He was overweight as an adolescent and a young man, which disappointed some radio fans when they saw him in person. Griffin started as a singer on radio at age 19, appearing on San Francisco Sketchbook, a nationally syndicated program based at KFRC. During the Korean War several years later, he was examined and deemed healthy enough to serve, but by that time was above age 26 and exempt from the draft. ĭuring World War II, Griffin was declared 4F after failing several military physical examinations due to a slight heart murmur. He was a member of the international fraternity Tau Kappa Epsilon. He attended San Mateo Junior College and then the University of San Francisco. He attended San Mateo High School, graduating in 1942, and continued to aid in financing the school. His abilities as a pianist played a part in his early entry into show business. Raised as a Catholic, Griffin started singing in his church choir as a boy, and by his teens was earning extra money as a church organist. It was these games which inspired him to create the game shows Jeopardy! in 1964 and specifically, Wheel of Fortune in 1975.
When he was a child, Griffin used to play Hangman games with his sister during family road trips. Griffin was born July 6, 1925, in San Mateo, California, to Mervyn Edward Griffin Sr., a stockbroker, and Rita Elizabeth Griffin (née Robinson), a homemaker.
