Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak bids farewell to the audience after 41 years on the program

During his final episode of Wheel of Fortune on June 7, Pat Sajak, who has been hosting the show for over 40 years, bid farewell. Meanwhile, Ryan Seacrest will be taking over Pat's role as host on the show.

While expressing gratitude to his audience, Pat said:

"The time has come to say goodbye. I have a few thanks and acknowledgments 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, year after year, decade after decade."

Wheel of Fortune started in 1975 as a daytime show and was taken over by Pat Sajak as a host in 1981. Before his role as the host, Sajak was a local weather forecaster in Nashville. The game involves contestants solving word puzzles to win cash prizes, which are decided by a spinning wheel.

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Pat Sajak started hosting Wheel of Fortune in 1981

In a statement in June 2023, Pat Sajak revealed that Wheel of Fortune's 41st season will be his last. Pat won the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host three times during his long tenure as the host.

Before hosting Wheel of Fortune, Pat Sajak was a DJ at WSM Radio in the early 1970s and a staff announcer at WSM TV before taking on the post as a weekend weatherman. After working as a weather reporter in Los Angeles after leaving WSM in 1977, he accepted Merv Griffin's offer to go on Wheel of Fortune in 1981.

Pat Sajak has also hosted a late-night show for over a year. As he retires from Wheel of Fortune, he already has a gig lined up.

Pat is set to reunite with Joe Moore, the KHON-TV Hawai'i newscaster and actor, in the play Prescription: Murder. In the play, Sajak and Moore will be seen opposite each other at Downtown Honolulu's Hawaii Theatre from July 31 to August 10, 2025.

Meanwhile, Pat's replacement, Ryan Seacrest, said in a statement last year:

"I can't wait to continue the tradition of spinning the wheel and working alongside the great Vanna White."

Vanna White, Pat's co-host for the last 40+ years, also paid him tribute on Friday, calling him a "brother" and a "lifelong friend" she'll always adore.

"As this chapter of our lives is coming to an end, I know you'll still be close by. You're like a brother to me and I consider you a true lifelong friend who I will always adore. I love you, Pat."

Tickets for Pat's stage play, Prescription: Murder are already on sale.