Patrick Leonard Sajak ( ; né , born October 26, 1946) is an American game show host, television personality, and creative consultant. He is best known as the host of the television game show '' Wheel of Fortune'', a position which he held from 1981 to 2024. Sajak currently serves as a consultant for the show and hosted '' Celebrity Wheel of Fortune'' until 2025. For his work on ''Wheel'', Sajak has received 19 nominations for the

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host was an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was given to honor the outstanding work of ...

, winning thrice, and twice nominated for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Game Show The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Game Show is an award that was first presented in 2023. History Before the creation of the category, game show hosts competed in Host for a Reality or Competition Program or the Daytime Emmy c ...

, winning in 2024. In 2019, he was recognized by

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

for having the longest-serving career as a game show host for the same show, surpassing previous record holder

Bob Barker Robert William Barker (December 12, 1923 – August 26, 2023) was an American media personality, game show host, and animal rights advocate. He hosted CBS's '' The Price Is Right'', the longest-running game show in North American television ...

. Beyond his game show career, Sajak has made various appearances in films, television series, and game shows, such as '' Airplane II: The Sequel'', ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that aired on the network NBC from November 8, 1965, to September 9, 2022; the soap has streamed n ...

'', and ''

Rugrats ''Rugrats'' is an American animated television series created by Arlene Klasky, Gábor Csupó, and Paul Germain for Nickelodeon. The series focuses on a group of toddlers, most prominently Tommy, Chuckie, Phil, and Lil, and their day-to-d ...

''. He also hosted a late-night talk show on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

from 1989 to 1990 and became a frequent guest host for

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

's ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...

'' and the syndicated ''

Live with Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American Broadcast syndication, syndicated breakfast television, morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show ...

''. Sajak has been involved in a variety of other endeavors, including as an external director of conservative publishing house Eagle Publishing and writing for the National Review Online and Ricochet.com. He is also the author of several puzzle games, including "Lucky Letters", developed in collaboration with puzzle developer David L. Hoyt.

Early life

Born in Chicago, Illinois, on October 26, 1946, Sajak graduated from

Farragut High School Farragut High School, located at 11237 Kingston Pike, serves as a high school in Farragut, a suburb of Knoxville, Tennessee. Knox County Schools, the unified Knox County, Tennessee school district, operates the school. The school serves the ma ...

in 1964, then went to

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1890, it has 6,493 students (as of fall 2021) pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. It i ...

while working as a desk clerk at

The Palmer House Hilton The Palmer House – A Hilton Hotel is a historic hotel in Chicago's Loop area. It is a member of the Historic Hotels of America program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The first Palmer House opened in 1870, and the present bu ...

hotel. His Polish-origin surname was originally spelled Sajdak, but he later changed it to Sajak to better reflect its Americanized pronunciation. Sajak served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

for

American Forces Vietnam Network The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the United States Armed Forces provides to soldiers stationed or assigned overseas, and is headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland. AFN comprises two sub ...

. He hosted the same ''Dawn Buster'' radio show that

Adrian Cronauer Adrian Joseph Cronauer (September 8, 1938 – July 18, 2018) was an American radio personality and United States Air Force Sergeant,

did and Sajak followed Cronauer's tradition of signing on with "Good Morning Vietnam!" for 14 months.

Career

Sajak won a contest on WLS radio's ''

Dick Biondi Richard Orlando Biondi (September 13, 1932 – June 26, 2023) was an American Top 40 and oldies disc jockey. Calling himself The Wild I-tralian, he was one of the original "screamers," known for his screaming delivery as well as wild antics on a ...

Show'' to be a guest teen deejay. While at

, his broadcasting instructor Al Parker told him that a local radio station (

WEDC WEDC was an AM radio station that operated on 1240 kHz in the Chicago market. It shared this frequency with WCRW and WSBC. The three stations operated as "shared-time stations" for most of their existence, a not uncommon arrangement ...

) was looking for a newsman. Sajak applied for the job and was hired to work from midnight to 6:00 a.m. In 1968, he joined the U.S. Army and was sent to

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

, serving as a disc jockey on

Armed Forces Radio The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the United States Armed Forces provides to soldiers stationed or assigned overseas, and is headquartered at Fort Meade in Maryland. AFN comprises two su ...

