The star had spent decades covering up his sexuality — and even married comedienne Julann Wright, who gave him a son. The couple divorced in 1976. "The more drawn into the Hollywood trappings he became," said an insider, "the more he realized his real sexual attraction was to men. By the early '70s, he began having gay affairs."
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A judge later dismissed Plott's suit — but months after that legal volley, another one of Griffin's male employees filed an $11.3 million sexual harassment suit against him. "Merv Griffin made my life a living hell for seven years," charged Deney Terrio, who had hosted Merv's TV show "Dance Fever" between 1979 to 1985.
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"He molested me every chance he could get," said Deney, who had found fame with "Saturday Night Fever" as
John Travolta's dance coach. "It was disgusting, horrifying. I lived in absolute fear of the man." Merv responded by saying that Terrio's lawsuit as "totally false" and "outrageous."
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