It’s been an incredible ride 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, earning him a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for longest-serving host of the same show.
Since 1981, the humorist Sajak has directed “Wheel of Fortune,” which has received a star boost from co-host and acclaimed letter-writer Vanna White, giving it massive global popularity.
“There’s no doubt it’s been a great journey,” says Ron Simon, curator of the Paley Center for Media. “Pat has brought good humor and brotherhood to America’s homes every weeknight for more than four decades. Pat and Vanna have become part of the family. It’s the end of a game show era.”
See Vanna WhiteSend a tearful farewell to Pat Sajak on ‘Wheel of Fortune’: ‘I love you, Pat!’
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The departing host has taped a farewell to TV viewers for Friday’s show. But Sajak avoided a farewell media tour, and gave his only interview to his daughter, Maggie Sajak, who joined the show in 2021 as social correspondent. Sajak described his tenure as “extremely satisfying” in the interview posted on “Wheel of Fortune” media sites.
“It was announced a long time ago, almost a year ago. So I’ve had time to get used to it. And it’s been a little sad and everything,” Sajak told his daughter, “I’m enjoying it, looking back at it all and reflecting on the great performance.”
The Army veteran reminisced about his career, including working on a morning show on Armed Forces Radio (with the traditional greeting, “Good morning, Vietnam!”) during the Vietnam War.
How did Pat Sajak start hosting ‘Wheel of Fortune’?
In the 1970s, Sajak worked TV jobs from Nashville, Tennessee, to Los Angeles. While working as a joke meteorologist on Los Angeles’ KNBC, Sajak impressed game show impresario Merv Griffin, who produced “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel.”
Griffin pushed for Sajak to take over NBC’s version of “Wheel” after its original host, Chuck Woolery, left in a contract dispute in 1981. Griffin took the job despite the network’s strong objections, as his son, Tony Griffin, recalled in a 2010 TV interview.
Tony Griffin said, “My father said, ‘Contractually, I can stop the show unless you hire Pat Sajak.'” “They hired Pat Sajak the next day.”
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Sajak, 35, made his first appearance on “Wheel” with co-host Susan Stafford on Dec. 28, 1981. “Please do not adjust your sets at home. Chuck Woolery has not gotten any smaller,” Sajak told the audience. “I’ve been very fortunate to have been on the set of a very successful program.”
Yet Sajak didn’t have high hopes for the low-rated show, expecting his tenure to last maybe two years. But “Wheel” began to gain momentum. White replaced Stafford in 1982, and the next year, the show began syndicated evening airings on local stations.
“And 41 years later, here I am,” Sajak said in his interview. “It’s a strange path.”
The contestants’ frequent request to Sajak – “I want to buy a vowel” – became part of the vernacular. “Somewhere along the line we became more than just a popular show; we became part of popular culture,” Sajak recalled.
Pat Sajak parodied on ‘South Park’ and ‘SNL’
Sajack, White and “Wheel of Fortune” have been parodied everywhere from Comedy Central’s “South Park” to NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and Nickelodeon’s “Rugrats” (the latter with Sajack voicing himself). The funny host became such a big personality that from January 1989 to April 1990 he hosted his own short-lived late-night CBS talk show, “The Pat Sajack Show.”
In the internet era, Sajak sometimes inadvertently created regular viral moments through his bizarre guest appearances. The National Review contributor stirred up controversy by exposing his right-wing views and making social media posts that denied global warming.
However, Sajak leaves “Wheel of Fortune” with a sizeable net worth of his own, with an annual salary of $15 million estimated by Forbes in 2016. He’s still puzzled by the secret to the show’s longevity.
Sajak said in his interview, “If I knew, I’d be making other shows with the same mystery, and I’d be a rich man”, and then he said, “Oh, I am….it’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” plans to return for a new season, with the possibility that Sajak and White will host. In the meantime, White will remain on “Wheel of Fortune,” while Ryan Seacrest will replace Sajak in September. Seacrest, 49, who also hosts ABC’s “American Idol,” was just 7 years old when Sajak began hosting “Wheel.”
“I’m truly grateful to be following in the footsteps of the great Pat Sajak,” Seacrest said on Instagram last September. “I can’t wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and work with the great Vanna White.”