. On

the Military Channel American Heroes Channel (formerly Military Channel and originally Discovery Wings Channel) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. The network carries pr ...

's program, ''An Officer and a Movie'', Sajak admitted to botching

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's 1969 Christmas broadcast to the troops; he accidentally cut the feed off prematurely. Upon realizing the error, Sajak decided it would be best not to resume the feed. In the early 1970s, he DJed for a year at

WNBS WNBS (1340 AM) is a radio station broadcasting a News Talk Information format. Licensed to and serving Murray, Kentucky, United States, the station is currently owned by Forever Communications, Inc. and features programming from CBS News Radio, ...

Murray, Kentucky Murray is a Home rule in the United States, home rule-class city in Calloway County, Kentucky, United States. It is the County seat, seat of Calloway County and the 19th-largest list of Ky cities, city in Kentucky. The city's population was 17,3 ...

. Also in the early 1970s, Sajak began DJing at 50,000-watt WSM in

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

; at the time, WSM was playing

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom.S. Frith, W. Straw, and J. Street, eds, ''iarchive:cambridgecompani00frit, The Cambridge Companion to Pop ...

during the day, and he was the 2:30–5:00 pm afternoon personality. The radio station's television sister, WSM-TV (now WSMV), brought Sajak on screen, first as a voiceover artist making station identifications and anchoring the five-minute newscasts during

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'', then as a weekend and substitute weatherman, where he became acquainted with anchor Dan Miller. In 1977,

KNBC KNBC (channel 4) is a television station in Los Angeles, California, United States, serving as the West Coast of the United States, West Coast flagship (broadcasting), flagship station of the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network ...

-TV in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

was looking for a weather reporter and spotted Sajak working in Nashville. He accepted KNBC's request for him to be a full-time weather reporter for the station. In 1981,

Merv Griffin Mervyn Edward Griffin Jr. (July 6, 1925 – August 12, 2007) was an American television show host and media mogul. He began his career as a radio and big band singer, later appearing in film and on Broadway theatre, Broadway. From 1962 to 1986, G ...

asked Sajak if he would be interested in taking over the duties as host on '' Wheel of Fortune'' from

Chuck Woolery Charles Herbert Woolery (March 16, 1941 – November 23, 2024) was an American television host, actor, and musician. He had long-running tenures hosting several game shows. Woolery was the original host of the original daytime '' Wheel of Fortun ...

. However,

Fred Silverman Fred Silverman (September 13, 1937 – January 30, 2020) was an American television executive and producer. He worked as an executive at all of the Big Three television networks, and was responsible for bringing to television such programs as '' ...

, the president and CEO of NBC, rejected his hiring, claiming Sajak was too local, and Griffin responded by imposing a moratorium on new tapings until Sajak was hired. The issue became moot when Silverman was dismissed due to repeated programming failures and replaced by

Brandon Tartikoff Brandon Tartikoff (January 13, 1949 – August 27, 1997) was an American television executive who was head of the entertainment division of NBC from 1981 to 1991. He was credited with turning around NBC's low prime time reputation with several ...

. Sajak, who had already hosted two game show pilots in 1980, ''Press Your Luck'' for

Ralph Edwards Ralph Livingstone Edwards (June 13, 1913DeLong, Thomas A. (1996). ''Radio Stars: An Illustrated Biographical Dictionary of 953 Performers, 1920 through 1960''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . Pp. 86-87. – November 16, 2005) was an American radio ...

(no relation to the 1983 CBS game show of the same name) and ''Puzzlers'' for

Mark Goodson Mark Leo Goodson (January 14, 1915 – December 18, 1992) was an American television producer who specialized in game shows, most frequently with his business partner Bill Todman, with whom he created Goodson-Todman Productions. Early life and e ...

, accepted the position. From 1983 to 1989, Sajak hosted both the daytime (NBC) and syndicated evening versions of ''Wheel of Fortune''; Sajak continued to host the latter version until 2024. With Sajak returning for his 36th season in 2018–19, he became the longest-running host of any game show, surpassing

, who hosted ''

The Price Is Right ''The Price Is Right'' is an American television game show where contestants compete by guessing the prices of merchandise to win cash and prizes. A 1972 revival by Mark Goodson and Bill Todman of their The Price Is Right (1956 American game ...

