Chuck Woolery died at the age of 83 at his home in Texas on Saturday, his longtime friend Mark Young confirmed.
The beloved television personality, best known for being the first to host Wheel of Fortune, died suddenly while Young was visiting him at his home.
“It is with a broken heart that I tell you that my dear brother has just passed away,” Young wrote in an emotional tribute in X, previously Twitter. “Life won’t be the same without him, RIP brother.”
While the circumstances surrounding Woolery’s death are not yet known, Young said TMZ that the actor was not feeling well and went to bed.
Young, who co-hosted the Blunt Force Truth podcast with his late friend, said Woolery then returned to the room to tell him he was having trouble breathing.
Young told the outlet that that’s when he called 911, but Woolery didn’t make it.
Chuck Woolery died at the age of 83 at his home in Texas on Saturday, his longtime friend Mark Young confirmed; photographed in September 2006 in Los Angeles.
Woolery was best known for being the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1981.
He won a Daytime Emmy in 1978 for his work on Wheel of Fortune.
After almost a decade, he left the program to pursue other projects and passed the baton to Pat Sajak, who took over until 2024.
He then worked as a matchmaker at Love Connection for 11 years.
In addition, Woolery was also a host of game shows, such as Scrabble, Greed, and Lingo.
She initially began her entertainment career as a singer.
Woolery created several advertising jingles and even hit the charts with a top 40 hit, the 1968 song Naturally Stoned, featuring the pop duo The Avant Garde.
In 2003, Naturally Stoned was the theme song for their short-lived Game Show Network reality series.
The beloved television personality, best known for being the first to host Wheel of Fortune, died suddenly while Young was visiting him at his home; Pictured in March 2015 in Beverly Hills.
“It is with a broken heart that I tell you that my dear brother has just passed away,” Young wrote in an emotional tribute on X, formerly Twitter. ‘Life won’t be the same without him, RIP brother’
Over the years, the actor has also made appearances as himself on screen, including in the 2018 film Cold Feet, as well as the comedies 227 and Scrubs.
Shortly after, he was offered the opportunity to audition as a game show host after performing Delta Dawn on The Merv Griffin Show.
Griffin chose Woolery over 77 Sunset Strip alum Edd ‘Kookie’ Byrnes for the show called Shopper’s Bazaar, which was later renamed Wheel of Fortune and premiered on NBC in January 1975.
In 1981, Woolery asked for a raise from $65,000 annually to about half a million, which was reportedly what other major game show hosts were making at the time.
Griffin initially offered him $400,000 and said NBC would pay him the rest, but he ended up trying to move Wheel of Fortune to CBS, according to Woolery in 2007.
While the circumstances surrounding Woolery’s death are not yet known, Young told TMZ that the actor was not feeling well and went to bed. Young, who co-hosted the Blunt Force Truth podcast with his late friend, said Woolery then returned to the room to tell him he was having trouble breathing. Young told the outlet that that’s when he called 911, but Woolery didn’t make it.
Woolery was best known for being the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1981; photographed in 1978 in portrait
Over the years, the actor has also made appearances as himself on screen, including in the 2018 film Cold Feet, as well as the comedies 227 and Scrubs; photographed in June 2007 in Austin
That’s when NBC withdrew the offer and Griffin fired Woolery. He also let go of the original Susan Stafford, who was replaced by Vanna White.
He later went on to host Love Connection for over 2,000 episodes from 1983 to 1994.
He also had his own CBS daytime morning show for a brief time and co-hosted Home and Family.
Woolery is survived by his wife Kim Woolery and their children: Katherine, Melissa, Michael and Sean.