Pat Sajak to Retire as ‘Wheel of Fortune’ Host Next Year
CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE – ABC’s Celebrity Wheel of Fortune stars Pat Sajak. ((Ricky Middlesworth/ABC via Getty Images) Photo: Ricky Middlesworth/ABC/Getty Images By Suryatapa Bhattacharya June 12, 2023 9:01 pm ET Pat Sajak, who has hosted “Wheel of Fortune” for more than 40 years, will step down next year. The 76-year-old said Monday the coming season, which begins in September, will be his last. “It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months,” Sajak said in a post on Twitter. “Many thanks to you all.” Sajak has hosted the popular game show since 1981, alongside co-host Vanna White for most of that time. He won three Emmy awards for the syndicated show, which became a mainstay of American television as millions tuned in to watch contestants c
CELEBRITY WHEEL OF FORTUNE – ABC’s Celebrity Wheel of Fortune stars Pat Sajak. ((Ricky Middlesworth/ABC via Getty Images)
Photo: Ricky Middlesworth/ABC/Getty Images
Pat Sajak, who has hosted “Wheel of Fortune” for more than 40 years, will step down next year.
The 76-year-old said Monday the coming season, which begins in September, will be his last.
“It’s been a wonderful ride, and I’ll have more to say in the coming months,” Sajak said in a post on Twitter. “Many thanks to you all.”
Sajak has hosted the popular game show since 1981, alongside co-host Vanna White for most of that time. He won three Emmy awards for the syndicated show, which became a mainstay of American television as millions tuned in to watch contestants compete for cash and other prizes. Its format—contestants spin a multicolor wheel as they work to decipher a phrase lit up on a puzzle board by guessing letters—is as easily recognizable as its hosts.
Sajak was working as a weather reporter for a local Los Angeles TV station when “Wheel of Fortune” creator Merv Griffin picked him to host the show.
Sajak didn’t say who will succeed him. Sony Pictures Television didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Write to Suryatapa Bhattacharya at [email protected]
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