'' from 1972 to 2007. Sajak was officially honored as such by the

with the episode taped on March 28, 2019, and aired May 8, 2019 (two days before the primetime version's 7,000th episode). Sajak had a small role as a

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

newscaster in the 1982 comedy film '' Airplane II: The Sequel.'' When his late-night talk show on

premiered in January 1989, Sajak left the daytime version of ''Wheel'' and was replaced by former

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

place-kicker

Rolf Benirschke Rolf Joachim Benirschke (born February 7, 1955) is an American former professional football player who was a placekicker in the National Football League (NFL). He played for the San Diego Chargers from 1977 until 1986. He is probably most kno ...

(who was later replaced by

Bob Goen Robert Kuehl Goen (born December 1, 1954) is an American game show emcee and television personality, best known for his work on ''Entertainment Tonight'' between 1993 and 2004 and as the fourth and final host of the daytime ''Wheel of Fortune ( ...

when the daytime show moved to CBS in July of that year). Sajak appeared on ''

Super Password ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' are American TV game shows that aired separately between 1979 and 1989. Both shows were revivals of ''Password'', which originally ran from 1961 to 1975 in various incarnations. With only subtle differen ...

'' several times from 1984 to 1989, as well as ''

Password Plus ''Password Plus'' and ''Super Password'' are American TV game shows that aired separately between 1979 and 1989. Both shows were revivals of ''Password'', which originally ran from 1961 to 1975 in various incarnations. With only subtle differen ...

'' in 1981, shortly before taking on hosting duties on ''Wheel''. Other game shows on which he appeared as a celebrity guest were '' Dream House'', '' Just Men!'', and ''

Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour ''Match Game-Hollywood Squares Hour'' is an American television panel game show that combined two panel games of the 1960s and 1970s – ''Match Game'' and ''Hollywood Squares'' – into an hour-long format. The series ran from October 31, 19 ...

''. Sajak hosted a short-lived

late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show, originating in the American Media, United States. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It is charact ...

on CBS from January 9, 1989 to April 13, 1990. Dan Miller, Sajak's old friend and former anchor at WSM-TV in Nashville, joined him as his sidekick. Sajak later became a frequent guest host for

's ''

'' when King was unable to do the show. Sajak became a regular substitute host for

Regis Philbin Regis Francis Xavier Philbin ( ; August 25, 1931 – July 25, 2020)Archived aGhostarchiveand thWayback Machine was an American television presenter, comedian, actor, and singer. Once called "the hardest-working man in show business", he held th ...

on the syndicated ''

''. Sajak also hosted ''Pat Sajak Weekend'' on

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

in 2003. From at least 2002, Sajak hosted ''The Pat Sajak Baseball Hour'', a syndicated weekly radio sports talk show that ended in 2006 due to scheduling conflicts. Sajak is an external director of

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

publishing house Eagle Publishing. He has been a member of the board of directors for the

Claremont Institute The Claremont Institute is an American conservative think tank based in Upland, California, founded in 1979 by four students of Harry V. Jaffa. It produces the ''Claremont Review of Books'', '' The American Mind'', and other publications. Th ...

. In 1983, Sajak portrayed Kevin Hathaway in the NBC daytime

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

.'' In 1994, Sajak appeared as himself on the children's cartoon show ''

.''

In 1997, Sajak pulled an

April Fool's Day April Fools' Day or April Fool's Day (rarely called All Fools' Day) is an annual custom on the 1st of April consisting of practical jokes, hoaxes, and pranks. Jokesters often expose their actions by shouting "April Fool " at the recipient. Mas ...

prank on fans when he and

Vanna White Vanna Marie White (née Rosich; born February 18, 1957) is an American television personality and game-show hostess, best known as the co-host of the game show '' Wheel of Fortune'', a position she has held since 1982. She began her career as a ...

were contestants on an episode of ''Wheel'' hosted by

Alex Trebek George Alexander Trebek (; July 22, 1940 – November 8, 2020) was a Canadian and American game show host and television personality. He was best known for hosting the syndicated general knowledge quiz game show ''Jeopardy!'' for 37 seasons ...

