Jackson's Martindale Deserving of Award
Congratulations to Jackson's own Wink Martindale for garnering yet another honor in what has been a long and distinguished career.
In 2006, Martindale was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Last weekend, he received the Ralph Edwards Career Community Service Award at the Game Show Congress Awards luncheon in Hollywood, Calif. The luncheon was hosted by Union University's own Steve Beverly, a professor of broadcasting and a nationally recognized expert on game shows.
Martindale is well deserving of the award. He is a Jackson native and a graduate of the old Jackson High School. Before gaining fame as host of 19 game shows, including "Gambit," "Tic, Tac Dough" and "High Rollers," he started life working as a soda jerk at the old Baker's Drug Store and as a disc jockey at radio station WLPI. He also was a personal friend of Elvis Presley.
Certainly, Martindale has done Jackson proud, but what a lot of people don't know about him is that, even after he went to Hollywood, he never forgot about his hometown. Among his other charitable endeavors, he was a regular presence during the early days of the West Tennessee Cerebral Palsy Telethon. According to longtime host Doris "Cousin Tuny" Freeman, Martindale often would bring celebrity guests by. According to Freeman, he helped turn the telethon around.
What makes Martindale special is how he conducted himself after he left Jackson. Hollywood is a land known for big egos and even bigger, out-of-control exploits. During a career that stretched more than 40 years (his first game show was "What's This Song" in 1965, according to an interview on thecelebritycafe.com), Martindale has always avoided trouble, and the sordid headlines that come with it. He has, in fact conducted himself like a gentleman. He has proven to be a real credit to this community.