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Former Wheel of Fortune host Chuck Woolery died at age 83.
He passed away at his home in Texas with his wife Kristen Barnes at his side on Saturday, November 23.
Mark Young, his friend and co-host of his Blunt Force Truth Podcast, confirmed Woolery's passing on X (formerly Twitter) that same day, writing, "It is with a broken heart that I tell you that my dear brother @chuckwoolery has just passed away. Life will not be the same without him, RIP brother."
Woolery was the original host for Wheel of Fortune, holding the position from 1975 until a salary dispute in 1981. He wanted a raise from the $65,000 per year he was reportedly receiving to $500,000 per year, which the late star said was more comparable to what other hosts — like Richard Dawson and Bob Barker — were making at the time.
Merv Griffin, who was the one who initially recommended Woolery for the hosting role, offered him $400,00, but when NBC offered to pay the additional $100,000, Griffin threatened to move the show to CBS. NBC withdrew their offer for Woolery, his contract was not renewed, and Pat Sajak went on to become the game show's new host. Woolery's last episode was December 25, 1981. He later told The New York Times that he regretted leaving the show.
Woolery would go on to host the dating show Love Connection, which he helmed for 11 years, beginning in 1983. On Love Connection, he famously originated the "2 and 2" sign-off, which went along with his coined phrase, "We'll be back in two minutes and two seconds."
The following year he began hosting Scrabble, and simultaneously hosted both competition shows until 1990. Scrabble was briefly revived in 1993 with Woolery as the host. He also hosted Greed from 1999 to 2000, Lingo from 2002 to 2007, and a revival of The Dating Game from 1998 to 2000.
Other credits include The Chuck Woolery Show, a few episodes of Melrose Place, his own 1991 talk show, and Game Show Network's first attempt at a reality show, 2003's Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned.
The name came from his 1968 Top 40 hit "Naturally Stoned" with the psychedelic pop duo The Avant-Garde. He released two of his own singles in the 1970s, and wrote songs for other artists, like "The Jobs of Being a Woman" for Tammy Wynette.
Following his TV and music careers, Woolery became a conservative podcaster on his show with Young, Blunt Force Truth Podcast, which began in 2014.
Prior to his death, Woolery made waves with his conservative opinions. In 2019, he posted to X claiming his support of Donald Trump ruined his career.
"Yes I have pretty much destroyed my career by openly supporting Trump and letting all know, I am a conservative. Painful at times, but true. After all is said and done. It was my choice, and I can live with it. I would do it all again," he posted.
In July 2020, he courted more controversy by posting about the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The most outrageous lies are the ones about COVID-19. Everyone is lying. The CDC, media, Democrats, our doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think it's all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I'm sick of it," he wrote in a post that was then shared by Trump.
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