Longtime ‘Wheel of Fortune’ host Pat Sajak announces retirement

“Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak speaks as he is inducted into the National Association of Broadcasters Broadcasting Hall of Fame during the NAB Achievement in Broadcasting Dinner at Encore Las Vegas on April 9, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Pat Sajak is stepping down from hosting “Wheel of Fortune” after more than four decades at the helm of the US television game show, he announced June 12, 2023. ETHAN MILLER / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP

WASHINGTON, United States — Pat Sajak is stepping down from hosting “Wheel of Fortune” after more than four decades at the helm of the US television game show, he announced Monday, June 12.

The 76-year-old TV personality said his 41st season at the long-running show, which begins in September, would be his last.

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“It’s been a wonderful ride,” he wrote on Twitter.

Sajak started hosting “Wheel of Fortune,” a popular word puzzle show, in 1981, six years after it first aired.

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A successor host for the show, a mainstay across US networks that has spawned international adaptations across the globe, has not yet been announced.

Hinting that something else may be in the works for the game show icon, Sajak said: “I’ll have more to say in the coming months. Many thanks to you all.”  /ra