ABBA

He spent two years in the United States Navy and then went to college at Morehead State University, where he pursued degrees in sociology and economics. After college, he worked a series of odd jobs, including as a Pillsbury sales representative and wine consultant.

Music, however, was the muse that drew him to Nashville, Tennessee, where he co-founded The Avant Garde with Elkin Fowler. They released the acoustic-flavored “Yellow Beads” in 1967 and squeezed into the Billboard Top Forty with “Naturally Stoned” in 1968. The follow-up, “Fly With Me” (as psychedelic as it sounds) never took off.

The duo split up and Chuck went solo in 1969. His debut single was “I’ve Been Wrong”, followed by “Hey, Baby” in 1970. Columbia Records let him go and he switched labels to RCA, for whom he recorded “Forgive My Heart” and “Love Me, Love Me”.

None of his singles did much and so he changed tacks and decided to pursue an acting career. In 1972, he began a five-year run on the kids’ TV program, The New Zoo Revue, as Mr. Dingle, the local mailman and storekeeper.

It was serendipity that Chuck was recruited for an episode of the TV game show, Tattletales, and was tapped as a vocalist on Name That Tune and Your Hit Parade in 1974. TV magnate Merv Griffin noticed Chuck’s talent and plucked him for emcee of a new game show called Wheel of Fortune, a high-rolling version of Hangman, on NBC.

It did not keep Chuck out of the recording studio, however. In 1977, he took one more shot at musical glory with “Painted Lady” and “Take Her Down, Boys”, but he wisely did not quit his day job. He won an Emmy in 1978 in the category of best game-show host. In 1981, he quit the show after asking for and being denied a pay increase of $435,000 a year.

He would not be out of work for long, however. On 19^th September 1983, he began hosting a syndicated game show-cum-reality show entitled The Love Connection. It was a variation on The Dating Game, inviting bachelors and bachelorettes to watch a short clip of three potential dates and choose one based on first impression, or—for the very brave—allow the audience to pick for them. The show was a perfect fit for Chuck’s folksy good humor and natural charm, allowing him to interact with the contestants much moreso than he had been able to on the turn-based Wheel.

He also moonlighted on a game-show version of Scrabble in 1984. Both shows enjoyed long runs: Scrabble ran through 1990 and was briefly resurrected in 1993; The Love Connection ran until 1^st July 1994, one of the longest lasting syndicated game shows in history, with over 2,000 episodes. While there is no doubt of the commercial success of the show, the jury is still out on its match-making success. During its tenure, it set up approximately 22,000 potential couples, resulting in eight engagements and twenty-nine marriages.

Chuck had a scare in 1996 when he had to undergo a quadruple bypass.

In the late ‘90s, he started up an online dating website, but it failed to make a love connection. He was back on TV in 1998, hosting a new version of The Dating Game. In 1999, he was hand-picked to host Greed, which was Fox’s answer to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. It only lasted until 2000.

In 2002, he began another successful run with the Game Show Network’s Lingo, which enjoyed six seasons and was GSN’s top-rated program. He also did voice-overs for the network from 2005 to 2007, and became the subject of GSN’s first reality program, Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned.

In recent years, he has become the television point-man for National Recreational Properties, which are featured on those ubiquitous infomercials, showcasing properties like Arkansas’s Holiday Island.

He continues to be a game lover, hosting live game shows, including Harrah’s The Price is Right Live! and the Las Vegas Hilton’s 250,000 Game Show Spectacular, and playing in the charity tournament, World Poker Tour Hollywood Home Game.

His love for fishing, however, has remained unabated. He has his own line—pun intended—of fishing equipment, such as the MotoLure, which is exactly what it sounds like: A motorized fishing lure which is meant to simulate the natural movements of a swimming fish.

For more information on this multi-talented performer and outdoorsman, please see his website, listed below.

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