Chuck Woolery, ‘Love Connection’, ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host, Dies at 83

Retired talk show host Chuck Woolery, known for hosting “Love Connection” and the original “Wheel of Fortune,” has died at age 83, a close friend announced Saturday.

“It is with a broken heart that I tell you my dear brother @chuckwoolery has just passed,” Mark Young wrote on X Saturday night. “Life won’t be the same without him, RIP bro.”

The statement was reposted on Woolery’s official X account. Young is a friend and for the past decade has hosted a political podcast with Woolery.

Woolery hosted a number of game shows throughout her career, but was perhaps best known for the dating show “Love Connection,” which aired from 1983 to 1994.

Before that, he was the original host when Merv Griffin created “Wheel of Fortune” in 1975. He stayed with the show until a contract dispute in 1981 and was then replaced by Pat Sajak.

Over the years, he also hosted “The Big Spin,” “Scrabble,” and “The Dating Game,” among other shows and reality shows.

Since 2014, he has co-hosted with Young the podcast “Blunt Force Truth”, which examines current events from a conservative point of view.

Woolery was married four times and leaves four children.