It was all just a game at first to broadcastPat Sajak, but then it became something much more meaningful. The longtime Wheel of Fortune host's final episode heading the game show airs in just a few hours — and the production has released a first look preview ahead of the broadcast, in which Pat expresses gratitude to his audience.
"I have a few thanks and acknowledgements before I go. And I want to start with all of you watching out there," Pat begins in the footage, addressing the camera on the Wheel of Fortune set. "It's been an incredible privilege to be invited into millions of homes, night after night, decade after decade. And I always felt that the privilege came with the 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. But gradually it became more than that."
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Pat announced his retirement as host of 'Wheel of Fortune' last spring, sharing that his 41st season with the series would be his final spin.
He first hosted the series in 1981 for its daytime edition before moving to nighttime duties in 1983. Through his long tenure, Pat has won the Daytime Emmy for outstanding game show host three times. Ryan Seacrest will take over as host this fall.
Variety exclusively reported that Pt's first post-Wheel of Fortune job will be a theater production of the Columbo mystery Prescription: Murder at Honolulu's Hawaii Theatre.
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Set for the summer of 2025, Pat will mark his ninth onstage collaboration with KHON-TV Hawai'i newscaster and actor Joe Moore.
Pat will play a murderous psychiatrist, while Joe will play Detective Columbo. The play was adapted into the first episode of the TV series Columbo, starring Peter Falk.
Pat's final episode hosting 'Wheel of Fortune' airs at 7:30 p.m.
Watch the preview of Pat's "Wheel of Fortune" adieu above.
-by J. Kim Murphy
© 2024 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC
