Chuck Woolery
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 Chuck Woolery with season three Lingo co-host Stacey Hayes |
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| Born: | March 16, 1941 (age 66) Ashland, Kentucky, United States |
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| Occupation: | game show host |
| Spouse: | Kim Barnes |
| Children: | 6 (1 deceased) |
Charles Herbert "Chuck" Woolery (born on March 16, 1941) is a popular game show host, best known for hosting the dating game show Love Connection, from its debut in 1983 to the conclusion of its first version in 1994. He currently hosts Lingo on GSN.
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[edit] Background
Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Woolery grew up an avid fisherman. He attended Morehead State University and made his first foray into the entertainment business as a member of the band The Avant Garde with his partner Elkin "Bubba" Fowler. In 1968, The Avant Garde produced the moderate hit Naturally Stoned (which inspired the name for Woolery's reality series on GSN). In the early 1970s he appeared on the children's series New Zoo Revue as Mr. Dingle.
Woolery has been married four times. He had three children—Cary, Katharine and Chad—with his first wife, Margaret Hayes. Chad died in a motorcycle accident in 1986 at age 19. His second wife was actress Jo Ann Pflug, with whom he had a daughter, Melissa. His third wife was Teri Nelson, the granddaughter of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. The couple had two sons, Michael and Sean. Woolery married his fourth wife, Kim Barnes, on July 17, 2006, in Las Vegas. In 2006 he bought a house near Austin, Texas.
Woolery is a devout, born again Christian and spends a great deal of time involved in volunteer ministry.
[edit] Career
Starting as an enterprising folk/pop singer, Woolery was first seen on a 1974 rendition of Your Hit Parade, and was soon recognized as having quality master-of-ceremonies material. At the urging of television host Merv Griffin, he accepted hosting duties for newly created game show Wheel of Fortune in 1975. Woolery eventually left Wheel of Fortune in a salary dispute with show producers, which he has admitted was a mistake on his part. However, with his strong looks, casual wit and friendly charm, Woolery has since become one of the most respected and liked game show hosts in the business. He was rated #8 on GSN's list of the top ten game show hosts, in a documentary first aired on the network January 7, 2007.
One of the most recognizable faces in game show television, Woolery has hosted Wheel (1975-1981), Love Connection (1983-1994), Scrabble (1984-1990, 1993), The Home and Family Show (1996-97, co-host), The Dating Game (1997-99 update), Greed (1999-2000) and Lingo (2002-present). In addition, he was the subject of a reality show, Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned, and has been seen on television infomercials as a national spokesman for National Recreational Properties, promoting developing real estate communities such as Holiday Island in Arkansas. He even had his own television talk show, called The Chuck Woolery Show, which lasted for only a few months in 1991. Woolery has added narration for GSN's daytime lineup schedule since April 2005, and these bumpers run from the start of GSN's daily schedule until just before 4 PM, when the generic bumper takes the spot. His current game show on GSN, Lingo, is going into its sixth season.
Woolery often speaks enthusiastically about bass fishing and sells his own line of fishing products, including "MotoLure", a motorised lure that emulates a small fish. Woolery's passion for the outdoors has also enabled him to become the "official outdoor spokesman" on QVC - the television shopping network - where Woolery promotes many other signature products. Woolery has also played on the World Poker Tour Hollywood Home Game for the charity Safe Passage. He is known for his trademark commercial outro of "two and two" along with a two-finger hand gesture, much like a peace sign, which he first started using on Love Connection. Woolery has explained that "two and two" means the amount of time a commercial break lasts (two minutes for the commercial, plus one second out and one second in).
| Preceded by Edd Byrnes (1974 pilot) |
Host of Wheel of Fortune 1975–1981 |
Succeeded by Pat Sajak (1981-89) |
