Chuck Woolery, former host of “Wheel of Fortune,” “Love Connection” and “Scrabble,” has died at the age of 83.

Woolery died at his home in Texas in the presence of his wife, Kristen, his friend and podcast co-host Mark Young told The Associated Press. Along with his wife, Woolery is survived by his sons Michael and Sean and his daughter Melissa.

“Chuck Woolery was without a doubt the Real Deal. Our seven years as the original host and hostess on Wheel of Fortune were like magic,” Susan Stafford, who was Chuck Woolery’s co-host on “Wheel of Fortune,” said in a statement to Fox News.

“Our deep friendship continued beyond our time on the show,” the statement continued. “He was an original. There was no one like Chuck. He had so much energy and was the same warm, caring, genuine person offstage as he was onstage. He was very spiritual and we shared a true love for God, which made it even more made it worth it. I’m so grateful knowing I’ll see him again.”

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Game show host Chuck Woolery attends the Meow Mix Think Like a Cat Game Show Premiere on November 12, 2008 in Hollywood, California. (Getty Images)

Woolery was inducted into the American TV Game Show Hall of Fame in 2007 and earned a daytime Emmy nomination in 1978.

In 1983, Woolery began an eleven-year stint as host of “Love Connection,” during which time he coined the phrase, “We’ll be back in two minutes and two seconds.” In 1984, he began hosting “Scrabble”, hosting both game shows simultaneously until 1990.

Other shows he hosted include “Lingo,” “Greed,” and “The Chuck Woolery Show,” as well as the short-lived syndicated revival of “The Dating Game” from 1998 to 2000. In 1992, he played himself in two episodes of “Melrose -place.”

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Chuck Woolery at the “Game Show Networks 2003 Winter TCA Tour” at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, California, Wednesday, January 8, 2003. (Getty Images)

Woolery was the subject of the Game Show Network’s first attempt at a reality show, “Chuck Woolery: Naturally Stoned,” which premiered in 2003 and ran for six episodes.

Woolery began his TV career on “Wheel of Fortune,” which debuted on NBC on January 6, 1975.

“Wheel of Fortune” started life as “Shopper’s Bazaar.” After Woolery appeared on “The Merv Griffin Show” and sang “Delta Dawn,” Griffin asked if he would co-host the new show with Stafford.

NBC initially passed, but they changed it to “Wheel of Fortune” and were approved. After a few years, Woolery demanded a pay increase to $500,000 a year, or what host Peter Marshall made on “Hollywood Squares.” Griffin denied the request and replaced Woolery with Pat Sajak, who, along with Vanna White, is most associated with the show.

Chuck Woolery performs during the “Game Show Networks 2003 Winter TCA Tour” at the Renaissance Hotel in Los Angeles, California, Wednesday, January 8, 2003. (Getty Images)

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Born in Ashland, Kentucky, Woolery served in the U.S. Navy before attending college. He played double bass in a folk trio before founding the psychedelic rock duo The Avant-Garde in 1967, while working as a truck driver to support himself as a musician.

After his TV career, Woolery started podcasting. He told The New York Times that he described himself as a gun rights activist, a conservative libertarian and constitutionalist, noting that he had not revealed his politics in liberal Hollywood for fear of retaliation.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.