Abutting the Beverly Hilton, this street was dedicated on January 17th, 2002 to honor entertainer/media mogul Merv Griffin (1925-2007), then-owner of the hotel. Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. was born and raised in San Mateo, CA. His showbiz workaholism was already apparent at 18 as he emceed and played piano at countless shows in his hometown. He would soon host his own radio program, but stardom really came in 1949 when a single he recorded with Freddy Martin’s big band, “I’ve Got a Lovely Bunch of Coconuts”, became a nationwide hit. Of course it would be television where Merv Griffin found his true calling – not only as the host of his own talk show, which aired from 1962 to 1986, but also the game shows Jeopardy!, which he created in 1964 (and even composed the theme song), and Wheel of Fortune, which he created in 1975. The success of these shows made Griffin insanely wealthy and he bought the Beverly Hilton in 1987 for over $200 million.
Find it on the map:
