Pat Sajak closed a chapter of game show history Monday when he announced his retirement from hosting “Wheel of Fortune” after more than 40 years.
Sajak, 76, announced in a statement Monday that he’s decided to step back from the long-running game show after its upcoming season in the fall.
“Well, the time has come,” he said. “I’ve decided that our 41st season, which begins in September, will be my last. 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!)”
Sajak has hosted “Wheel of Fortune” since its inception in 1983, as well as its daytime version from 1981 to 1989. In May, his daughter, Maggie Sajak, filled in for “Wheel” co-host Vanna White, who competed as a contestant alongside “Jeopardy!” hosts Mayim Bialik and Ken Jennings. The Sajak-White duo signed a contract to keep the wheel spinning at least through 2024.
His hosting gig has spanned four decades covering history-altering events and periods including the COVID-19 pandemic’s Zoom tapings. Through it all, the television icon had plenty to say.
Here are some of our favorite Sajak quotes from USA TODAY interviews through the years.
Pat Sajak wanted Meryl Streep to join in a celebrity edition of ‘Wheel of Fortune’
In 2021, Sajak revealed that his secret wish was to have Meryl Streep as a contestant on a celebrity edition of “Wheel of Fortune.”
“My secret desire is to get Meryl Streep on the show, just because I want to hear her say, ‘Come on, Big Money!'” he said at the time. “I think that would be really dramatic.”
Pat Sajak admitted he and Vanna White were approaching retirement as a pair in 2021
Sajak said that “we’re much closer to the end than we are to the beginning” in terms of hosting the show in 2021 – and he pointed out that he and co-host White kind of operate as a pair and predicted the duo might leave together – which he also noted in 2019.
“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. “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. Let’s put it this way, 20 years from now, we won’t be here.”
‘Wheel of Fortune’Why Pat Sajak would like Meryl Streep on celeb edition
Who is replacing Pat Sajak? He didn’t have interest in picking the next host after his departure
While speaking with USA TODAY in 2019 upon the show’s 7,000th episode, Sajak shared that he didn’t want to find someone to fill his shoes as the next host of “Wheel of Fortune.”
“I have no interest in that,” Sajak said. “It’s not my show, I don’t run it, I’m not producing it. I don’t own it. I’m just a working stiff here. I’m sure they will pick someone just fine, but I’ve never given that a moment’s thought.”
‘Wheel of Fortune’:Pat Sajak and Vanna White on retirement, gaffes, their 7,000th show
Pat Sajak didn’t think the show would get picked up if it were pitched in this day and age
Sajak told USA TODAY in 2019 that he didn’t think the show would get picked up by networks in the current day and age.
“We’re sort of a safe-haven half-hour where nobody gets hurt, and everybody has fun,” he says. “If I went in to pitch this show to a network today, the pitch would last about eight seconds, and they’d go, ‘Thank you, next,’ ’cause it’s old-fashioned. (That hasn’t stopped major networks from reviving other classic game shows).
“We’re just playing hangman and spinning a giant wheel,” he said, “and yet it’s become a part of people’s daily ritual, and it’s a nice spot to be in.”
Pat Sajak was emotional when his daughter guest-hosted ‘Wheel of Fortune’
Maggie Sajak isn’t a stranger to the “Wheel of Fortune” stage. She’s worked on the show as the social correspondent since 2021. Her debut on the game show came early as a 1-year-old when her father brought her on set while filming, according to her bio on the show’s website.
Her father was emotional, though, when his daughter stepped in for White last month marking her first time on the puzzle board.
“I think I’m going to cry,” he said as Maggie made her entrance.
Maggie Sajak:Pat Sajak’s daughter fills in for Vanna White during special ‘Celebrity Wheel of Fortune’
Contributing: Bill Keveney, Erin Jensen, Elise Brisco, Charles Trepany
