Wheel of Fortune (American game show)
Wheel of Fortune (often known simply as Wheel) is an American television game show created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 1975. It features a competition in which contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The current version of the series, which airs in nightly syndication, premiered on September 19, 1983. It stars Pat Sajak and Vanna White as hosts, who have hosted the nighttime version since its inception. The original version of Wheel was a network daytime series that ran on NBC from January 6, 1975, to June 30, 1989, and subsequently aired on CBS from July 17, 1989, to January 11, 1991; it returned to NBC on January 14, 1991, and was cancelled that year, ending on September 20, 1991. (The network daytime and syndicated nighttime versions aired concurrently from 1983 until the former's conclusion.)
The network version was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. Woolery left in 1981, and was replaced by Sajak. Sajak left the network version in January 1989 to host his own late-night talk show, while remaining as host of the nighttime Wheel. Sajak was replaced in the daytime by Rolf Benirschke, who was in turn replaced by Bob Goen when the network show moved to CBS. Goen remained as host for the second NBC run. Stafford left in 1982 and was replaced by White, who remained on the network show for the rest of its run. The show has also had four announcers in its history: Charlie O'Donnell, Jack Clark, M. G. Kelly, and Jim Thornton.
Two spin-off versions exist as well. The first was Wheel 2000, a version featuring child contestants which aired simultaneously on CBS and Game Show Network between 1997 and 1998. This version's hosts were David Sidoni and Tanika Ray, the latter in the role of a CGI hostess named "Cyber Lucy". The second, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, began airing on ABC on January 7, 2021, and features celebrities playing a modified version of the game with winnings donated to charity. Wheel of Fortune ranks as the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States, with 7,000 episodes taped and aired as of May 10, 2019.
Pat Sajak, longtime host of ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ is retiring
Pat Sajak is preparing to spin the wheel on television’s long-running game show “Wheel of Fortune” for the last time. The host confirmed the news in a tweet on Monday, saying, “Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last.” He continued, “It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)”
Sajak gave no indication of who may replace him, but Suzanne Prete, executive vice president of game shows at Sony Pictures Television – the studio that produces “Wheel” – told CNN in a statement that Sajak will “continue as a consultant on the show for three years following his last year hosting.” “As the host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years,” Prete’s statement read, going on to say “We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season.” Serving as the host of the Emmy-winning game show alongside co-host Vanna White for 40 years, Sajak and White stand as two of the longest-serving hosts of any television program in the game show category.
Sajak became the host of “Wheel of Fortune” after Chuck Woolery left the series in 1981. He continued his hosting duties as “Wheel” became syndicated in 1983 and has since hosted various spinoff shows including 2021’s “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.” The show first debuted in 1975. The Chicago native won a Daytime Emmy Lifetime Achievement award in 2011 and has earned three additional Emmys for his work hosting “Wheel.” “Wheel of Fortune” is a game show similar to “Hangman” where contestants spin a wheel to earn money for solving word puzzles and has been a primetime TV mainstay that airs alongside “Jeopardy.”
Ryan Seacrest Reflects on Pressure of Continuing Pat Sajak's Wheel of Fortune Legacy
Ryan Seacrest is feeling pressure to step into Pat Sajak's shoes as the new host of Wheel of Fortune. In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE at the Hulu on Disney+ celebration in Los Angeles on April 5, the American Idol host, 49, opened up about taking over hosting the hit game show from Sajak, 77, in September 2024.
"Well, no one can ever do what Pat has done. He is incredible," Seacrest said. "He has made that show just something so very special for so long, and he has done such a seamless, remarkable job, so no one can be him." "So do I feel pressure? Sure," the seasoned host continued. "People love watching him. I want them to keep love watching it, and I hope to do a great job as well."
Although Seacrest is nervous, he told PEOPLE he's spent a lifetime unknowingly preparing for the gig. "I've been watching the show all my life, and I've been watching it as much as I can as an adult and as a child," Seacrest admitted. "I think that this is a show that means so much to a lot of people. It's a part of their lives, they like to get together at the end of the day and try and solve the puzzles. And for me, it's a chance to give away cash and prizes and work with the legendary Vanna White," the radio personality added.
