MR. MELODY

I enjoyed Diane Haithman’s fascinating article on royalties (“The Bucks Start Here,” Nov. 5), particularly as it related to some surprise lyricist and theme song writers, like Johnny Carson. As I read on, I noticed a major oversight of someone who wrote two of television’s most popular themes played all over the world--the “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” themes, written by none other than their creator and executive producer, Merv Griffin.

Having worked with Merv for some time, I discovered this credit of his a few years back at lunch one day when we casually overheard the “Jeopardy!” theme being hummed. Merv jokingly patted the wallet in his back pocket and said, “I make money every time that’s played!”

KEVIN SASAKI

Warren Cowan & Associates

Public Relations and Marketing

Los Angeles