Celebrity Graveland

July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007

Mervyn Edward Griffin, Jr. began his long, successful career as a radio singer. After touring with an orchestra and eventually creating his own record label, Griffin was discovered in a nightclub and began acting in films. Though he appeared in a number of movies, he decided he would rather work in television, which he did for nearly 30 years. And, of course, by “work in television,” I mean he would make monumental contributions to its landscape. Not only did he host a number of successful talk shows, but he also created a producing empire that spawned stalwart game shows like Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune and variety series like Dance Fever. In addition to creating Jeopardy!, he also penned its iconic theme song, so music was always there for him. A shrewd businessman as well, Griffin turned his entertainment company and various real estate ventures into a lot of money.  A lot of money. After a successful battle with prostate cancer in 1996, the disease returned for good 11 years later. In keeping with his association with all things television, Merv’s grave marker cheekily reads: “I Will Not Be Right Back After This Message.”

Burial

Westwood Village Memorial Park – Los Angeles, CA

Specific Location

Rose Garden; Just south of the southern road in the park is a row of garden plots facing north, Merv is buried just one space to the west of the entrance to the Memorial Gardens, one space to the left of Farrah Fawcett.

This entry was posted on October 29, 2013 at 2:35 pm and is filed under Westwood Memorial Park with tags Westwood Memorial Park. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.