Ryan Seacrest Named ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host, Replacing Pat Sajak
Seacrest will take over when the longtime emcee retires after the 2023-24 season
Ryan Seacrest will take over as host of the syndicated game show beginning with the 2024-25 season. Sajak announced his retirement as host on June 12, saying that “The time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride.”
“We are ecstatic to have Ryan as the next host of Wheel of Fortune,” said Ravi Ahuja, chairman of global television studios at Sony Pictures. “Ryan loves Wheel as much as we do and is the perfect person to continue the show’s four-decade success into the future.” The longtime American Idol host will take the reins of one of the most popular shows in syndication; Wheel of Fortune averaged about 9 million daily viewers in the 2022-23 season. Co-host Vanna White, meanwhile, has a year remaining on her current contract.
“I’m truly humbled to be stepping into the footsteps of the legendary Pat Sajak. I can say, along with the rest of America, that it’s been a privilege and pure joy to watch Pat and Vanna on our television screens for an unprecedented 40 years, making us smile every night and feel right at home with them,” Seacrest said in a statement. “One of my first jobs was hosting a little game show called Click for Merv Griffin 25 years ago so, this is truly a full circle moment for me and I’m grateful to Sony for the opportunity. I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White.”
Pat Sajak’s daughter to fill in for Vanna White on ‘Wheel of Fortune’
Vanna White, Maggie Sajak and Pat Sajak on "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune."
“Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak’s daughter will spin letters for co-host Vanna White on Wednesday.
Maggie Sajak took to her Instagram with the news she will be helping out on “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune,” while White competes on the show. “Warming up for Wednesday,” she captioned it. “I hope to make Vanna proud.” Her dad commented on the post, writing, “I think I’m gonna cry.”
White will appear alongside Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings on “Ultimate Host Night.” Previously, Sajak filled in for White when she filled in as host for a week while her dad recovered from surgery. She also serves as the show’s social correspondent. According to the “Wheel of Fortune” website, Maggie Sajak has been been providing social media coverage of the show since 2021, with behind-the-scenes content and interviews with contestants.
'Wheel of Fortune' host Pat Sajak announces retirement after 40 years: 'The time has come'
Pat Sajak is retiring from "Wheel of Fortune" after serving as the game show's host for over 40 years. Sajak, 76, announced in a statement Monday that he's decided to step back from the long-running game show after its upcoming season in the fall.
"Well, the time has come," he said. "I've decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It's been a wonderful ride, and I'll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it'll keep the clickbait sites busy!)" Suzanne Prete, the EVP of game shows at Sony Pictures Television, honored Sajak's legacy in an additional statement. "As the host of 'Wheel of Fortune,' Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years," she said.
Prete continued: "We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season. Pat has agreed to continue as a consultant on the show for three years following his last year hosting, so we're thrilled to have him remaining close to the 'Wheel of Fortune' family!" Sajak has hosted "Wheel of Fortune" since its inception in 1983, as well as its daytime version from 1981 to 1989. In May, his daughter, Maggie Sajak, filled in for "Wheel" co-host Vanna White, who competed as a contestant alongside "Jeopardy!" hosts Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings.
Pat Sajak, Longtime ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host, Says He Will Retire
Pat Sajak, the host of "Wheel of Fortune," with Vanna White, the co-host, in 2007. Mr. Sajak announced this week that he would retire after next season.Credit...Peter Kramer/Associated Press
Pat Sajak, who has been one of the most familiar faces on American television for over four decades as the host of “Wheel of Fortune,” announced on Monday that he would retire next year. The game show host, a mainstay of American television, has starred on the program since 1981. He said he would step down in 2024.
“The time has come,” Mr. Sajak, 76, said on Twitter. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last.” “Wheel of Fortune” has been one of the most watched syndicated shows on American TV for much of Mr. Sajak’s run as host, and it was the most watched by the mid-1980s, when it drew more than 40 million viewers daily. The show became a pop culture phenomenon — known for its catchphrase “Can I buy a vowel?” — and spawned board games, toys, clothes and the spinoff show “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.” Airing on ABC affiliates, “Wheel of Fortune” still draws over nine million viewers daily, second only to “Jeopardy!” for syndicated shows. Mr. Sajak plans to continue as a consultant for three years after his final season.
