Wink Martindale and the Longevity of Tic Tac Dough

TVC 688.2: Steve Beverly, retired professor of broadcast journalism at Union University in Jackson, TN (the hometown of Wink Martindale), game show historian, and the host of Steve Beverly’s TV Classics, talks to Ed about how Wink never lost sights of his roots in Jackson, TN; how the success of the Martindale version of Tic Tac Dough in the 1970s forever changed the public perception of that particular game show (because the original Tic Tac Dough had been tarnished by the quiz show scandal of the late 1950s); and how Martindale’s Tic Tac Dough really took off in syndication in 1979, becoming the No. 1. syndicated game show (after failing on CBS the year before), with the “Ken Jennings-like” success of contestant Thom McKee. Also in this segment: Steve and Ed discuss the new version of Tic Tac Dough, hosted by Brooke Burns, which premiered on Game Show Network on Apr. 14, 2025. Wink Martindale passed away on Tuesday, Apr. 15, 2025 at age ninety-nine.

Steve Beverly recently re-aired Wink Comes Home, a 90-minute special that he hosted in November 2007 at Union University in which Wink discussed his life and career and took questions from the studio audience, as part of Steve Beverly’s TV Classics. That episode is now available for viewing on demand on your smartphone, tablet, or laptop by going to EPlusTV6.com or, if you have the PBS app, typing in West TN PBS, where you’ll find Steve Beverly’s TV Classics on the drop-down menu of Local Shows.