“I love working with contestants, interacting with the audience and to a degree, watching lives change,” Martindale stated. “Winning a lot of cash can cause that to happen.”
According to Martindale, producer Dan Enright once informed him that over his seven years as “Tic-Tac-Dough” host, he distributed more than $7 million in cash and prizes.
Martindale claimed that because radio requires continual ad-libs and he learned how to handle nearly any circumstance on the fly, his many years as a radio DJ helped him as a game show host.
During his career, he hosted around two dozen game programs, according to his estimation.
“Is Wink your real name?” was the most common question Martindale received, according to his memoir. “How did you get into game shows?” was the second question.
A friend from his early years gave him his moniker. Martindale has nothing to do with Don Martindale.
