TOLEDO, Ohio (WXYZ) — Galen Grindle, the Toledo-born entertainer who became a Detroit television legend under the stage name Johnny Ginger, died Sunday at a senior living facility in Genoa, Ohio. He was 92.
Watch Tony Geftos' video report:
Grindle was born in 1934 in Toledo, Ohio, and became part of his parents' comedy theater act at the age of 6. His three sons say their father was bitten by the performance bug early.
"Parents were vaudevillians, and he would come out at the end of their show on my grandpa's knee singing Sonny Boy, and he knew right then. He heard that applause, and it grabbed him," Rocky Grindle said.
7 News Detroit's Tony Geftos sat down with Grindle's sons Jerry, Rocky, and Sean Grindle at Tony Packo's in Toledo to look back at their father's life and legacy.
In the 1950s, Grindle auditioned to introduce Three Stooges shorts on WXYZ-TV, adding his own blend of vaudeville humor.
"They had a stool right there in the middle of the room. He sat on the stool, and he did a pratfall. He fell off it," Jerry Grindle said.
"And there was like a globe sitting there. Like props. And they loved Dad because they said he was so physical," Rocky Grindle added.
Shortly after, a Channel 7 executive gave Grindle his stage name.
"And he had a bottle of Ginger Beer on his desk. It was called 'Johnny Bull Ginger.' He said, 'You're gonna be known as Johnny Ginger.' And that's it," Jerry Grindle said.
The Johnny Ginger Show was produced and broadcast at WXYZ-TV, bringing slapstick humor to metro Detroit and making Johnny Ginger a local legend throughout the 1950s and '60s.
During a look back at his career, Johnny Ginger attributed his success at WXYZ-TV to a loyal audience. In 1991, he reunited with other TV icons Soupy Sales and Marv Welsh for a look back at the station's history.
His son Jerry remembered him simply.
"He was a little kid at heart," Jerry said.
Jerry also noted that his father left his mark at Tony Packo's, where celebrities spanning the decades have signed hot dog buns.
"He's got three buns signed in here," Jerry said. "He should have two, right?" Jerry added, laughing. "I don't think he wanted a normal life. He liked the attention."
In metro Detroit, Toledo, and beyond, Galen Grindle will be remembered as Johnny Ginger.
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