| Pat Sajak | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Patrick Leonard Sajak |
| Born: | October 26, 1946 |
| Birth Hometown: | Chicago, Illinois |
| Occupation: | Television personality Game show host Creative consultant |
| Years active: | 1968–present |
| Known for: | Hosting Wheel of Fortune |
| Website/URL: | His Official Website |
Pat Sajak (born Patrick Leonard Sajak on October 26, 1946, in Chicago, Illinois) is a former weatherman & one-time late-night talk show host. He became the host of Wheel of Fortune on December 28, 1981, following the departure of Chuck Woolery. During Chuck’s final week on Wheel, Pat appeared on Password Plus opposite Betty White. He's married twice; his current wife is Lesly Brown-Sajak, who was a substitute for Vanna on an April Fools' Day 1997 episode of Wheel. While Alex Trebek hosted said episode, Pat hosted that day's episode of Jeopardy! He and Lesly have two children, Maggie and Patrick Jr. At one time, Pat had his late-night talk show on CBS called The Pat Sajak Show (1989-1990) and later had another talk show on the Fox News Channel called The Pat Sajak Weekend (2003). In June 2023, it was announced that Sajak was retiring as host in 2024 following Wheel’s 41st season. His final syndicated show aired on June 7, 2024 and his final primetime show aired on June 10, 2025. He was later proceeded in the syndicated version by Ryan Seacrest since season 42 in 2024 and in the primetime version since Season 6 in 2025.
Shows hosted
- Press Your Luck (1980 unsold pilot)
- Puzzlers (1980 unsold pilot)
- Wheel of Fortune (NBC Daytime: December 28, 1981 – January 9, 1989; Syn.: September 19, 1983 – June 7, 2024)
- College Bowl (30th Anniversary National Championship, 1984)
- Jeopardy! {Trebek} (April 1, 1997 and April 1, 2010; alternating cameos with Neil Patrick Harris, Jeff Probst, and Will Ferrell)
- Run for the Money (1998 unsold pilot)
- Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (2021–2025)
Shows appeared
- Password Plus
- Super Password
- Jeopardy! {Trebek} (in addition to hosting the above episodes, he was a contestant on Celebrity Jeopardy! in 1993 and 2010's Million Dollar Celebrity Invitational; he also is among many celebrity clue-givers)
Health Scare
On November 7, 2019, Pat was forced to temporarily leave the show to undergo successful surgery, as he had a blocked intestine (the small intestine).[1] On December 6, Sajak recovered and returned to Wheel.[2]
During his absence, longtime hostess Vanna White took over as host. Her sub-hosting tenure began airing on December 9. The Disney characters (more specifically Mickey and Minnie Mouse in rotation) did the honors of touching the letters due to the first week being Disney's Secret Santa Week. Then earlier that year, his daughter Maggie took over the letter touching duties.
Gallery
Reference
Links
- Pat's Bio at the Wheel of Fortune site
- Pat Sajak at the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)