Under his Merv Griffin Entertainment banner, Merv Griffin will team with actor George Hamilton to co-produce a feature film based on Hamilton's real-life adventures as a teenager traversing the country with his mother, Anne.
Griffin and Hamilton will serve as executive producers, while pitchman Robert Kosberg will produce.
Written by comic scribe Charlie Peters ("Krippendorf's Tribe"), the still unnamed project had its beginnings when producer Kosberg joined MGE and explored the possibilities of doing a pic about Hamilton. Griffin has been urging Hamilton to do this story for the past 20 years.
"It's a terrific script," Griffin said. "Charlie has totally captured both the characters and the humor that have always made this one of my favorite true stories."
Added Kosberg: "We're really lucky to have such a fantastic script that all of us feel can attract a top director and, of course, there is a great role for an actress to play Anne Hamilton."
Griffin, the legendary creator of "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy," is the exec producer of daytime talker "The Ainsley Harriott Show"; he is also co-producing with Bette Midler, Bonnie Bruckheimer and Mark Sennet, the feature comedy "Finder's Keepers"; for daytime TV he is producing "Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venice" for Columbia TriStar Television.
Griffin also has recently entered into a co-production deal with Frank von Zerneck and Robert Sertner, primarily to make telepics.
Peters is repped by Endeavor.
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