Pat Sajak Reveals Why He Nearly Refused ‘Wheel Of Fortune’ Job

Pat Sajak is currently in his last week of shows as he prepares to retire after hosting Wheel Of Fortune for 43 years. In a new interview, Sajak is surprisingly revealing why he initially hesitated to take the job when it came to him back in 1981.

Sajak Initially Hesitated In Taking Wheel Of Fortune Job

In 1981, Sajak was working as a weatherman at a local television station in Los Angeles. One day, he got a call from the legendary Wheel Of Fortune creator Merv Griffiin.

“Wheel Of Fortune had been on the air for seven years in daytime on NBC, and the host was leaving, and they needed a new host, and he asked if I was interested,” Sajak told his daughter Maggie in a televised conversation. “And I swear, the first thought was ‘Yes there are three R’s’ is not exactly a career mover.”

Maggie made a face, as in hindsight, it’s clear that this was actually the offer of a lifetime.

“Yeah, I know, shows you what I know,” Sajak admitted.

Check out Sajak’s full comments on this in the video below.

Sajak’s History

Sajak was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 26, 1946. He joined the Army in 1968 and was subsequently sent to Vietnam. There, he worked as a DJ on the Armed Forces Radio in Saigon, according to Fox News.

After he was discharged, Sajak got a job as a weatherman at WSM-TV Nashville before taking the same job at KNBC Los Angeles. It was during his time working as a weatherman at KNBC Los Angeles that Sajak was discovered by a talent scout in 1977.

Wheel Of Fortune had been airing on Daytime TV, where it was hosted by Chuck Woolery, since 1975. Sajak took over hosting that version of the show in 1983 and continued with it until it went off the air in 1989.

Sajak started hosting the much more well-known nighttime version when it began airing in 1983. He’s been the only host of that version of Wheel Of Fortune. Now that Sajak is retiring, the American Idol host Ryan Seacrest will be taking over the game show.

Sajak On Vanna White

While talking to his daughter, Sajak also opened up about his iconic co-host Vanna White. He said that when he was hired, “an important piece of the puzzle wasn’t there yet,” as White didn’t join the show until 1982.

“After her audition, she was so nervous,” Sajak recalled “Merv is smarter than I am, and he saw something in her and knew that the nerves would go away. And they did, and she’s been a joy.”

“I shudder to think how life could have been different,” he added.

White will be continuing on with the show, and will co-host with Seacrest next season.

“When I heard that Pat was retiring, I thought maybe I should retire too. But I’m not ready!” White recently told ABC7.