It’s been a spincredible run for “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak, but it’s coming to an end.
Sajak, 77, is retiring Friday from the syndicated hangman-style puzzle game show (check local listings) after 41 seasons and 8,010 episodes, holding the Guinness Book of World Records spot for longest-running host on the same show.
Since 1981, the dry-witted Sajak has helmed “Wheel of Fortune” with a star boost from co-host and vaunted letter-turner Vanna White, to massive global popularity.
“It’s been an amazing run, no doubt about it,” says Ron Simon, curator at the Paley Center for Media. “Pat has exuded good humor and fellowship visiting America’s home each weeknight for more than four decades. Pat and Vanna have become part of the family. It’s the end of a game show era.”
Who will replace Pat SajakOn ‘Wheel of Fortune?’ Hint: He was 7 when Sajak began hosting.
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The departing host has taped a farewell to the TV audience for Friday’s show. But Sajak avoided a farewell media tour, giving his only exit interview to his daughter Maggie Sajak, who joined the show as its social correspondent in 2021. Sajak called his tenure “awfully gratifying” in the interview, posted to the “Wheel of Fortune” media sites.
“This was announced a long time ago, almost a year ago. So I’ve had time to sort of get used to it. And it’s been a little bit wistful and all that,” Sajak told his daughter, “I’ve been enjoying it, taking it all in and reflecting on the great run.”
The Army veteran took a trip down career memory lane, detailing a career that included a Vietnam War stint working the morning show on Armed Forces Radio (with the traditional greeting, “Good morning, Vietnam!”).
How did Pat Sajak start hosting ‘Wheel of Fortune’?
Sajak bounced around TV jobs from Nashville, Tennessee, to Los Angeles in the 1970s. While working as a witty weatherman on Los Angeles’ KNBC, Sajak impressed gameshow impresario Merv Griffin, the creator of “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel.”
Griffin insisted Sajak take over the NBC version of “Wheel” after its original host, Chuck Woolery, left in a 1981 contract dispute. Griffin’s choice came despite strong network objection, his son Tony Griffin recalled in a 2010 TV interview.
“My dad said, ‘Contractually, I can shut down the show unless you hire Pat Sajak,'” Tony Griffin said. “They hired Pat Sajak the next day.”
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The 35-year-old Sajak waltzed into his “Wheel” debut on Dec. 28, 1981, joining co-host Susan Stafford. “Please do not adjust your sets at home. Chuck Woolery has not shrunk,” Sajak told viewers. “I’ve been fortunate enough to wander onto the set of a very successful program.”
Yet Sajak did not have big expectations for the low-rated show, expecting his stint to last maybe two years. But “Wheel” started gaining momentum. White replaced Stafford in 1982, and the next year, the show began its evening syndicated run on local stations.
“And 41 years later, here I am,” Sajak said in his interview. “It’s an odd road.”
Contestants’ frequent requests to Sajak – “I’d like to buy a vowel” – became part of the vernacular. “Somewhere along the line, we became more than a popular show; we became part of the popular culture,” Sajak recalled.
Pat Sajak parodied on ‘South Park’ and ‘SNL’
Sajak, White and “Wheel of Fortune” have been parodied on everything from Comedy Centrral’s “South Park” to NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and Nickelodeon’s “Rugrats” (Sajak voiced himself in the latter). The witty host became a big enough personality to host his own short-lived late-night CBS talk show, “The Pat Sajak Show,” from January 1989 to April 1990.
In the internet era, Sajak accidentally created regular viral moments with his sometimes awkward guest interactions. The National Review contributor drew controversy by exposing his right-wing views and posting global-warming denialist social media posts.
However, with an annual salary estimated by Forbes at $15 million in 2016, Sajak leaves “Wheel of Fortune” with his own sizable fortune. He’s still perplexed by the secret of the show’s longevity.
“If I knew, I’d be out creating other shows with the same secret, and I’d be a wealthy man,” Sajak said in his interview, before adding, “Oh, I am….That’s a joke.”
Who will take over ‘Wheel of Fortune’ from Pat Sajak?
The show will go on. ABC’s primetime “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune” is plotting a return for a new season, with the possibility that Sajak and White will host. Meanwhile, White will remain on “Wheel of Fortune, with Ryan Seacrest stepping into Sajak’s shoes in September.Seacrest, 49, who also hosts ABC’s “American Idol,” was just 7 when Sajak started hosting “Wheel.”
“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak,” Seacrest said last September on Instagram. “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”