. The winnings of both Sajak and White were donated to charity (in this case, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. The ACS publishes the journals ''Cancer'', '' CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians'' and '' Cancer Cytopathology''. History The society w ...

and the

Boy Scouts of America Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

). In return, Sajak hosted a regular episode of ''Jeopardy!'' in place of Trebek. Sajak also appeared at the beginning of a 2010 April Fool's episode, along with

Jeff Probst Jeffrey Lee Probst (; born November 4, 1961) is an American television presenter and producer and young adult fiction writer. He is best known as the Emmy Awards, Emmy Award–winning host of the American version of the reality television show ' ...

and

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received List of awards and nominations ...

. In 2001, Sajak appeared as himself in the episode "Inner Tube" on the sitcom ''

The King of Queens ''The King of Queens'' is an American television sitcom that ran on CBS from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007, with a total of 207 half-hour episodes spanning nine seasons. The series was created by Michael J. Weithorn and David Litt, who al ...

''. Sajak began writing for the ''

National Review Online ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich Lo ...

'' in 2010. In his first post, Sajak questioned whether public employees should be allowed to vote on issues that would benefit them directly. He also has contributed to the

center-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...

sociopolitical Political sociology is an interdisciplinary field of study concerned with exploring how governance and society interact and influence one another at the micro to macro levels of analysis. Interested in the social causes and consequences of how p ...

social networking A social network is a social structure consisting of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), networks of Dyad (sociology), dyadic ties, and other Social relation, social interactions between actors. The social network per ...

website Ricochet.com. Sajak is the author of several puzzle games, the first and best-known of them being "Lucky Letters", which debuted in 2007. The games, which Sajak developed with puzzle developer David L. Hoyt, are syndicated through

Universal Uclick Andrews McMeel Syndication (formerly Universal Uclick) is an American content syndicate which provides syndication in print, online and on mobile devices for a number of lifestyle and opinion columns, comic strips and cartoons and various oth ...

. As of 2019, Sajak is the

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private, Conservatism in the United States, conservative, Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1844 by members of the Free Will Baptists. Women were admi ...

board of trustees chair. He was previously vice-chair for 15 years. Hillsdale is a private Christian college. Sajak has appeared on episodes of

ESPN Radio ESPN Radio, which is alternatively branded platform-agnostically as ESPN Audio, is an American sports radio network and extension of the ESPN television network. It was launched on January 1, 1992, under the banner "SportsRadio ESPN". The netw ...

's ''

The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz ''The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz'' is a syndicated sports talk show hosted by Dan Le Batard and Jon "Stugotz" Weiner broadcast out of Miami. It was also carried on many ESPN Radio Network affiliates nationwide and simulcast nationally on ...

'', as well as Le Batard's other show, ''

Highly Questionable ''Highly Questionable'' (stylized as ''¿Highly Questionable?''; abbreviated ''HQ'') is an American daily sports talk television program on ESPN. Created as a vehicle for former ''Miami Herald'' sportswriter and ESPN contributor Dan Le Batard, wh ...

''. Since 2020, Sajak has been credited as a Consulting Producer (since the start of Season 39) of '' Wheel of Fortune''. Since 2021, Sajak and White have hosted Primetime ''Celebrity Wheel of Fortune'' on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

. In September 2021, it was announced that both Sajak and White had signed on to continue as hosts of ''Wheel of Fortune'' through the 2023–24 season. In 2021, Sajak voiced a singing bust in a ''

Muppets Haunted Mansion ''Muppets Haunted Mansion'' is a 2021 American comedy Halloween special based on the Disney properties The Muppets and The Haunted Mansion. It was released on Disney+ on October 8, 2021. The plot stars Gonzo and Pepe as they face the challenge ...

'' television special. Sajak has been a frequent celebrity narrator at

Disney's Candlelight Processional The Candlelight Processional is an annual live Christmas event held in Disneyland, Disneyland Park in California and Epcot, EPCOT at the Walt Disney World, Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. The event was created by Walt Disney himself, and ...

, appearing most recently in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, and 2024. On June 12, 2023, Sajak announced that he would retire as host of ''Wheel of Fortune'' in 2024, after the conclusion of the show's 41st season. Shortly afterwards, media personality

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

was announced as Sajak's successor. His final episode was taped in April 2024 and aired on June 7, 2024. In June 2023, Sajak agreed to continue as a show consultant for three years after hosting and said he would continue as chairman of the board of trustees for

. It was announced on July 11, 2024 that Sajak would return as the host of ''Celebrity Wheel of Fortune'' for its fifth season. The season premiered in December 2024 with the remaining episodes starting to air on April 30, 2025. Sajak's final episode as host aired on June 10, 2025.

