Charles Herbert “Chuck” Woolery, the original host of “Wheel of Fortune” and longtime presenter of “Love Connection,” died on November 23, 2024, at his home in Texas. He was 83. His friend and podcast co-host Mark Young confirmed that Woolery passed away with his wife, Kristen, by his side.
According to Young, Woolery’s wife went to see how he was doing after he mentioned that he was feeling unwell and having trouble breathing. Even though an emergency call was made, Woolery unfortunately passed away.
Susan Stafford, who served as Woolery’s co-host on “Wheel of Fortune,” remembered him fondly.
Born on March 16, 1941, in Ashland, Kentucky, Woolery served in the U.S. Navy before pursuing higher education. His entertainment career began in music, playing double bass in a folk trio and later forming the psychedelic rock duo The Avant-Garde in 1967 while supporting himself as a truck driver.
Woolery’s television career launched when he appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” performing “Delta Dawn.” Griffin, impressed by Woolery’s performance, asked him to host a new show called “Shopper’s Bazaar,” which eventually evolved into “Wheel of Fortune.” The show debuted on NBC on January 6, 1975, with Woolery and Stafford as co-hosts.
After departing “Wheel of Fortune” in 1981, when Pat Sajak took over, Woolery began hosting “Love Connection” in 1983, where he became known for his catchphrase, “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds.” He hosted the show for 11 years while simultaneously hosting “Scrabble” from 1984 to 1990.
In 2003, Woolery shared with The Philadelphia Inquirer that his favorite couple of lovebirds on “Love Connection” consisted of a 91-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman. “She had so much eye makeup on, she looked like a stolen Corvette. He was so old he said, ‘I remember wagon trains.'”
Throughout his career, Woolery hosted numerous other game shows, including “Lingo,” “Greed,” and “The Chuck Woolery Show.” He also appeared as himself in two episodes of “Melrose Place” in 1992. The Game Show Network featured him in their first reality show, “Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned,” which ran for six episodes in 2003.
His contributions to television earned him recognition, including induction into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978.
Following his television career, Woolery transitioned to podcasting, co-hosting “Blunt Force Truth.” In interviews, he described himself as a “gun-rights activist, a conservative-libertarian and constitutionalist.”
Woolery is survived by his wife, Kristen, and his children Michael, Sean, and Melissa.
