Entertainer, Business Man Merv Griffin Dies at 82

Merv Griffin, the worldwide renowned entertainer who turned into an impresario and parlayed his "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune" game shows into a multimillion dollar empire, has died at the age of 82.
He died of prostate cancer, according to a spokeswoman.

"From his beginning as a $100-a-week San Francisco, California, radio singer, Griffin moved on as vocalist for Freddy Martin's band, sometime film actor and TV game and talk show host. His "The Merv Griffin Show" lasted more than 20 years, and Griffin said his capacity to listen contributed to his success."

After he invented the famous "Jeopardy" and "Wheel of Fortune", he sold the rights to the Columbia Pictures Television Unit for $250m which is where his fortune started from.

He also made it into Forbes' list of richest Americans and later on went into real estate business as "I was never bored of life" - he says.