Lin Bolen

Lin Bolen (born March 21, 1941 in Benton, Illinois) is a television producer who became NBC's Vice President of Daytime Programming in 1972. She was responsible for the expansion of Days of Our Lives and Another World in early 1975, along with various series by her own production company from 1976 onward.

In 1973, Bolen began ridding the network's daytime lineup of game shows hosted by middle-aged men on technologically-obsolete sets, replacing them with flashy and "hip" games designed to attract women aged 18-35. Among her victims were Concentration in 1973, Three on a Match in 1974, and Jeopardy! in 1975.

She left NBC in Spring 1977 or 1978, concentrating more on her own company. In 1983, she married director Paul Wendkos; the two remained together until his death in 2009.

Wheel of Fortune
Lin's connection to Wheel is probably the largest, as she commissioned Merv Griffin to develop what became the Shopper's Bazaar pilot in 1973. The resulting episode was met with unenthusiasm by test audiences.

She and Merv tried again on August 28, 1974; the second and third pilots, now called Wheel of Fortune, used mostly the same format as the series that eventually debuted. Despite test audiences hating this attempt as well, Bolen convinced her bosses to put Wheel on the air by placing her job on the line – if it fails, fire her; if it succeeds, give her a raise.

While at NBC, Lin insisted that contestants play to the last consonant to maximize winnings. Once she left, contestants began playing at their own pace.