." He started playing and spoofing. Fearing not, I jumped in with both feet. We had a ball making each other laugh. Merv was so smooth, starting up a song like "Tea for Two," for instance, singing: "On Friday, in Washington, it's true ... it's going to be forty-two." And I would sing a quick ad lib along the lines of "Yes, and in Milwaukee... they say it will be forty-three." The listeners loved it.

The next time I saw him was on his television show, which was broadcast from New York. That night, when my number was finished, Merv invited me to sit on the couch and talk to him. Completely unheard of at that time. In those days black artists with hit records were hired to sing on TV shows but were never invited to sit on the couch and be interviewed by the host. So that night when Merv beckoned me over to the couch and not only congratulated me on my song but also began to talk to me, I was almost incredulous. That gesture was most certainly an angel's. He invited me back whenever I was in New York and later, when his show moved to Los Angeles, I practically became a regular. (Late 1950s)

From "Angels Along the Way: My Life With Help From Above," by Della Reese with Franklin Lett and Mim Eichler (Berkley Boulevard Books, 1997)

Betty White, actor: "Down-to-earth mogul"

Merv Griffin first entered the game-show scene back in 1958, as host for a show called Play Your Hunch ... Merv was a popular singer at the time, and Mark Goodson spotted this personable young man as good emcee material. I am sure even Mark, in his wisdom, could have had no inkling that Merv would eventually become the giant one-man conglomerate that he is today. As for Merv, the game bug must have burrowed deep in the Griffin until it ultimately surfaced in a big way with Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!

...I got to know Merv when he brought his nighttime talk show on the air. It was one of the more enjoyable to do, because Merv kept everyone engaged in interesting conversation, even as each new guest was introduced. I was also understandably partial to the show because he let me bring on all sorts of animals from time to time. On two occasions he invited me to host the show when he was away.

Merv Griffin has grown into a veritable mogul before our eyes. For the record, that mogul has remained the same down-to-earth, funny, warm Merv that I first met. (Early 1960s)

From "Here We Go Again: My Life in Television," by Betty White (Scribner, 1995)

Jackie Mason, comedian: "Loved me"

I used to go on Merv Griffin and I did something nobody else did. I took questions from the audience. I would just go up in front of the audience and say, "I'll answer questions about anything..."

They'd ask, "Why don't you play football?"

"I would, but how would it look, a Jew catching a pig."

Merv always loved me. He saw me in Las Vegas and all during the late '60s and early '70s, he tried to get me on every show. Every day I would get a call from his booking agent to try to get me on the show because these segments were so popular. They acted like they couldn't live without me.

From "Jackie, Oy!: Jackie Mason From Birth to Rebirth," by Jackie Mason with Ken Gross (Little, Brown and Company, 1988)

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