Illness and Death
Griffin's prostate cancer, treated originally in 1996, returned and he was admitted to Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, where his condition deteriorated, leading to his death on August 12, 2007. Griffin is survived by his son, Tony, born in 1959 during Griffin's marriage to Julann Wright from 1958 to 1976, as well as two grandchildren.
Funeral services were held for Griffin on August 17, 2007 at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Beverly Hills. The well-attended service included Nancy Reagan; Schwarzenegger (who gave the eulogy along with Tony Griffin); Maria Shriver; and various actors, television stars, employees, and friends including Sajak, White, Trebek, Dick Van Dyke, Jack Klugman, Dick Van Patten, Ellen DeGeneres and partner Portia de Rossi, Ryan Seacrest, and Catherine Oxenberg and husband Casper Van Dien. Pallbearers included Griffin Group Vice Chairman Ron Ward, President Robert Pritchard, and Vice President Michael Eyre, as well as Tony Griffin. His 7-year-old grandson Donovan Mervyn was an honorary pallbearer as was Nancy Reagan. His 12-year-old granddaughter Farah gave a reading. A post-burial reception was held at the Beverly Hilton, a property owned by Griffin from 1987 to 2003. He was buried in Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery and his headstone epitaph (even though in his book "Merv," written with David Bender in 2003, states it would be "Stay Tuned") reads "I will not be right back after this message," an epitaph Griffin announced on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.
GSN honored Griffin by airing ten-episode marathons of Wheel and Jeopardy! during the weekend of August 18–19, 2007. The Wheel marathon included two episodes with cameo appearances by Griffin: Sajak's departure from the daytime version in 1989 and a 1992–93 episode that ended with Griffin, the MervTones, and White singing at a dinner club in Orlando, Florida. The Jeopardy! marathon consisted of a rerun of the Jeopardy! Million Dollar Masters Tournament from 2002.
Read more about this topic: Merv Griffin
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