Biography

His classy demeanor.

Frequently told stories of his relationship with Elvis Presley.

Thick Southern accent.

On Debt (1996), he frequently wore tuxedos

His exciting, baritone voice.

Wink and his wife did not attend the funeral of his longtime friend Elvis Presley when the singer died on August 16, 1977. They did not want to be a part of the circus like atmosphere surrounding the event. Instead, they visited Graceland a week later and paid their respects privately.

Was a huge fan of Tony Bennett's music. In fact, when he was standing in front of a 17-year-old Martindale, after the teenager played the music with Bennett's records, Bennett met him and greeted him with a smile.

An avid game show watcher, he became a game show host with the help of his idol Bill Cullen.

Attended and graduated from North Side High School in Jackson, Tennessee (1951).

Had a hit record in the 1950s with the spoken-word country song, "Deck of Cards".

[on getting his first job after graduation from high school]: They gave me a job at $25 per week, and for that you were expected to do everything. You read commercials, the news - play-by-play high school football and basketball, and you played records. If the floor needed sweeping, you did that too.

I had been a deejay since I was 17. My roots were in radio, but I thought it would be fun to try my hand hosting a television game. I'd become addicted to Allen Ludden's popular show, 'Password.' And after hosting a local version of 'What's This Song,' a musical show featuring celebrities, NBC added it to its daytime lineup.

I always thought I'd want to have a restaurant.

[on his mother who wanted him to be a preacher]: She felt that way, because God gave me such a wonderful voice. She thought that I should think seriously about going to seminary to become a preacher, but what she didn't understand was that preachers had to be called to the ministry. You just don't wake up one day and become a preacher.

[When he had a #1 song]: That's something that can never be duplicated; it was just unbelievable to me that I was on the show, I was just so nervous. Like everyone else, I'd sit in Memphis and watch "The Ed Sullivan Show". When I got the call to [perform "Deck of Cards"] on Ed's show, it was like an out-of-body experience.