In popular culture

While at WSMV as a meteorologist in the mid-1970s, Sajak commented about "daytime highs and nighttime lows". This prompted songwriter

Ben Peters Benjamin James Peters (June 20, 1933 – May 25, 2005) was an American country music songwriter who wrote many #1 songs. Charley Pride recorded 68 of his songs and 6 of them went to #1 on the American country charts. Peters was inducted into the N ...

to write "

Daytime Friends ''Daytime Friends'' is the third studio album by American singer Kenny Rogers for United Artists Records, released in 1977. It was his second major success following the break-up of The First Edition in 1976 (his first album '' Love Lifted Me'' ...

", which became a number one hit for

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

in 1977. Sajak was parodied in a 1980s ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

'' sketch, with a Muppet named Pat Playjacks hosting "Squeal of Fortune". The goal was for the contestants (Prairie Dawn and The Count) to guess how many times a pig in the center of the wheel would squeal before the wheel stopped. During the 1980s, comedian

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian and American comedian, actor, and writer. Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television ...

frequently portrayed a fictional character he called

Ed Grimley Edward Mayhoff 'Ed' Grimley is a fictional character created and portrayed by Martin Short. Developed amongst The Second City improv comedy troupe, Grimley made his television debut on the sketch comedy show '' SCTV'' in 1982, leading to popular ...

, a hyperactive manchild who is obsessed with banal

popular culture Popular culture (also called pop culture or mass culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of cultural practice, practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as popular art

f. pop art F is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet. F may also refer to: Science and technology Mathematics * F or f, the number 15 (number), 15 in hexadecimal and higher positional systems * ''p'F'q'', the hypergeometric function * F-distributi ...

or mass art, sometimes contraste ...

– Sajak in particular – on the

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

television shows '' SCTV'' and ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

''. In 1986, Sajak and his ''Wheel of Fortune'' co-star Vanna White portrayed themselves on an episode of the NBC sitcom ''

227 Year 227 (Roman numerals, CCXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Senecio and Fulvius (or, less frequently, year 980 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

''. In the fourth-season episode of ''

The A-Team ''The A-Team'' is an American Action television, action television series that ran on NBC from January 23, 1983, to March 8, 1987, about a fictional team of former United States Army Special Forces who work as mercenaries while on the run from ...

'' called " Wheel of Fortune", Sajak makes a cameo along with co-star Vanna White. In the episode,

Murdock Murdock is a surname. A relatively modern iteration of the Irish or Scottish name Murdoch. Notable people with the surname include: * Andrew Murdock (born 1962), American record producer * Andrew G. Murdock (fl. 2000s), botanist whose official ab ...

wins big at ''Wheel of Fortune'' due to

Face The face is the front of the head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affect th ...

's system of guessing the letters correctly. In 1992, Sajak was a special guest star in the TV show ''

The Commish ''The Commish'' is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on ABC in the United States from September 28, 1991, to January 11, 1996. The series focuses on the work and home life of a suburban police commissioner in fictional Eastb ...

''. The episode first aired on November 7, 1992, and was called " The Two Faces of Ed". He played psychologist Brian Brandon. In the fourth episode of season three of

Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...

's ''

Brickleberry ''Brickleberry'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated sitcom created by Waco O'Guin and Roger Black (actor), Roger Black for the basic cable network Comedy Central, which aired from September 25, 2012 to April 14, 2015. Executive produc ...

'', " That Brother's My Father", Sajak gets kidnapped and becomes a hostage to the wheel of fortune. In the episode, the character of Connie, a strong and very large but typically kindhearted state park ranger, takes an unhealthy obsession with Sajak and his famous game show, ultimately tying him to a makeshift replica of the wheel itself and attempting a faux-game of Wheel of Fortune with him while behaving erratically. In the fourth episode of season four of ''

Abbott Elementary ''Abbott Elementary'' is an American mockumentary sitcom television series created by Quinta Brunson for ABC. It stars Brunson as Janine Teagues, a perpetually optimistic second-grade teacher at the underfunded Abbott Elementary, a fictional p ...

'', Jacob Hill, a teacher at Abbott Elementary, dresses up as Pat Sajak for Halloween.

