Pat Sajak’s final puzzle is an event that’s 10 letters long and has four vowels — retirement.
The longest-running game show host in American TV history is calling it quits as the host of Wheel of Fortune, which he began hosting in 1981. Technically he’s been retired for two months since having taped his final show in April, but the last Wheel of Fortune hosted by Sajak, 77, will air Friday in Philadelphia at 7:30 p.m. on 6abc in its normal spot following Jeopardy!
Advertisem*nt
Sajak’s tenure dates back to 1981, when he was hired by legendary producer Merv Griffin to take over the daytime version of the show on NBC following Chuck Woolery’s departure. The syndicated nighttime version premiered with Sajak as its host in 1983, and at its height averaged more than 40 million viewers a night.
Sajak hosted both versions of Wheel of Fortune until 1989, when he left the daytime program to host a short-lived late-night talk show on CBS in the time slot filled a few years later by David Letterman and, most recently, Stephen Colbert.
All these years later, the show remains remarkably popular with viewers. Wheel of Fortune is the fifth most-watched TV show in Philadelphia since its most recent season began Sept. 11, averaging over 250,000 viewers a night, according to Nielsen numbers obtained by The Inquirer. Nationally, the show still pulls in more than 8 million viewers a night.
Sajak began his broadcasting career while at Columbia College Chicago, delivering English newscasts overnight on a small Spanish radio station. After stints with local news outlets in Murray, Ky., and Nashville, Tenn., he was hired as a weather reporter on Los Angeles NBC affiliate KNBC. He spent five years cheerfully offering weather reports before getting a call out of the blue from Griffin to host Wheel of Fortune.
“I swear the first thought was, ‘There’s nothing for me to do.’ I mean, ‘Yes, there are three Rs’ is not exactly a career mover,” Sajak told his daughter, Maggie Sajak, during a recent interview. “Shows you what I know.”
Griffin was also responsible for hiring Vanna White, who replaced the show’s original letter turner, Susan Stafford. Sajak has said he thought Griffin made a mistake, because White was so nervous during her audition.
“Merv was smarter than I am, and he saw something in her and knew the nerves would go away ... I shudder to think how life could have been different,” Sajak said.
While Sajak will no longer host Wheel of Fortune, he isn’t going away entirely — he’ll remain a consultant for the next three years.
Who will be replacing Pat Sajak on ‘Wheel of Fortune’?
Stepping in as the new host is Ryan Seacrest, who is probably best known for cohosting American Idol and Live with Kelly & Ryan alongside Kelly Ripa. He also hosts ABC’s New Year’s coverage, having taken over for another beloved TV personality, the late Dick Clark.
Seacrest, 49, will debut when the show’s 42nd season does Sept. 9, though he began filming episodes last month.
“Well, no one can ever do what Pat has done. He is incredible,” Seacrest told People in April. “So do I feel pressure? Sure. People love watching him ... and I hope to do a great job as well.”
Will Vanna White remain on the show?
While Sajak is retiring, his longtime partner will remain.
White, Sajak’s cohost since 1983, signed a contract extension last year that will keep her flipping letters and revealing answers through 2026.
“It’s super important to have Vanna White on Wheel of Fortune,” Seacrest said on NBC’s Today show last year, calling her a “beloved” television icon.
White, 67, will join her longtime cohost on Friday’s show, but she praised Sajak in an emotional goodbye that aired Thursday, describing him as a mentor and friend who taught her how to be a TV star.
“When I first started, I was so green. You made me so comfortable and made me so confident that you made me who I am, you really did,” White said. “You’re like a brother to me, and I consider you a true lifelong friend who I will always adore.”
Sajak doesn’t live all that far from Philly
While Sajak has a second home in Los Angeles, the Wheel of Fortune host is a longtime resident of Severna Park, Md., just a few hours south of Philadelphia.
Sajak married his second wife, Lesly Brown, in 1989 and purchased a $1.275 million home in Severna Park, according to the Baltimore Sun. In his bio on X (formerly Twitter), Sajak jokily describes himself as a “former sexagenarian” and a “gated community activist.”
Sajak has made several treks to Philadelphia, including throwing out the first pitch at Veterans Stadium ahead of a Phillies-Cardinals game in August 1999. He’s also been spotted catching Washington Capitals games against the Flyers.
In 2015, Wheel of Fortune sent Sajak and White to film in Philly as part of a “Great American Cities” feature that also included Denver and Seattle. While in town, the duo filmed segments at the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, and Headhouse Square on Second Street. They also ate at some famed local spots, including sampling cheesesteaks from both Pat’s and Geno’s and enjoying a meal at Ralph’s Italian Restaurant in South Philly.
“Philadelphia is one of my favorite cities — and I’m not saying that because I’m here,” White told The Inquirer. “Every time I come here, I have such a great time.”
Before his TV career, Sajak was on Army radio yelling, ‘Good morning, Vietnam!’
“Good morning, Vietnam!” was the phrase the late Robin Williams belted out as the disc jockey for Armed Forces Radio Saigon in the famed 1987 movie. Williams’ portrayal, which earned him an Academy Award nomination, was loosely based on real Army disk jockey Adrian Cronauer, but Sajak once held the same job.
Sajak joined the Army in 1968 and was sent to Saigon to host the same morning show Cronauer hosted a few years earlier, which was referred to as the “dawn buster.” And every day at 6 a.m. for about a year and a half, Sajak yelled into the microphone, “Good morning, Vietnam!”
“This was the biggest market I’d ever worked in,” Sajak said during a 2007 interview with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. “I had half a million soldiers there, plus the American civilians and a lot of the local Vietnamese spoke English. And there weren’t a lot of choices on the dial.”