It is unclear who will take over the hosting duties for Mr. Sajak, a three-time Emmy winner and the recipient of the Daytime Emmy lifetime achievement award. Vanna White, Mr. Sajak’s longtime co-host, who joined the daytime version of the show in 1982, said on Twitter on Tuesday, “Who could have imagined we’d still be at it 41 seasons later?” “I couldn’t be happier to have shared the stage with you for all these years with one more to come,” Ms. White wrote. She briefly stepped in for Mr. Sajak in 2019, when he needed emergency surgery to fix a blocked intestine. While Ms. White filled in for Mr. Sajak, his daughter, Maggie Sajak, took over Ms. White’s puzzle-board duties. Ms. Sajak is a social correspondent for the show, posting digital content.
‘Wheel of Fortune’ host Pat Sajak announces 2024 retirement: ‘It’s been a wonderful ride
“Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak announced his four-decade run hosting the American game show is coming to a close in 2024. (Christopher Willard / ABC via Getty Images)
Pat Sajak, the host of “Wheel of Fortune” for more than 40 years, announced his 2024 retirement on Monday. “Well, the time has come,” Sajak wrote on Twitter. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all.” He added the announcement will, if nothing else, “keep the clickbait sites busy.”
“Wheel of Fortune” has been a fixture in living rooms across America for generations, holding a special place at the heart of American pop culture. Sajak’s likeness has been featured in “South Park,” and Tom Hanks has played him in a “Wheel of Fortune”-inspired skit while hosting “Saturday Night Live.” Merv Griffin launched the American game show gem in 1975 and Sajak, alongside co-host Vanna White, has been the face of the show for more than four decades. It is the second-most-watched show in syndication (behind “Jeopardy!”), averaging 8.3 million weekly viewers. The show is celebrating its 40th anniversary this season, and in January, Steve LoCascio, president of CBS Media Ventures, announced it had been renewed for five more years.
“As the host of Wheel of Fortune, Pat has entertained millions of viewers across America for 40 amazing years,” Suzanne Prete, a Sony executive vice president, said in a statement obtained by The Times. “We are incredibly grateful and proud to have had Pat as our host for all these years and we look forward to celebrating his outstanding career throughout the upcoming season. Pat has agreed to continue as a consultant on the show for three years following his last year hosting, so we’re thrilled to have him remaining close to the Wheel of Fortune family!”
Pat Sajak @PatOnWheel
Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all. (If nothing else, it’ll keep the clickbait sites busy!)
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak to retire after 41 seasons
It's time for somebody else to take a spin. Pat Sajak, who has hosted the syndicated game show "Wheel of Fortune" for more than 40 years, announced in a tweet Monday night that he plans to step down next year.
"Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last," Sajak said. "It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months. "Many thanks to you all."
Sajak, 76, took the helm of "Wheel of Fortune" in 1981 alongside co-host Vanna White. The show is a mainstay of the prime-time lineup on television channels across the country, usually accompanied by the quiz contest "Jeopardy!" Sajak did not say who might replace him. Sony Pictures Television, the production and distribution studio that owns the show, did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.
Ryan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest born 24 December 1974
Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest co-hosted and served as executive producer of Live with Kelly and Ryan, and has hosted other media including American Idol, American Top 40, and On Air with Ryan Seacrest. He became co-host of Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in 2005 and became the sole host following Clark's death in 2012.
Seacrest received Emmy Award nominations for American Idol each year from 2004 to 2013, and once more in 2016. He won an Emmy for his work on Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution in 2010 and was nominated once more in 2012. In 2018, he received nominations for Live with Kelly and Ryan in the categories of Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment as well as Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host.
In September 2024, Seacrest will become the host of Wheel of Fortune, replacing Pat Sajak.
Pat Sajak
Pat Sajak (born October 26, 1946, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.) American television personality best known as the four-decade-long host of the television game show Wheel of Fortune (1981– ).
You might be thrown off by the extra letter in Sajak, but it was no mistake! Sajak’s last name was once Sajdak, a Polish surname that reflects his family background. He grew up on the west side of Chicago with two Polish American parents, although he was not particularly close to his father, Leonard Sajdak, or his paternal grandparents. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother, Joyce (née Brandecki) Sajdak, married Walter Backal in 1956. After Sajak’s father died in 1961, he lost contact with his father’s side of the family.
