'Visionary' H'wood host and tycoon Merv Griffin dies

August 13, 2007 Merv Griffin, the mogul who hosted an eponymous talk show for more than 20 years, created the globally popular game shows "Jeopardy!" and "Wheel of Fortune" and oversaw a diversified empire via the Griffin Group, died early Sunday of prostate cancer in Los Angeles. When Griffin entered a hospital a month ago, he was working on the first week of production of a new syndicated game show, "Merv Griffin's Crosswords," his son said. Griffin first gained national fame singing a faux-Cockney version of "I've Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts," which topped hit parades around the country.

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