The tabloids have been doing a deathwatch of Griffin for weeks, so it is no surprise he passed away.
Now it's time for the rumormongers to bring up those gay allegations.
No sooner was Merv's body cold that the NYT decided to write about those stories:
But he was also dogged by sex scandals and insinuations that he was gay. In 1991, he was sued by Denny Terrio, the host of “Dance Fever,” another show Mr. Griffin created, for sexual harassment. The same year, Brent Plott, a longtime employee who worked as a bodyguard, horse trainer and driver, filed a $200 million palimony lawsuit. Mr. Griffin characterized both lawsuits as extortion; ultimately, both suits were dismissed.
Mr. Griffin consistently evaded questions about his sexuality. In a 2005 interview with The New York Times, he said: “I tell everybody that I’m a quarter-sexual. I will do anything with anybody for a quarter.”
He had been married and divorced and had one son, Tony. He was also one of Nancy Reagan's best friends.
Griffin's talk show style was blah, very similar to the late Mike Douglas' style. In fact, the two were so much alike I got them mixed up.
I like this about Griffin from the first link:
In recent years, Griffin also rated frequent mentions in the sports pages of the nation's newspapers for being a successful owner of thoroughbred racehorses. He had attended the horse races at Bay Meadows in San Mateo as a youngster and saw the legendary Seabiscuit run.