Personal life

Sajak is married to Lesly Brown-Sajak, a photographer, with whom he has two children: a son, Patrick Michael James Sajak (born September 22, 1990), who is a doctor, having earned his medical degree in 2021, and a daughter, Maggie Marie Sajak (born January 5, 1995), who is a social correspondent on '' Wheel of Fortune''. They live in

Severna Park, Maryland Severna Park is a census-designated place (CDP) in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, United States. Severna Park is part of the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area, and is located approximately north of Annapolis, south of Baltimore and east ...

, with a second home in Los Angeles. Sajak is featured as a narrator in a brief film shown at the visitor center at

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is the former residence and plantation of George Washington, a Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States, and his wife, Martha. An American landmar ...

, the residence of

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

, where he explains to tourists the attractions of the site. From 1998 until the end of 2021, Sajak owned Maryland-based

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transmi ...

station WNAV in Annapolis.

Politics

Sajak is a Republican, and has written a number of columns for the conservative magazine ''

Human Events ''Human Events'' is an American conservative political news and analysis website. Founded in 1944 as a print newspaper, ''Human Events'' became a digital-only publication in 2013. ''Human Events'' takes its name from the first sentence of the U ...

''. He is also a regular poster and podcast participant on the conservative blog Ricochet.com. Sajak rejects the

scientific consensus on climate change There is a nearly unanimous scientific consensus that the Earth has been consistently warming since the start of the Industrial Revolution, that the rate of recent warming is largely unprecedented, and that this warming is mainly the result o ...

. He is also a financial supporter of the

Young America's Foundation Young America's Foundation (YAF) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit conservative youth organization founded in 1969. In 2018, the ''Los Angeles Times'' called YAF "one of the most preeminent, influential and controversial forces in the nation's conserva ...

, which sponsors conservative speakers on college campuses. Sajak noted in his last appearance as host of the game show that he did not include politics into his hosting duties, saying that the show included "no social issues, no politics" and was "just a game."

Sports

In 2005, Sajak became an investor in the

Golden Baseball League The Golden Baseball League was an independent baseball league based in San Ramon, California, with teams located in the Western United States, Western Canada and northwest Mexico. The GBL was not affiliated with Major League Baseball or the org ...

, an independent professional baseball league with teams in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah,

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, and

Baja California Baja California, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California, is a state in Mexico. It is the northwesternmost of the 32 federal entities of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1952, the area was known as the North Territory of B ...

. During a guest appearance in the broadcast booth at a March 2012

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

–

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

spring-training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring ...

game, Sajak acknowledged that he had called some baseball games in the past. Sajak is an avid fan of the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

team. He is a longtime season-ticket holder and made an on-ice appearance before game three of the

2018 Stanley Cup Finals The 2018 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2017–18 season and the culmination of the 2018 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals defeated the Western Co ...

Health

Sajak underwent emergency intestinal surgery to remove a blockage on November 8, 2019. While Sajak recovered, co-host

hosted in his place. The first taping day in which he was incapacitated was a two-week

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

-themed Christmas episode.

Mickey Mickey is a given name and nickname, often a short form (hypocorism) of Michael, Michaela, and Michelle, and occasionally a surname. Notable people and characters with the name include: People Given name or nickname Men * Mickey Andrews (bor ...

and

Minnie Mouse Minerva "Minnie" Mouse is an American cartoon character created by the Walt Disney Company. The longtime sweetheart of Mickey Mouse, she is an anthropomorphic mouse with white gloves, a red or pink bow, blue (or pink or red) polka-dotted dress, w ...

took over White's role at the puzzle board for those weeks. Sajak's daughter, Maggie, also helped White for a week. Sajak returned to work on December 5, 2019.

References

External links

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sajak, Pat 1946 births Living people 21st-century American essayists American bloggers American game show hosts American male bloggers American members of the Churches of Christ American people of Polish descent American radio DJs American television talk show hosts California Republicans Columbia College Chicago alumni Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Game Show Host winners Daytime Emmy Award winners Farragut Career Academy alumni Illinois Republicans Late night television talk show hosts Maryland Republicans People from Severna Park, Maryland Philanthropists from Illinois Primetime Emmy Award winners Pseudonymous television presenters Television personalities from Chicago United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War United States Army soldiers Wheel of Fortune (franchise)