Chuck Woolery,Love Connectionand OriginalWheel of FortuneHost, Dies at 83

Mar. 15, 2025

Chuck Woolery.Photo:Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Chuck Woolery, the original host ofWheel of Fortune, has died. He was 83.

Woolery died at his home in Texas with his wife present, his friend andBlunt Force Truthpodcast co-host Mark Young confirmed in an email to PEOPLE, after first sharing the news with theAssociated Presson Sunday, Nov. 24.

“He was a dear friend and brother in Christ and life will not be the same without him,” Young said in an email to PEOPLE.

Young alsowroteof Woolery’s passing on X (formerly Twitter), saying, “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.”

According toTMZ, Young told the outlet that Woolery “said he wasn’t feeling well and went to lie down.” Young claimed Woolery returned later and mentioned that “he was having trouble breathing” and 911 was called but “he didn’t make it.”

Chuck Woolery in 2003.Game Show Network via Getty

Game Show Network via Getty

Woolery was a television staple for decades. He was the original host ofWheel of Fortune, hosted the popular dating showLove Connectionfor over a decade and also hosted showsScrabble,GreedandLingo.

He was born in Ashland, Ky., in 1941. Woolery lived with his parents and sister in a two-story clapboard house and told PEOPLE in 1991 that his childhood was “real happy and very simple.” He sang from a young age, and one memorable moment occurred when Woolery — in seventh grade and 6 feet tall — sang Nat King Cole’s “Too Young” during an assembly. “I looked and sounded like a man in front of all these little kids,” he told PEOPLE. “Girls liked me, and guys hated me.”

Woolery enrolled at the University of Kentucky in 1960, but after two years he left and entered the Navy, spending two years there. Afterward, he returned to school at Kentucky’s Morehead State University but left again to pursue music. In Nashville, he and Bubba Fowler — under the name The Avant-Garde — recorded a single, “Naturally Stoned,” which became a Top 40 hit. He later released music as a solo artist as well.

Woolery onWheel of Fortunein 1973.Game Show Network /Courtesy Everett Collection

Game Show Network /Courtesy Everett Collection

Woolery moved to Los Angeles in 1972, and eventually landed spots onThe Tonight Showand other programs.

In 1975, producer Merv Griffin hired him to host a new game show calledWheel of Fortune. Initially, the show aired during the daytime. ‘‘When I got on, I couldn’t stop talking to people,’’ he toldThe New York Timesin 2003 about his hosting style. ‘‘I wanted to know who they were, what they did. I wanted them to win, and I got emotionally invested in their winning.’’

Woolery hosted until 1982, when he and the producers couldn’t agree on his contract. He wasreplaced with Pat Sajak. He long regretted his decision to depart the game show. ‘‘If I wouldn’t have leftWheel of Fortune, I’d be making about $10 million a year now,” he told theTimesin 2003.

In 1983, Woolery began hostingLove Connection, which became a major success. The show not only set people up on dates but also followed them during their night out and then questioned them afterward about how it went. The show was a precursor to the now-ubiquitous reality dating genre.

Chuck Woolery on ‘Love Connection’.Lorimar Television/Courtesy Everett

Lorimar Television/Courtesy Everett

Woolery told PEOPLE in 1986 that while audiences liked to see contestants find love, they “enjoy the dates that fail even more." The show was so popular that a young Jim Carrey did an impression of the famously unflappable Woolery onIn Living Color. “Dating and romance are real common denominators,” Woolery reflected to PEOPLE.

During his time onLove Connection, Woolery also hostedThe Big SpinandScrabble, but the dating show was his favorite. “This is really the one show I do that I’ll watch at home,” he told PEOPLE. “I really like its unpredictability.”

Woolery hosted a short-lived talk show,The Chuck Woolery Show, in 1991.Love Connectionended in 1994. From 1997 to 1999, Woolery hosted a revival ofThe Dating Game. He later hostedGreedandLingo.

Chuck Woolery hosting ‘Greed’ in 1999.Fox/Courtesy Everett

Fox/Courtesy Everett

Woolery and his family were the subjects of a short-lived reality show, 2003’sChuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned. He told PEOPLE in 2003, “When they wanted to do this, I thought, I can’t imagine anybody would watch my life. But after we got into it, I thought, ‘If it’s funny, they’ll watch.'”

Woolery was married several times. From 1963 to 1970, he was married to Margaret Hayes. They shared three children: Cary, Katherine and Chad. Chad died in a motorcycle accident in 1985. He was 19 years old.

“My Christian faith is probably the single thing that got me through this,”Woolery told PEOPLEin 1997 of Chad’s death. “Without the understanding of where Chad is and what I expect in the future, it would have been very difficult. My belief is that he’s much better off now than he was then.”

Chuck Woolery in 2015.Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

From 1972 to 1980, he was married to actress Jo Ann Pflug. They shared a daughter, Melissa. From 1985 to 2004, he was married to Teri Nelson. They shared sons Michael and Sean. In 2006, he married Kim Barnes.

Woolery was a Republican and was vocal in his support for conservative politics, including publicly pushing conspiracy theories about COVID-19.

source: people.com