Chuck Woolery died Saturday at the age of 83 at his home in Texas, his longtime friend Mark Young confirmed.
The beloved television personality, who was best known for being the very first to host Wheel of Fortune, died suddenly while Young was visiting 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 to X, formerly Tweet. “Life won’t be the same without him, RIP brother.”
Although the circumstances surrounding Woolery’s death are not yet known, Young said TMZ that the actor was not feeling well and lay down.
Young, who co-hosted the Blunt Force Truth podcast with his late friend, said Woolery later returned to the room to tell him he was having trouble breathing.
Young told the outlet he then called 911, but Woolery didn’t make it.
Chuck Woolery died Saturday at the age of 83 at his home in Texas, his longtime friend Mark Young confirmed; pictured September 2006 in Los Angeles
Woolery was best known as the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1981.
He earned a Daytime Emmy in 1978 for his work on Wheel of Fortune.
After nearly a decade, he left the show to pursue other endeavors, passing the torch to Pat Sajak, who took over until 2024.
He played matchmaker at Love Connection for eleven years.
In addition, Woolery also hosted game shows such as Scrabble, Greed and Lingo.
He initially started his entertainment career as a singer.
Woolery created several advertising jingles and even scored a top 40 hit, the 1968 song Naturally Stoned, with pop duo The Avant Garde.
In 2003, Naturally Stoned was the theme song for his short-lived reality series Game Show Network.
The beloved television personality, who was best known for being the very first to host Wheel of Fortune, died suddenly while Young was visiting 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’
Although the circumstances surrounding Woolery’s death are not yet known, Young told TMZ that the actor did not feel well and lay down.
Over the years, the actor has also appeared on screen as himself, including in the 2018 film Cold Feet and in the sitcoms 227 and Scrubs.
Soon after, he got the opportunity to audition as a game show host after playing Delta Dawn on The Merv Griffin Show.
Griffin cast Woolery over 77 Sunset Strip alum Edd “Kookie” Byrnes for the show called Shopper’s Bazaar.
It was later renamed Wheel of Fortune and premiered on NBC in January 1975.
In 1981, Woolery requested a raise from $65,000 a year to about half a million, which was reportedly what other top game show hosts were making at the time.
Griffin initially offered him $400,000 and said NBC would pay him the rest, but eventually threatened to move Wheel of Fortune to CBS, Woolery said in 2007.
It was then that NBC rescinded the offer and fired Griffin Woolery.
Young, who co-hosted the Blunt Force Truth podcast with his late friend, said Woolery later returned to the room to tell him he was having trouble breathing. Young told the outlet he then called 911, but Woolery didn’t make it
Woolery was best known as the original host of Wheel of Fortune from 1975 to 1981; depicted 1978 in portrait
Over the years, the actor has also appeared on screen as himself, including in the 2018 film Cold Feet and in the sitcoms 227 and Scrubs; pictured in June 2007 in Austin
He also let go of original letter-turner Susan Stafford, who was replaced by Vanna White.
He then hosted Love Connection for more than 2,000 episodes from 1983 to 1994.
He also had his own CBS daytime morning show for a short time and co-hosted Home and Family.
Woolery is survived by his wife Kim Woolery and children: Katherine, Melissa, Michael and Sean.