"And then I did one called High Rollers and that was a lot of fun"
About this Quote
The charm of Wink Martindale is that he can make a résumé sound like a neighbor catching you up over coffee. “And then I did one called High Rollers and that was a lot of fun” is pure showbiz understatement: a career milestone reduced to a breezy aside, delivered in the same genial register he used to keep daytime TV feeling friendly, not transactional.
The intent is almost anti-mythmaking. Martindale isn’t framing High Rollers as legacy, art, or hustle; he’s framing it as the next stop on a long, steady road of gigs. That “And then” matters. It signals momentum and professionalism, the entertainer’s version of clocking in. No dramatic pivot, no reinvention narrative, just a practiced ability to slide into a new format and make it look effortless. In an industry that loves to sell genius and struggle, he sells continuity.
The subtext is also defensive in a subtle way: “fun” is a shield against overinterpretation. Game shows are often treated as cultural junk food, and Martindale sidesteps the snobbery by refusing to apologize. Fun is the point; fun is the product. It’s also a quiet flex. If you can host a show and describe the work as fun, it implies mastery: the pressure, the timing, the live-wire unpredictability have been domesticated.
Contextually, it captures a whole era of TV where familiarity was the brand and the host was the audience’s proxy. Martindale’s casual tone is the same promise those shows made every day: nothing too heavy, nothing too sharp, just a good time that keeps moving.
The intent is almost anti-mythmaking. Martindale isn’t framing High Rollers as legacy, art, or hustle; he’s framing it as the next stop on a long, steady road of gigs. That “And then” matters. It signals momentum and professionalism, the entertainer’s version of clocking in. No dramatic pivot, no reinvention narrative, just a practiced ability to slide into a new format and make it look effortless. In an industry that loves to sell genius and struggle, he sells continuity.
The subtext is also defensive in a subtle way: “fun” is a shield against overinterpretation. Game shows are often treated as cultural junk food, and Martindale sidesteps the snobbery by refusing to apologize. Fun is the point; fun is the product. It’s also a quiet flex. If you can host a show and describe the work as fun, it implies mastery: the pressure, the timing, the live-wire unpredictability have been domesticated.
Contextually, it captures a whole era of TV where familiarity was the brand and the host was the audience’s proxy. Martindale’s casual tone is the same promise those shows made every day: nothing too heavy, nothing too sharp, just a good time that keeps moving.
Quote Details
| Topic | Work |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
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