Wheel of Fortune 50 Years Ryan Seacrest, Vanna White, Pat Sajak Chuck Woolery | The Jim Masters Show
On this episode of The Jim Masters Show Live entertainment, lifestyle, celebrity talk show series we celebrate 50 years of the iconic American TV game show, Wheel of Fortune as television and radio personality, host Jim Masters welcomes Pop Culture Writer Wesley Hyatt to the show as his special guest and as we honor Wheel of Fortune. Every weeknight, millions of Americans make a ritual of watching other Americans guess letters in word puzzles for a chance at up to a million dollars in cash and prizes. This fun, engaging institution has earned fifty-five Emmy nominations and has stayed among the top-rated syndicated series for more than forty years. Wheel of Fortune is only the second game show in the United States and one of only nine national entertainment series to have run more than half a century continuously.
Wheel of Fortune was created by Merv Griffin. The show has aired continuously since January 1975. Contestants solve word puzzles, similar to those in hangman, to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a giant carnival wheel. The current version of the series, which airs in nightly syndication, premiered on September 19, 1983.
The original version of Wheel was a network daytime series that ran on NBC from January 6, 1975, to June 30, 1989, and subsequently aired on CBS from July 17, 1989, to January 11, 1991; it returned to NBC on January 14, 1991, and was cancelled that year, ending on September 20, 1991. The network daytime and syndicated nighttime versions aired concurrently from 1983 until the former's conclusion. The network version was originally hosted by Chuck Woolery and Susan Stafford. Woolery left in 1981, and was replaced by Pat Sajak. Sajak left the network version in January 1989 to host his own late-night talk show, while remaining as host of the nighttime Wheel. Sajak was replaced in the daytime by Rolf Benirschke, who was in turn replaced by Bob Goen when the network show moved to CBS. Goen remained as host for the second NBC run. Stafford left in 1982 and was replaced by Vanna White, who remained on the network show for the rest of its run. The show has also had four announcers in its history: Charlie O'Donnell, Jack Clark, M. G. Kelly, and Jim Thornton. Sajak retired from the show in June 2024; Ryan Seacrest replaced Pat Sajak beginning on September 9, 2024.
Wheel of Fortune ranks as the longest-running syndicated game show in the United States, with 8,000 episodes taped and aired as of June 7, 2024. TV Guide named it the "top-rated syndicated series" in a 2008 article, and in 2013, the magazine ranked it at No. 2 in its list of the 60 greatest game shows ever. The program has also come to gain a worldwide following with 60 international adaptations. The syndicated series' 41st season premiered on September 11, 2023. With the show's 36th season in 2018, Sajak became the longest-running host of any game show, surpassing Bob Barker, who hosted The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007. Two spin-off versions exist as well. The first was Wheel 2000, a version featuring child contestants which aired simultaneously on CBS and Game Show Network between 1997 and 1998. This version's hosts were David Sidoni and Tanika Ray, the latter in the role of a CGI hostess named "Cyber Lucy". The second, Celebrity Wheel of Fortune, began airing on ABC on January 7, 2021, and features celebrities playing a modified version of the game with winnings donated to charity.
Wesley Hyatt shares his new book, I’d Like to Buy a Vowel: 50 Years of Spinning Wheel of Fortune which celebrates the legacy of a series ingrained in the American psyche. People easily recognize its stars and catchphrases such as “I’d like to solve the puzzle.” But most are unfamiliar about how it has become a success and has managed to maintain that status in the ever-competitive world of television. Exclusive interviews with participants backstage and in executives’ offices reveal there’s as much drama and excitement behind the show as on air. The book also tells the stories of several winners and memorable contestants on the show, from how they competed to get on the show to what their lives have been afterward. Be prepared to be amused, surprised and impressed about what is revealed in these pages. Wesley Hyatt is the author of The Carol Burnett Show Companion (2016), Bob Hope on TV (2018) and Betty White on TV (2021), all for BearManor Media. This is his eleventh book.
Please subscribe to our YouTube channel and click the notification bell so you never miss any of our series episodes. Please give it a thumbs up like and leave a comment for us. Share this video too. Join Jim on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @jimmasterstv
The Jim Masters Show
The Jim Masters Show Live
Wesley Hyatt
Wheel of Fortune
Pat Sajak
Vanna White
Ryan Seacrest
Merv Griffin
TV Game Shows
Celebrity Interviews
Chuck Woolery
#wheeloffortune #patsajak #ryanseacrest #vannawhite #thejimmastersshow #jimmasterstv #wesleyhyatt
Watch video Wheel of Fortune 50 Years Ryan Seacrest, Vanna White, Pat Sajak Chuck Woolery | The Jim Masters Show online without registration, duration hours minute second in high quality. This video was added by user Jim Masters TV 01 January 1970, don't forget to share it with your friends and acquaintances, it has been viewed on our site 3,578 once and liked it 192 people.