When did Sandy Ferra Martindale and Elvis Presley date? All we know about Wink Martindale’s wife as he dies at 91

Wink Martindale, beloved game show host who was married to Sandy Ferra Martindale for nearly five decades, died on Tuesday, April 17, 2025, in Rancho Mirage, Calif. Martindale, who was 91 at the time of his death, helmed iconic game shows such as “Tic-Tac-Dough,” “High Rollers,” and “Gambit.

As per multiple reports, a spokesperson for Martindale’s family said the game show host was “surrounded by family and his beloved wife of 49 years, Sandra Martindale.” While the cause of death was undisclosed, News 4 reported Martindale had been battling lymphoma for a year. His publicist, Brian Mayes, told the publication:

"He was doing pretty well up until a couple of weeks ago.”

Wink Martindale, who is known to have recorded the first television interviews with a young Elvis Presley, is survived by his children from his first marriage—Lisa, Madelyn, and Laura. His son, Wink Jr. Martindale, preceded him in death. Martingdale is also survived by his second wife, Sandy Ferra Martindale, who dated Elvis Presley in the 1960s.

Wink Martindale and wife Sandy Ferra Martindale's relationship with Elvis Presley explored

Wink Martindale met longtime pal Elvis Presley in 1954. Martindale was reportedly working as a radio DJ at WHBQ in Memphis when he heard the Elvis Presley record "That's All Right" played on July 8, 1954, by fellow DJ Dewey Phillips, who had given Presley an early break. Recalling the incident, Martindale told Fox News:

“I discovered that Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records, had walked in with an acetate - not a finished record - but an acetate of a recording he had made just two hours earlier by a truck driver for Crown Electric Company whose name was Elvis Presley.”

Martindale approached Phillips and asked him and Presley to do a joint interview on Martindale's TV show "Top Ten Dance Party" in 1956, thus recording the first television interview with the singer, who became a friend. In a 2015 interview, Wink Martindale’s second wife, Sandy Ferra Martindale, whom he married in 1975, revealed Elvis Presley was responsible for her marrying Wink.

Sandy reportedly met Elvis Presley when she was 14 years old. According to multiple reports, the 26-year-old singer reportedly spotted a photo of a young teen dancer, Sandy, in her father's Los Angeles nightclub in 1961. Sandy Ferra Martindale recalled:

"He called me to go out, but I had to tell him I had school the next day. The next night Mom drove me to the club to meet him. My mother came with us on our first dates. I was so embarrassed I cried."

The couple reportedly dated on and off for the next six years. Sandy Ferra Martindale recounted:

“I danced in six of his movies because I was going with him, 'In Viva Las Vegas that's me with Ann-Margret and Elvis dancing at the roulette table.”

Sandy and Elvis reportedly stayed friends even after he married Priscilla. Sandy Martindale met Wink Martindale in 1971 after his 18-year marriage to his high school sweetheart, Madelyn Leech, ended. Sandy Martindale revealed Elvis Presley helped facilitate the meeting. She recalled:

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“Elvis told Wink that I was the nicest girl from the nicest family that he ever knew.”

Wink and Sandy were reportedly with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas just months before he died in 1977.

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