Wheel of Fortune audiences came out in droves to bid farewell to Pat Sajak earlier this month.
07.06.2024 - 13:39 / variety.com
J. Kim Murphy It was all just a game at first to Pat Sajak, but then it became something much more meaningful. The longtime “Wheel of Fortune” host’s final episode heading the game show airs in just a few hours — and the production has released a first look preview ahead of the broadcast, in which Sajak expresses gratitude to his audience.
“I have a few thanks and acknowledgements before I go. And I want to start with all of you watching out there,” Sajak begins in the footage, addressing the camera on the “Wheel of Fortune” set. “It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes, night after night, decade after decade.
And I always felt that the privilege came with the responsibility to keep this daily half-hour a safe place for family fun. No social issues. No politics.
Nothing embarrassing, I hope. Just a game. But gradually it became more than that.” Sajak announced his retirement as host of “Wheel of Fortune” last spring, sharing that his 41st season with the series would be his final spin.
He first hosted the series in 1981 for its daytime edition before moving to nighttime duties in 1983. Through his long tenure, Sajak has won the Daytime Emmy for outstanding game show host three times. Ryan Seacrest will take over as host this fall.
Variety exclusively reported that Sajak’s first post-“Wheel of Fortune” job will be a theater production of the Columbo mystery “Prescription: Murder” at Honolulu’s Hawaii Theatre. Set for the summer of 2025, Sajak will mark his ninth onstage collaboration with KHON-TV Hawai’i newscaster and actor Joe Moore. Sajak will play a murderous psychiatrist, while Moore will play Detective Columbo.
Wheel of Fortune audiences came out in droves to bid farewell to Pat Sajak earlier this month.
Pat Sajak has officially handed off “Wheel of Fortune” to Ryan Seacrest in a new promo. The famed host’s final episode of the iconic game show aired on June 7.“Well, this is it, Ryan. What do you think?” Sajak, 77, says in the clip as he gives Seacrest, 49, a tour of the studio with Vanna White.“Impressive, Pat,” Seacrest replies.“Ryan, I know the contestants are going to love you,” White, 67, chimes in.As Sajak announced his retirement in June 2023, White extended her contract through the 2025-26 season.
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Zack Sharf Digital News Director Pat Sajak has officially passed his “Wheel of Fortune” hosting baton to Ryan Seacrest in a new promo for the long-running game show that touts Seacrest’s hosting debut this fall. Sajak signed off as “Wheel of Fortune” host after more than 40 years on June 7.
record-breaking four decades hosting “Wheel of Fortune,” Pat Sajak already has his next gig lined up.Although Sajak, 77, said that he’s stepping back from the long-running game show to retire, he’s set to be in a play at the Hawaii Theatre Center in Honolulu, for a community theater production called “Prescription: Murder.” Sajak will play a psychiatrist who hatches a murder plot. Sajak’s friend, local KHON newscaster Joe Moore, will play the lead detective.The mystery-themed play will be on the Hawaii Theatre Center’s main stage.“Pat has a good relationship with [co-star] Joe Moore; Their friendship spans since the military days,” Hawaii Theatre Manager Justin Jenks told the U.S. Sun in an article published Monday.
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Ryan Seacrest is honoring Pat Sajak.
Ryan Seacrest paid tribute to Pat Sajak today on social media following the broadcast of Sajak’s final episode as host of Wheel of Fortune.
The contestants on Pat Sajak‘s final episode of Wheel of Fortune were all gifted some extra money!
Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Pat Sajak signed off of “Wheel of Fortune” on Friday evening after more than 40 years as host, telling viewers with a slight catch in his voice that he was grateful for the “incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night.” The half-hour episode, recorded on April 5, was largely a regular telecast of the syndicated show with a few extra touches including Sajak’s four-minute farewell, or what he described as “a few parting thoughts.” But it opened with a clip of Sajak’s first appearance as host back in 1981, when the show aired on NBC’s daytime schedule before shifting to first-run syndication through King World Productions (which was acquired by CBS in 2000) in the fall of 1983. In the 1981 clip, the voice-over announcer introduces Sajak as the replacement for former host Chuck Woolery, who went on to host the dating game show “The Love Connection.” “Please do not adjust your sets at home,” Sajak told the audience in 1981.
Pat Sajak bid farewell to “Wheel of Fortune” Friday night after hosting the legendary game show for more than 8,000 episodes across 41 seasons. The episode featured footage from Sajak’s 1981 debut, and revealed “Chicago, Illinois” as the first puzzle answer — a possible nod to his hometown. A round was cut from the program to make room for Sajak’s goodbye message, but he gave each contestant $5,000 to make up for it.“Well, the time has come to say goodbye,” Sajak said on-air.
Pat Sajak, 77, ends his legendary run – spanning over four decades – hosting “Wheel of Fortune” on June 7.Sajak makes history as the longest-running host of any game show (beating Bob Barker, who hosted “The Price Is Right” for a 35 year tenure, from 1972 to 2007). Sajak told USA today about “Wheel of Fortune,” that the show is “sort of a safe-haven half-hour where nobody gets hurt, and everybody has fun.
host Pat Sajak has captivated viewers with his charismatic charm, quick wit and overall likable demeanor. Now, years after he created “a perfect storm” with the show, he’s taking one last spin and saying goodbye.Sajak became one of the most beloved television hosts in game show history, with one expert telling Fox News Digital his appeal is “like humidity.
his final episode that airs Friday. While some viewers are excited for Ryan Seacrest to step in as host, the show will not be the same without Sajak.
Vanna White is bidding her pal farewell.
Pat Sajak is staying busy after Wheel of Fortune!
After more than four decades, Pat Sajak has bid farewell to Wheel of Fortune. The longtime host expressed his gratitude to viewers Friday in his final episode on the game show.
Pat Sajak assumed that he and Vanna White would retire together, but that won’t be the case when he takes his final bow on “Wheel of Fortune” when his last episode airs on Friday.Back in 2019, Sajak predicted that he and the famed letter-turner, 67, would walk of the ABC stage together.“There’s a pretty good chance that when one of us leaves, we’ll both leave, because it would be odd for either of us to work with somebody else,” he said, per USA Today. “I always say that I want to leave while the show is still popular and before people tune in and say, ‘Ooh, what happened to him?'”“I’m not quite there yet, but I don’t know,” he added at the time.
Vanna White is saying goodbye to her Wheel of Fortune co-star Pat Sajak!