“Wheel. Of. Fortune.”
After those words usher in an episode, it's hard to think of another person making their way from behind the puzzle board on one of America's most popular game shows. But that's what will happen after Friday night, when longtime “Wheel of Fortune” co-host Pat Sajak closes for the final time.
For more than 40 years, Sajak, along with Vanna White, has led the syndicated half-hour show, a role he took on in 1981, when the show was still airing on the daytime television network. Sajak, now 77, announced his retirement last summer, writing on Twitter (now X): “I have decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be our last. It has been a wonderful journey and I will have more to say in the coming months. Thank you very much to all.”
Television personality Ryan Seacrest is scheduled to take on the role in September.
Over the years, “Wheel of Fortune” has been seen by countless viewers and has become a cultural touchstone for generations of Americans. Phrases like “I'd like to buy a vowel” or “I'd like to solve” are synonymous with the show, as is Sajak's style of the occasional joke to elicit laughter from the audience between segments.
In anticipation of his final show, Sony Pictures Television, which produces the show, released a clip of Sajak's farewell to the “Wheel of Fortune” audience. The episode will air locally at 7:30 pm Pacific on KABC-7. This is what he said:
“Well, the time has come to say goodbye. I have a few thanks and acknowledgments before I go, and I want to start with all of you watching.
It has been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes, night after night, year after year, decade after decade. And I always felt that with privilege came the responsibility of maintaining this daily half hour as a safe place for family fun. Without social problems, without politics. Nothing embarrassing, I hope. Just a game.
But little by little it became more than that. A place where children learn letters, where people from other countries perfect their English skills, where families, friends, neighbors and entire generations meet.
What an honor to have played even a small role in all of that. Thank you for allowing me into your lives.”
