Well, folks, talk about a changing of the guard!
For the last 43 years, Pat Sajak has been the face of the long-running game show Wheel of Fortune.
As readers may already know, he plans to hang up the suit and tie today, and ride off into the sunset (hopefully with some great prizes!).
But as a special treat, we’re getting a little sneak preview of his final episode.
RELATED: Inside Pat Sajak’s World: Retirement, Fame, Family, And Wealth
Pat Sajak Calls It a Career
43 years is a lifetime, and Pat Sajak has dedicated all that time to entertaining fans with his dry humor and picture-perfect duds.
And actually, it may have never happened in the first place. As part of his retirement tour, Sajak revealed that he almost didn’t even take the job! Get this – even though it was offered to him directly by Merv Griffin himself!
Thankfully, take the job he did, and he made it one of the most popular game shows in the country.
But anyway, back to his message for the fans:
“I have a few thanks and acknowledgements 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, 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.”
Watch:
And isn’t that what people are craving right now more than ever? What a great message to all of the fans.
RELATED: Vanna White Breaks Down Saying Goodbye To ‘Brother’ Pat Sajak As He Retires From ‘Wheel Of Fortune’
Vanna White Breaks Down
Of course, Sajak isn’t the only host on the show – there’s also the venerable Vanna White.
She recently spoke of her feelings on coming to the end of the ride with Pat.
White has been on the show nearly as long as he has, only one year shorter – beginning in 1982 instead of 1981.
Speaking to People Magazine in 2022, she had a hint that the end was coming.
“I don’t even want to think about that. I mean, we’re a team. That’s depressing. I don’t even want to think about it,” White said.
“I just visualize us just being there. I can’t think beyond that,” she explained. “I can’t imagine. Everybody relates ‘Wheel of Fortune’ to Pat and Vanna. We’re like Ken and Barbie, you know? We’ve been in everybody’s homes for 40 years, so it would be weird having somebody else turn my letters.”
But just yesterday, White spoke more about losing her “brother” Pat Sajak to retirement.
“I can’t believe that tomorrow is our last show together,” White, 67, told Sajak on Thursday. “I don’t know how to put into words what these past 40 years have meant to me but I’m going to try.”
“8000 episodes went by like that,” she continued. “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. As much fun as we’ve had on camera, those memories, milestones and life events we shared with our families outside the studio are my favorite.”
Here’s to good luck and good health in retirement, Pat, and thank you for all the memories!
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