Chuck Woolery, the veteran game show host who was the first emcee of Wheel of Fortune and later hosted Love Connection, has passed away.
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The news was initially shared on X (formerly Twitter) by Mark Young, Woolery’s friend and co-host of the Blunt Force Truth podcast.
“It is with a broken heart that I tell you that my dear brother @chuckwoolery has just passed away,” Young wrote alongside some snapshots of him and Woolery. “Life will not be the same without him, RIP brother.”
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 pic.twitter.com/OVPgG195RX
— Dr. Mark Young (@MarkYoungTruth) November 24, 2024
TMZ later confirmed that Woolery died at his home in Texas on Saturday after experiencing breathing difficulties. He was 83.
Chuck Woolery’s Prolific Game Show and Hosting Career
Chuck Woolery’s game show credentials include hosting Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1981, prior to Pat Sajak’s takeover. He also gained recognition for hosting the game show Scrabble, a season of The Chuck Woolery Show, and the original daytime talk show Home & Family on the Family Channel, per IMDb.
Of course, 80s and 90s kids will remember Woolery hosting Love Connection for over a decade, from 1983 to 1994. He became well-known for his catchphrase, promising viewers the show would return in “two and two” before commercial breaks. In an era before social media and reality TV, Love Connection offered many candid moments with Woolery holding court.
Woolery hosted several other game shows, including The Dating Game, the primetime show Greed, and Game Show Network’s Lingo. Later, he starred in a reality show about his life titled Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned.
Woolery became something of a conservative talking head and talk show host in his later years. In addition to Blunt Force Truth with Young, he hosted a nationally syndicated radio commentary show, Save Us Chuck Woolery.
In 2007, Woolery was honored with induction into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame.
He was married four times. His first marriage was to actress Jo Ann Pflug from 1972 to 1980. He then married music executive Teri Nelson Carpenter, the granddaughter of Ozzie and Harriet Nelson, from 1985 to 2004. In 2006, he wed Kim Barnes. Over his marriages, he raised eight children and stepchildren in total.