June 13, 2023, 04:00 PM
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Pat Sajak is retiring.
The long-time host of "Wheel of Fortune" will end his four-decade run after the 2023-24 season.
“Well, the time has come. I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last,” Sajak said in a statement on June 13 (Singapore time).
“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!)”
The 76-year-old's retirement from hosting will be the end of an era for "Wheel of Fortune".
There is no timeline yet for naming a new host.
Sajak has hosted the syndicated version of the game show since its debut in 1983.
He also hosted a daytime edition on NBC from 1981 to 1989.
He and Vanna White are among the most enduring hosts of any TV game show in history.Sajak will serve as a consultant to the show for three years after leaving his on-camera role.
Sajak was a weatherman at KNBC in Los Angeles when "Wheel of Fortune" creator offered him the job as host of the NBC daytime version of the game show in 1981.
White joined him a year later in 1982.
In 1983, they became the faces of the evening syndicated "Wheel of Fortune".
The show averages better than 9 million daily viewers most weeks, and remains one of the most popular on all of broadcast TV.
Sajak has won three Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding game show host and received a lifetime achievement award, along with "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek, at the 2011 Daytime Emmys.
Sajak and White also host ABC’s primetime "Celebrity Wheel of Fortune", which is slated to begin its fourth season in the fall.
Background
Sajak has been bestowed the title of the longest-running game show host in television history with his continuous nearly 41-year stint at "Wheel of Fortune".
On March 22, 2019, Guinness World Records already recognised Sajak for having the “longest career as a game show host for the same show”.
He first stepped in to replace the former host in 1981.
The current version of the game show premiered on Sep. 19, 1983.
Sajak's daughter, Maggie Sajak, briefly had a stint on the show in January 2020 when she took over co-host White’s letter-turning duties.
Her father was recovering from an emergency surgery at the time and White acted as the main host.
White is currently 66 years old.
Contrary to rumours and popular belief, Sajak and White never dated.
Both hosts have remained platonic friends despite their on-screen chemistry.
Multiple episodes shot in a day, months in advance
The time it takes to produce an episode of "Wheel of Fortune" is apparently quite short, it was previously revealed.
Six full episodes can be filmed in one afternoon, one after another, in front of two sets of live audiences that get rotated.
New episodes are filmed months in advance before they are aired.
Sajak told CBS previously: “We shoot 35 times a year, 35 days a year, but it’s stretched out over nine months... it’s not exactly the most gruelling schedule you’ve ever heard about.”
"Wheel of Fortune" was the highest-rated show in all of syndicated television for 26 years, averaging over 30 million viewers each week, before being dethroned in 2010.
Top photo via Wheel of Fortune Facebook
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