Wheel of Fortune and Neighbours creator Reg Grundy dies aged 92

[dutchman]

Reg Grundy, creator of some of television's best loved shows, has died in his wife's arms at the age of 92, Australian media reported.



"Reg Grundy has passed away in the arms of his beloved wife Joy on their Bermuda estate," Alan Jones said on 2GB radio on Monday.

Mr Grundy invented the game show Wheel of Fortune 49 years ago while working on radio in Sydney and took the concept to television at Channel Nine in 1959.

He went onto produce several iconic programs in Australia and the US. Among his best known hits were Neighbours, Sons and Daughters, The Young Doctors and Prisoners: Cell Block H.

The popular soap Neighbours, which made Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan international stars, is still running today.

News of his death came hours after the Australian television's annual awards night, the Logies, were held in Melbourne.

Throughout the years Mr Grundy's shows, and the actors in them, won dozens of Logies.

“The word 'Grundy' is synonymous with game shows through the ages,” TODAY’s entertainment editor Richard Wilkins said on Monday morning.

Colloquially, in Australia, "Reg Grundies", or "Grundies" is used as rhyming slang for "undies", or underwear. As tributes have started pouring on social media, calls for Reg Grundies to be displayed in his honour have already started populating the net.