Born: March 16th, 1941
Hometown: Ashland, Kentucky
School: Morehead State University
Family: Currently married to 4th wife Kim Barnes, 6 children (1 deceased)
Trademark: Two, two-finger hand gestures before commercial breaks, signaling two minutes for the commercials, and two seconds leading in and out of the break

How He Got His Start - From Music to Television:

Chuck Woolery originally started out wanting to be a musician.

He formed a pop band named The Avant Garde, and in 1968 had a hit song called Naturally Stoned which reached #40 on the Billboard charts. The group disbanded shortly thereafter.

Woolery appeared on several TV music and talent shows, and it wasn't long before his talent for capturing an audience was discovered. It wasn't his music, however, that made him stand out. Rather, his way of addressing viewers and engaging them in the show held his true potential.

In 1975, Merv Griffin recruited Woolery to host his new game show Wheel of Fortune. He successfully hosted the show until 1981, when a bitter salary dispute ended his run on Wheel. It wasn't long before he was scooped up to host other game shows, including Love Connection, Scrabble, The Dating Game, Greed, and Lingo.

Woolery has also done his own reality show entitled Naturally Stoned, hosted a short-lived, self-titled talk show, done live game shows in Las Vegas, and played in the World Poker Tour for charity.

Notable Television Work:

• 1975-1981, Host of Wheel of Fortune

• 1983-1994, Host of Love Connection
• 1984-1990, Host of Scrabble
• 1991, Host of The Chuck Woolery Show
• 1993, Host of Scrabble (2nd Edition)
• 1996, Host of Home and Family
• 1998-2000, Host of The Dating Game and Celebrity Dating Game
• 1999, Host of Greed
• 2003, Subject of Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned
• 2003-2007, Host of Lingo

Woolery has also made appearances on dozens of shows, including Melrose Place, Hollywood Squares, ChiPs, and Scrubs, and had parts in a few Hollywood movies.

Other Work:

Chuck Woolery runs his own company selling bass fishing equipment and supplies. His best-known item is the MotoLure, which he sells online and through QVC along with a collection of sports and outdoor gear.

Woolery, along with Bob Eubanks and Jamie Farr, takes turns hosting the $250,000 Game Show Spectacular at the Las Vegas Hilton. The live stage show gives audiences chances to win prizes, including the quarter-million dollar jackpot, by playing a conglomeration of favorite game shows from the past.

Fun Facts:

• Before getting into music and television, Woolery held jobs as a sales rep for Pillsbury, and as a wine consultant.
• His first television role was that of character Mr. Dingle in the children's television show New Zoo Revue.
• Woolery hosted over 2000 episodes of Love Connection over 11 years.
• The Game Show Network (GSN) created the world's largest bobblehead in Woolery's image.

Quotes:

• "According to Merv Griffin, the springboard for game-show greatness is a large head, so I guess that's as justifiable as being on New Zoo Revue." - In an interview with KeyNoter
• ''When I got on, I couldn't stop talking to people. I wanted to know who they were, what they did. I wanted them to win and I got emotionally invested in their winning.'' – about Wheel of Fortune, from The New York Times
• "I watched Ozzy Osbourne's show for a while because I just couldn't believe what was going on, I mean it was total disbelief. I am sure the rest of the country did as well." - AskMen.com