Rolling Stone takes break from Britney coverage to talk to Merv Griffin

It's pretty common knowledge that Rolling Stone, a magazine that used to be about the counter-culture and rock 'n' roll, hasn't been about either in quite a long time. From what I've heard, they've gotten back to their musical roots a little, but except for their recent 1,000 issue, I haven't read it since my subscription ran out five years ago.

That being said, they do have a very interesting profile of television legend Merv Griffin in the latest issue. The profile, written by John Colapinto, mostly examines Merv's entertainment career, discussing the various versions of The Merv Griffin Show, which ran for over twenty years. Of course, Colapinto also talks to Merv about his two creations that live on to this day, Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune (he wrote the famous J! theme; Merv recounts opening a big royalties check for a J! ringtone, even though he had no idea what a ringtone was). The article follows Merv around to meetings and to his sprawling house in La Quinta, CA. And Colapinto goes the extra mile, interviewing everyone from Pat Sajak to good friend Nancy Reagan.

The article also talks about Merv the mogul and his battles with Donald Trump. Trump doesn't mince words when discussing the 1988 deal they made to settle a dispute over Atlantic City properties, which netted Griffin the Resorts International casino and Trump got the then-new Taj Mahal: "He tells people that he did fine with Donald. But Donald kicked his ass! It was a great deal for me. I got the Taj Mahal -- he got shit.''

[via Pop Candy]