Sajak’s interest in broadcast entertainment began in his childhood, when he watched Jack Paar on The Tonight Show. “I would sneak out of bed at night not to go out with the guys or grab a beer but it was to turn on The Tonight Show and see what Jack was up to,” Sajak recalled in a 2012 interview with the Hoover Institution, a public policy think tank at Stanford University. Sajak’s early adulthood paralleled that of his idol: he began his career doing small jobs for a local radio station in 1966. He then enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1967, and, when he was deployed to Vietnam, he eventually became a disc jockey for the army’s radio station in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City).
Pat Sajak
Patrick Leonard Sajdak born 26 October 1946
Pat Sajak (/ˈseɪdʒæk/ SAY-jak; born Patrick Leonard Sajdak, October 26, 1946) is an American television personality and game show host. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, Sajak began his career in broadcasting at a local radio station, later serving as a disc jockey during the Vietnam War for the American Forces Vietnam Network.
Sajak is best known as the host of the American television game show Wheel of Fortune, a position he has held since 1981. For his work on Wheel, Sajak has received 19 nominations for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host, winning three times. In 2019, he was recognized by the Guinness World Records for having the longest career as a game show host for the same show, surpassing previous record holder Bob Barker.
Beyond his game show career, Sajak has made various appearances in films, television series, and game shows, such as Airplane II: The Sequel, Days of Our Lives, and Rugrats. He also hosted a late-night talk show on CBS from 1989 to 1990 and became a frequent guest host for CNN's Larry King Live and the syndicated Live with Regis and Kelly. Sajak has been involved in a variety of other endeavors, including as an external director of conservative publishing house Eagle Publishing and writing for the National Review Online and Ricochet.co. He is also the author of several puzzle games, including "Lucky Letters", developed in collaboration with puzzle developer David L. Hoyt. Sajak has been married twice, currently to Lesly Brown Sajak since 1989, with whom he has two children. As of 2021, Sajak has also been credited as a Consulting Producer of Wheel of Fortune and hosts Prime Time Celebrity Wheel of Fortune on ABC alongside Vanna White.
Vanna White
White next to the puzzle board during a taping of Wheel of Fortune on February 8, 2006
Vanna Marie White (née Rosich; born February 18, 1957) is an American television personality and game-show hostess, best known as the co-host of the game show Wheel of Fortune, a position she has held since 1982. She began her career as a model while studying fashion, competing in Miss Georgia USA in 1978. In addition to her work on Wheel of Fortune, she has played minor characters or appeared as herself in many films and television series and is the author of the 1987 autobiography Vanna Speaks. She also participates in real-estate investment, owns the yarn brand Vanna's Choice, and is a patron of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.
Vanna Marie Rosich was born on February 18, 1957, near North Myrtle Beach in Horry County, South Carolina,[3] the daughter of Joan Marie (Nicholas) and Miguel Angel Rosich. Her parents divorced when she was an infant, and she was raised by her mother Joan, and Joan's second husband Herbert White Jr., a former real estate broker, in North Myrtle Beach, and she took his surname. After graduating from high school, White moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where she attended the Atlanta School of Fashion and Design and worked as a model. She headed to Los Angeles in 1979 to pursue an acting career. She spent the summer of 1980 back in South Carolina with her mother, who was dying of ovarian cancer.
Before her appearance on TV, White was a contestant in the Miss Georgia USA 1978 pageant. Her first appearance in a game show was on the June 20, 1980, episode of The Price Is Right, where she was among the first four contestants. She did not make it on stage, but the clip of her running to Contestants' Row was rebroadcast as part of The Price Is Right 25th Anniversary Special in August 1996 and The Price Is Right Celebrates 50 Years in September 2021 (in which she also appeared as a Guest Model during the show), and also was featured on the special broadcast Game Show Moments Gone Bananas.
Wheel of Fortune host Pat Sajak signs off after 41 seasons
The longest-serving TV game show host in history signed off on Friday (Jun 7) after presiding over US primetime hit Wheel of Fortune for 41 seasons.
Pat Sajak has been a fixture in American homes since 1981, hosting more than 8,000 editions of a show that has become part of early evenings for millions of households. "Well, the time has come to say goodbye," he told viewers in a clip from the pre-recorded final show.
"It's been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade." He described the half-hour show as "a safe place for family fun. No social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing I hope - just a game." "Thank you for allowing me into your lives."
