Pat Sajak hosted his final episode of Wheel of Fortune on Friday, and took time to thank the viewers of the enduringly popular game show he’s hosted for more than 40 years.
“The time has come to say goodbye,” Sajak said during the episode. “I have a few thanks and acknowledgments before I go, and I want to start with all of you watching out there. It’s been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes night after night, year after year, decade after decade. I’ve always felt that the privilege came with a responsibility to keep this daily half hour a safe place for family fun — no social issues, no politics, nothing embarrassing, I hope. Just a game.”
Sajak, 77, announced a year ago that he would step down as host of Wheel of Fortune. Ryan Seacrest will take over as host of the syndicated game show starting with the 2024-25 season; he’ll be joined by Sajak’s long-time co-host, Vanna White, who will remain with the show for the time being.
White also paid tribute to Sajak in a video on Wheel of Fortune’s social media outlets (watch it below). “I don’t know how to put into words what these past 41 years have meant to me,” she says. “When I first started, I was so green. You made me so comfortable and so confident, Pat. You made me who I am, you really did.”
Sajak first hosted an NBC daytime version of Wheel of Fortune in 1981, and White joined the show a year later. They became hosts of the daily syndicated version of Wheel in 1983, and throughout their tenure the show has been among the most popular game shows in syndication. Sajak and White have also hosted ABC’s Celebrity Wheel of Fortune for the past four years.
Sajak won three Daytime Emmy Awards for outstanding game show host and received a lifetime achievement award at the awards in 2011.
He ended his farewell Friday by reflecting on Wheel of Fortune’s legacy in television, saying the show became “a place where kids learned their letters, where people from other countries honed their English skills, where families came together along with friends and neighbors and entire generations. What an honor to have played even a small part in all of that. Thank you for allowing me into your lives.”
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