Chuck Woolery Dead at 83 ... Legendary Game Show Host . .

Legendary game show host Chuck Woolery -- best known for being the first host of "Wheel of Fortune" -- has passed away ... TMZ has confirmed.

Chuck's longtime friend and podcast cohost Mark Young tells TMZ ... he was at Chuck's home in Texas when Chuck said he wasn't feeling well and went to lie down. He came back to the room a short time later and said he was having trouble breathing. 911 was called, but Woolery did not make it.

Game show enthusiasts will be very familiar with Chuck's work ... with Woolery's big break coming in 1975 when he became the first host of "Wheel of Fortune."

He hosted the show until 1981 when he left due to a salary dispute and Pat Sajak took over the job. He went on to host "Love Connection," "Scrabble" and a revival of "The Dating Game."

Woolery made appearances as himself on a few different TV shows over the years ... including the movie "Cold Feet" and the sitcoms "227" and "Scrubs." He also had a small music career, playing mostly country.

We last caught up with Chuck back in 2016 ... and, we asked him a ton of questions about the game show world.

Chuck is survived by his wife Kim and his children, Katherine, Melissa, Michael and Sean. He was 83.

RIP . .